Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Digital Filmmaking 101 reveals the secrets of making professional-quality ditial moviemaking on ultra-low budgets.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Acknowledgments (p. xiii)
• Introduction (p. xv)
• Chapter 1 The Dream (Taking a Leap) (p. 1)
• Chapter 2 The Script (If It Ain't on the Page) (p. 5)
• The basics (p. 5)
• Story (p. 6)
• The three-act structure (p. 6)
• Writing for a tiny budget (p. 7)
• Creating unique characters (p. 7)
• Mystery (p. 8)
• Twists (p. 8)
• Dramatic tension (p. 8)
• Building drama or comedy (p. 8)
• Testing your story (p. 9)
• Number of characters (p. 10)
• Number of locations (p. 12)
• Write what you own (p. 14)
• Night vs. day and big vs. small (p. 16)
• Other constraints (p. 17)
• Finding the write stuff (p. 18)
• Chapter 3 The Budget (And How to Budge It) (p. 23)
• Essentials (p. 24)
• Almost-essentials (p. 24)
• Luxuries (p. 25)
• The budget (p. 27)
• Three budget options (p. 30)
• Pinching the pennies (until Abraham yells) (p. 31)
• Squeezing the budget (p. 33)
• Screenplay and rights (p. 33)
• Cast and crew (p. 33)
• Set construction (p. 37)
• Model building (p. 38)
• Wardrobe (p. 38)
• Makeup and hair (p. 42)
• Lighting and lighting supplies (p. 43)
• Camera equipment (p. 46)
• Sound equipment (p. 48)
• Vehicles (p. 50)
• Meals (p. 50)
• Locations (p. 51)
• Tape stock (p. 53)
• Production stills (p. 53)
• Storage vault rental (p. 54)
• Nonlinear edit system (p. 55)
• Video dubs (p. 56)
• Music recording (p. 57)
• Sound effects, foley, and dialogue looping (p. 57)
• Titles (p. 58)
• Sneak preview (p. 58)
• Final output and preview cassettes (p. 59)
• Publicity photos and packets (p. 60)
• Photocopying scripts, and miscellaneous photocopying (p. 61)
• Postage for publicity and preview tapes (p. 62)
• Video-to-film transfer (p. 62)
• How to shoot it for less (p. 64)
• Chapter 4 The Business (Ultra-low Budget, Inc.) (p. 65)
• Business decisions (p. 66)
• Money (p. 67)
• Professional help (p. 67)
• Insurance (p. 68)
• Employees (p. 70)
• Rights (p. 73)
• Legal liability (p. 75)
• Incorporation (p. 76)
• Liability waivers (p. 82)
• Copyright (p. 83)
• Tax obligations (p. 85)
• Chapter 5 The Money ("Hello, Uncle Burt? You Don't Remember Me, But...") (p. 91)
• Investors (p. 91)
• Credit cards (p. 93)
• Scrimping (p. 95)
• Grants (p. 96)
• Favors (p. 98)
• Found money (p. 99)
• Chapter 6 Preproduction ("Being Compulsive is Not a Bad Thing. I Know. I Double-checked.") (p. 103)
• Digital or film (p. 103)
• Video format (p. 106)
• Shooting ratio (p. 107)
• Publicity (p. 107)
• Time for a breakdown (p. 109)
• Step 1 Marking script segments (p. 109)
• Step 2 Script breakdown pages (p. 112)
• Step 3 Making the strips and the production board (p. 114)
• Step 4 Sorting the strips (p. 120)
• Step 5 Laying out the shooting days (p. 121)
• Props, action props, locations, and assistance (p. 125)
• Choosing a look (p. 127)
• Technical preparation (p. 128)
• Chapter 7 Casting the Cast (To Be or Not to Be for Free) (p. 133)
• Finding actors (p. 133)
• Talent agencies (p. 133)
• Local theaters (p. 134)
• Open auditions (a.k.a. cattle calls) (p. 135)
• Auditioning actors (p. 136)
• A place to audition (p. 136)
• A traffic manager (p. 136)
• Sides (p. 137)
• A schedule-conflict sheet (p. 138)
• Video camera and operator (p. 138)
• The audition (p. 138)
• The ten commandments of auditions (p. 139)
• Casting the cast (p. 147)
• Asking people to "work for free" (p. 148)
• Chapter 8 Corralling the Crew (Assembling the Dream Team) (p. 151)
• Finding crewpeople (p. 151)
• Interviewing the crew (p. 153)
• Desired characteristics and attitudes (p. 155)
• Specialized skills or attitudes (p. 155)
• Choosing the crew (p. 158)
• Selecting a director and producer (p. 159)
• Letting your crew do its best (p. 161)
• Chapter 9 Production (Lights, Camera, Chaos!) (p. 163)
• Training (p. 163)
• 20 (thousand) questions (p. 164)
• The big lie (p. 166)
• Read-through and rehearsals (p. 167)
• Shot lists (p. 170)
• Long takes (p. 170)
• Abandoning your shot list (p. 171)
• Continuity (p. 172)
• Touchups (p. 173)
• Where to begin... and where to end (p. 174)
• The geography lesson (p. 175)
• Directors vs. producers (p. 176)
• Sound advice (p. 178)
• You've been framed (p. 179)
• Feeding the masses (p. 180)
• Extra! Extra! (p. 181)
• Photo opportunity (p. 182)
• Action and stunts (p. 183)
• Intimate scenes (p. 184)
• Viewing dailies (p. 185)
• Chapter 10 Special Effects (Please Pass the Construction Paper) (p. 187)
• Miniatures (p. 188)
• Mini-sets (p. 190)
• Replacement shots and continuity tricks (p. 191)
• Poor-person's process shots (p. 192)
• Specialty costumes (p. 194)
• Specialty props (p. 196)
• Animation and in-camera effects (p. 198)
• Titles (p. 203)
• Camera rigs and effects gear (p. 204)
• Chemistry and science effects (p. 207)
• Don't-try-this-at-home effects (p. 208)
• Chapter 11 Postproduction (The Light at the End of the Tunnel: Completion or Oncoming Train?) (p. 209)
• Editing (p. 209)
• Finding your editor (p. 209)
• Editing equipment (p. 211)
• Working with your editor (p. 212)
• The rough cut or first cut (p. 213)
• The fine cut (p. 214)
• Sound-effects editing (p. 215)
• Dialogue looping (p. 216)
• Music (p. 219)
• Using existing music (p. 220)
• Finding a composer (p. 221)
• What to give your composer (p. 222)
• Working with your composer (p. 222)
• The final output to tape (p. 224)
• Keeping in touch (p. 226)
• Chapter 12 Distribution (Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss) (p. 227)
• The distribution stream (p. 229)
• When should you approach distributors? (p. 230)
• How to find distributors, how to be found (p. 230)
• Film markets (p. 232)
• Festivals (p. 233)
• The direct approach (p. 234)
• Web site promotion (p. 236)
• Getting someone else to do it (p. 237)
• The budget question (p. 238)
• Lying (p. 238)
• An alternate truth (p. 238)
• Skirting the issue (p. 238)
• The truth (p. 239)
• The deal and other details (p. 239)
• What you'll need to provide (p. 242)
• Self-distribution and self-flagellation: how to tell them apart (p. 245)
• Theatrical (p. 246)
• Home video (p. 246)
• Internet (p. 249)
• Afterword (p. 251)
• Enlarged Appendix (p. 253)
• Sample script layout (p. 254)
• Sample forms (p. 256)
• Call sheet (p. 256)
• Group release (p. 257)
• Cast and crew release (p. 258)
• Location release (p. 259)
• Shot log (p. 260)
• Equipment rental list (p. 261)
• Sample menus for weekend film shoots (p. 262)
• Press kit: sample synopsis (p. 264)
• Press kit: sample credit list (p. 265)
• Press kit: sample production notes (p. 266)
• Other resources (p. 267)
• Independent Feature Project offices (p. 267)
• Web sites (p. 268)
• Educational resources (p. 269)
• Tape-to-film transfers (p. 270)
• Videotape suppliers (p. 270)
• Where to buy movie scripts (p. 270)
• Publications (p. 271)
• Free magazines for production professionals (p. 271)
• Copyright and script registration (p. 271)
• Photo processing (p. 271)
• Incorporating in Delaware (p. 272)
• Corporate-stock rules (p. 272)
• Business tax forms (p. 272)
• Bibliography (p. 273)
• Filmography (p. 279)
• About the authors (p. 283)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Celluloid will always be their first love, acknowledge the authors of Digital Filmmaking 101: An Essential Guide to Producing Low-Budget Movies. But after their second feature-length film, Beyond Bob, Dale Newton and John Gaspard recognized that they might never shoot in such an expensive medium again, "at least not when we were putting up the money." With chatty, postslacker humor and savvy one chapter is called "Special Effects (Please Pass the Construction Paper)" they guide the novice through each stage of using digital film: writing the script, drawing up a budget, getting funding, equipment, cast, crew, etc. Would-be indie filmmakers seeking practical, friendly advice will find this a handy reference. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved