Product Description

Written by Stu Maschwitz, co-founder of the Orphanage (the legendary guerrilla visual effects studio responsible for amazing and award-winning effects in such movies as Sin City, The Day After Tomorrow, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), this book is a must-have for all those budding filmmakers and students who want to produce action movies with visual effects but don't have Hollywood budgets. The Orphanage was created by three twenty-something visual effects veterans who wanted to make their own feature films and discovered they could do this by utilizing home computers, off the shelf software, and approaching things artistically. This guide details exactly how to do this: from planning and selecting the necessary cameras, software, and equipment, to creating specific special effects (including gunfire, Kung Fu fighting, car chases, dismemberment, and more) to editing and mixing sound and music. Its mantra is that the best, low-budget action moviemakers must visualize the end product first in order to reverse-engineer the least expensive way to get there. Readers will learn how to integrate visual effects into every aspect of filmmaking--before filming, during filming and with "in camera" shots, and with computers in postproduction. Throughout the book, the author makes specific references to and uses popular action movies (both low and big-budget) as detailed examples--including El Mariachi, La Femme Nikita, Die Hard, and Terminator 2.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38439 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review

 "I'd been wanting to write a book for the new breed of digital filmmakers,
but now I don't have to. My pal and fellow movie maker Stu Maschwitz has
compressed years of experience into this thorough guide. Don't make a movie
without reading this book!"
 -Robert Rodriguez, filmmaker and author of Rebel Without a Crew

About the Author
Stu Maschwitz is a director, visual effects supervisor, renowned technologist and founding partner of The Orphanage, a leading VFX and film production company based in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Hailed by Shoot Magazine as one of the “Ten Commercial Directors To Watch,” Maschwitz has quickly gained a reputation for his ability to tackle extraordinarily complex visual challenges while injecting his signature wry sense of humor and kinetic filmmaking style. An innovator in filmmaking technology, Maschwitz is the creator of The Orphanage’s revolutionary Magic Bullet software—which gives inexpensive digital video the lush look of film. Prior to joining up with his fellow co-conspirators to start The Orphanage, Maschwitz spent five years at George Lucas’ Industrial Light + Magic. He is a graduate of CalArts School of Animation.

Customer Reviews

A must read!
Very informative, a mmust read for anybody doing video work. Many valuable tips and info to help you start and finish your production.

Simply Essential
Simply an essential part of the aspiring film-makers arsenal. Stu not only goes into a decent amount of depth on the art of film-making (and compositing), but injects it all with a great sense of humour (which really helps to keep it easy to read).

Don't Leave Home without it!
I haven't even finished reading it and I don't know how I ever lived without it.