Cinematography for Directors: A Guide for Creative Collaboration

I’m a self taught beginner director. This book taught me to be more confident and competent as a director.I had no idea how to work effectively with a DP. I felt shy about leading sometimes. I was worried I wouldn’t know anything technical and would look like an idiot to my crew. Reading this book changed that. It goes over how to collaborate with a DP. It explains the basics of cinematography. I’m not completely clueless anymore! Now I know more than some professional directors.I thought everyone on set would be stubborn and want to do things their own way, like I do. I was actually worried all my ideas and preferences would be seen as over bearing. Nope.This book let me know it’s actually stressful and annoying to cast and crew when a director isn’t specific, full of ideas and opinionated. Because then the film has no direction and people get nervous guessing what they should do.Alright. I got this.

I am a DP who likes this book a lot. It is perfect to help my director friends and collaborators to get more educated in the cinematography field - that raises the level of communication and also the results of what you see on the screen. Highly recommended!

Absolutely loved this book! The insights you get are invaluable if your goal is to Direct…it really drives home the importance of having a good working relationship with your Cinematographer…read it!

The order of the book is well organized and thought out. It starts out with how to go about finding a Cinematographer that you, the Director can work with. Some of the information seems common sense, but much of the process isn’t, such as asking the Cinematographer if they like to operate their own camera. This can affect the cost, so you have to factor it in. It moves on to shooting the film and finally finishing the film. The book is full of tips and tricks, such as how to laser in on the perfect Cinematographer for your movie. It touches on film and digital technology.It not only covers technical aspects but emotional ones too. You don’t just want a smart Cinematographer but you want one that you can collaborate with. This thought process is covered in the book. It covers both points of view too, the Cinematographer’s and the Director’s.Whether you’re new to film or you are a veteran, this book will help you with the process of getting your movie shot. It’s incredibly in depth. I highly recommend this great read.Review copy supplied

Frost's book speaks directly to the heart and soul as well as technical nuts and bolts of the director-cinematographer collaboration. Distilling her knowledge as a DP along with interviews with top Hollywood DPs such as Roger Deakins, Rodrigo Prieto, and Matthew Libatique she methodically lays out what directors need to know about cinematography and cinematographers. The book should appeal to cinematographers as well as she discusses lenses, framing, cameras, lighting, and other technical aspects of camera as well as the aesthetics from the shoot through the DI process and film out process to archiving. The photos aptly illustrate her points, especially the rich color photo section. Frost speaks about where cinematography today as well as where it has been and how it has evolved. This book is handy for anyone interested in the business and art of filmmaking. It illuminated this part of the industry for me who has spent her time in post. Her chapter summaries in the numbered form of "What Directors Should Know" make for a quick overview or refresher of key points.

This book is much more than what a few weeks of google web searches can give you. Frost's passion for the medium comes across in her breakdowns of everything from aesthetics to relationships and a dive into the roles of the director and cinematographer.The marriage of her objectivity as an educator (and a professional herself), and the subjective nature of the information she's distilled from her own interviews with masters of their crafts, is gold. There's something on just about every page that people of any skill level can get insight from - whether you're a professional who's been doing this stuff for years or if you're thinking about becoming one.Not only will you get the theory that most books of this type promise to deliver, but you'll get insight into this world from someone who's lived it. Not just someone who studied it from a desk.Highly recommended.

Whether Jacqueline B. Frost is expounding upon the aesthetics of movement or innovative tools of the trade, Cinematography for Directors is an important manual and a pleasure to read.This edition includes a director’s checklist for selecting a cinematographer, as well as examples of the personality traits of those you might want to avoid.From the all important fundamentals, to certain shot choices to inspire the emotional, visceral reaction one wants from an audience, Frost has indeed supplied us with a liberating resource on how to learn to master the landscape between light and darkness.And the generous insights from the likes of Roger Deakins, ASC, Ellen Kuras, ASC, and Matthew Libatique, ASC, are simply brilliant.—Doreen Alexander ChildAuthor of Charlie Kaufman: Confession of an Original Mind.

Cinematography is an art and a science. It takes years to master the basics, and decades to master the craft itself. So it would be unrealistic to expect a comprehensive education in the subject to be contained within one book. But Jacqueline Frost's updated masterpiece is the closest thing I've seen to achieving this lofty goal. And for directors specifically who are looking to better understand their visual collaborators and the tools they have at their disposal to capture moving images, you'll find no better resource than this. Full of direct interviews with legendary ASC members and other greats, Cinematography for Directors is on the short list of books that I wish had existed when I was in film school. Great job.

there's no point buying this if you have some knowledge about cinematographybeginners might benefit form it but not me

Good value for money at under 20£ useful updated 2nd edition so greater depth on similar topics as established in the 1st edition.Helps improve technical knowledge and similar areas for filmmaking.