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Books on filmmaking

The Screenwriter's Bible (Trottier)
Screenplay: Foundations In Screenwriting (Field)
The Screenwriter's Workbook (Field)
The Screenwriter's Problem Solver (Field)
Your Screenplay Sucks! (Akers)
The Hollywood Standard (Riley)
Story (McKee)
The Writer's Journey (Vogler)
The Tools of Screenwriting (Howard/Mabley)
The 5 C's of Cinematography (Mascelli)
Cinematography: Theory and Practice (Brown)
Motion Picture and Video Lighting (Brown)
The Visual Story (Block)
The Filmmaker's Eye (Mercado)
Film Directing Shot by Shot (Katz)
Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics (Rabiger)
The Film Director Prepares (Schreiberman)
Making Movies (Lumet)
In the Blink of an Eye (Murch)
Friendly Enemies (Salvi)
Directing Actors (Weston)
The Filmmaker's Handbook (Ascher/Pincus)
Planning the Low-Budget Film (Brown)
Chris Gore's ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide (Gore)
 
What is a "personal statement"? I assume it has something to do with
school. Am I right?
 
My favorite books (so far):


Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema - David Sonnenschein

The Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound - David Lewis Yewdall

Audio-Vision - Michel Chion, Claudia Gorbman, and Walter Murch

Producing Great Sound for Film and Video - Jay Rose

Lowering the Boom: Critical Studies in Film Sound - Jay Beck and Tony Grajeda

The Sound Effects Bible: How to Create and Record Hollywood Style Sound Effects - Ric Viers

The Foley Grail: The Art of Performing Sound for Film, Games, and Animation - Vanessa Theme Ament

Dialogue Editing for Motion Pictures: A Guide to the Invisible Art - John Purcell


If you can't tell, I'm an audio guy...
 
As a (now) veteran personal statement writer I wouldn't worry too much about reading lots of books and trying to seem as though you've already begun to approach the subject in an academic way.

Universities are looking for raw potential, not for someone who's already an expert in the field, so whilst you might want to mention that you've researched various subjects I don't think you need to refer to specific texts. In fact, I would advise against it. Instead refer to particular filmmakers, techniques, genres...etc. that have caught your attention and that have inspired you.

The most important thing is to not come across as either a know-it-all or a snob.

Peace out and good luck! :P
 
Jedsterg said:
Its for when you apply to university, you have to write about yourself, why you want to do the course and stuff like that...
Click to expand...
Thanks. I kind of figured. I never went to university so I
never had to write that.

So of the 32 books mentioned which one are you going to
read so you can mention it in your personal statement
 
I agree with The Clap. If you're making a personal statement, don't try and be something you're not (at least something that you're not yet). I assume you want to read a filmmaking book because you want to get into uni for film? Then I would suggest talking about a book, a film, a person that has inspired you to want to do this. Or don't talk about any one thing or person, and just write from what you have inside.

They don't care about if you've read a technical manual and if you can list off things you've learned from it. Most schools don't even seem to care if you've got a portfolio (non-graduate schools, that is). What they want to see on the page is passion, motivation, drive. So speak from the heart and try and let your personality show through.

And use spell check.
 
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