I've never actually read that Rodriguez book, but I hear lots of good things about it.
One book that I've found extremely useful is
The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook, which has interviews with hundreds of off-screen filmmakers. You name the position, they'll have a page or two of interviews with working people/companies doing it.
Not sure what a 1st AD does? It's in there. Production Designer? It's in there, too. Thoughts & opinions from scores of people & companies, explaining what they do (and how to work with them) from the outsider's pov. It's probably not good for those already working professionally in the industry, but for the indie filmmaker it's worth it's weight in gold.
Plain, straight-forward talk from those in the biz, essentially answering questions from "newbs" - in a friendly (and non-condescending) manner. (The last quarter gets a bit bogged down with personal stories from the authors, but that's kinda interesting too)
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There's another book, too, called
Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking, which is basically a "how-to" for DIY no-budget filmmakers.
If you have $10 in your pocket (and know the way to your local hardware store), this book has illustrated directions on how to DIY-build all kinds of handy equipment. You're not going to end up with top-of-the-line indutry gear, but it will lay out how to fake the next best thing, for a minimal amount of money.
Pretty much everything is this book is easily found on the 'net (including many DIY guides written here on IndieTalk), but at times it's handy to have a whole bunch of material at the fingertips.
There's a few projects in the book I wouldn't touch (mainly the ones that deal with electrical wiring - I don't need a head of hair that resembles Don King), but there ought to be useful material in there for anyone looking to "McGyver" something.
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On a totally unrelated note - most people I talk to seem to like the "commentary" tracks, that many DVDs have these days. Personally, I find them really irritating - but I've suffered through a couple, when I've had film-buddies over to watch something.
Anyone else find those entertaining/useful/helpful/inspiring in any way?
In my last project, I was asked to do a commentary for my segment. I told them to get bent.