Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for all, not just 3D storyboarders
Review: I just bought the book and it's a great value. I also just bought a new 3D storyboarding program which allows me to apply the ideas in the book and incorporate them into my current project. I am NOT an animator but a writer-director planning the remaining hour of a low-budget indie feature film (DV) in production. This book is valuable not only for storyboard artists but also independent filmmakers and writers! I just recommended this book highly on the forum for the storyboarding program, which is called FrameForge 3D Studio (see the product offers at The Writer's Store website).
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I was hesitant to get this book, after reading a few reviews. The cost of this book is very very little for the amount of information it provides. One thing I often do when reading reviews is to search out the "work" of some of the reviewers. As always it seems, the biggest critics are those who need to focus on their own "art." If you take a look around, you'll find that many of the people who negatively review this book and others are far from "experts." I've met Mr. Ablan, and he has helped me, quite generously with a specific 3D problem. He's known to do this over the years, not just to sell a book. That compassion is reflected in his writing style, and the information he provides. Digital Cinematography is an excellent reference guide to the 3D community. I highly recommend it, as I am not one of the "experts" and have much to learn. This title has helped me get my shots in order, and my thinking process. Kudos to New Riders Publishing and Mr. Ablan. That guy who sent the book back - obviously didn't read it. Oh well, your loss buddy.
Rating: 
Summary: Save your money
Review: I was very disappointed in this book. It's short and does not offer any unique insight into digital directing. It's just another very average book on editing and cinematography. You would be btter off buying a real book on cinematography and directing.
Rating:
Summary: Almost Content-Free
Review: I'm quite amazed at how bad this book is. I have the sister book, Digital Lighting and Rendering, and that book is excellent. The author of this book has apparently written "the" book on Lightwave. And Digital Cinematography and Directing has gotten a lot of good reviews. And some bad ones. Pay attention to the bad reviews (like I wish I had).
This book is quite short - 225 pages. And literally half of the book is comprised of half-page-sized illustrations. That brings the text down to about 112 pages. Then subtract the one-page introduction to each chapter of the twelve chapters, and the half-page wrap-up, and you are down to about 94 pages of text (trust me - I am not exaggerating). That would be a very few pages for any author to cover the subject. And this author doesn't. It is one of the strangest reading experiences that I have ever had. The author can go on for several pages without really saying anything about the subject. One reviewer said that reading this book was like reading a magazine. I found reading this book more like reading a brochure about a book on Digital Cinematography. The author makes statements like "you are lucky because you are working in a 3D program and can do whatever you want. You don't have to pay actors our be bound by adverse lighting conditions, unions, etc." Or "you are the director. Take charge of your project. A confident digital director is always in charge ..." This book goes on like that forever, but never gets around to imparting any real information. Bizarre.
And about the illustrations - they are badly lit, badly textured, badly posed Poser renders. I have nothing against Poser - I own it - but this is really bad Poser. For example, for an illustration of a group shot shown from the top view, the author has obviously copied and pasted a Poser figure six times - without even bothering to change the pose or clothing - and placed it in a random, nonsensical grouping so that he can illustrate a camera set-up. That illustration takes up half a page (they all do). Then when he makes a statement about visiting a library to find more books on the subject of cinematography, you are directed to another half-page illustration of a screenshot of 3D modeled books!
The only thing that I can figure is that New Riders decided that they needed a Digital Cinematography book for their Digital series and made it as fast and as cheaply, and as carelessly, as possible. Do yourself a favor - don't buy it! As I am always short of shelf space - this book may actually hit the dumpster!
Rating:
Summary: People are screwed in the head...
Review: I'm reading through these reviews, and the one guy saying it's just satisfactory? What? IF YOU"RE SO ADVANCED - WHY DO YOU NEED A BOOK????? It's really amazing that all of these "pros" are great at critiquing and what have they done? Where is their great work? Digital Cinematography is and excellent book. Yes - IT'S FOR BEGINNERS! Why else would you get a book? If you're advanced, you don't need a book. Duh! This book could have better illustrations, but what's there works just fine - the illustrations prove a point, and that's it! The information is excellent for any 3D animator who wants to bone up on their camera skills, shots, angles, planning, and even editing. Get this book. It's a great reference!
Rating:
Summary: This is the one you've been lookin' for!
Review: It's this simple; Dan Ablan has a gift for teaching and that translates to your benefit. His books, like his 3D Garage CD training series utilize a well-crafted and laid-back style of instruction that makes potentially complex concepts completely understandable, esp. if you have no prior knowledge or experience. The information and material is extremely well-rounded and is written in such a way as to build on itself in a logical progression. The writing style is also causal, engaging, encouraging and funny at times, avoiding one of the pitfalls of many (text)books: boring the reader to sleep with a dry tech manual speaking style.
If you are interested in 3D filmmaking, then this is the book you are looking for to start out with. There are many books on 3D out there (and Ablan has written many of them), but this one is unique in and of itself in relation to 3D. This book does not give lessons in this 3D program technique or that 3D program technique. Rather, it gives the reader something that is sadly lacking in many 3D efforts, an overall knowledge of the principles of what to actually DO with your 3D program.
For anyone interested in digital 3D filmmaking, this book should be a cornerstone in your 3D filmmaker's library, esp. if you can't get to film school. It will give you the basics of filmmaking and then translate them in relation to 3D. You can then go on from there.
3D (filmmaking) is not just motion, models, textures and lighting. It's about composing the composition of your vision as an artist and this book provides you with the essential knowledge (what everyone needs) to create art, not just cool looking objects just wandering or flying around in a scene.
Trust me, it will open up a whole new world for you. A must have.
Rating:
Summary: unsuccesfully - unsatisfactory
Review: Only for begginers students, nothing worth on it , all the theory are base on previous books of cinematic concepts , about camera, editing , storyboard ,in general nothing more than old theory you can find on any other book about cinematography, even the oldest , the concepts involve on 3d topics are only little references on general aspects described on any 3D graphics software package manual . Very disapointed
This is only a copy about books of cinematography concepts with very poor 3D ilustrations.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing outstanding - not so "digital" really
Review: Sure it's a nice book to have, although for the price it's paperback and quite thin. The problem is it's just another average book on directing. There's a lot about storyboards, continuity, camera angles, CU shots, Med shots, character staging, headroom. Did I learn anything unique to animation? No. Did I learn anything new? NO. Except for the digital and animated nature of the images, there is only maybe 1 chapter (10 pages) that is purely related to digital as in 3d animation, and that is about resolutions, compression, and rendering. Wow! -640x480! NTSC! 16:9! I learned that all in school and on the web. Save your money.
Rating:
Summary: Very helpful indeed
Review: The word "[digital]" may be the title of the series, but this is probably the =least= "digital" book of the whole lot. It is about ... "cinematography, and directing." I like that approach very much and found it quite helpful, although I wished that the book were about twice as thick because I know the authors had much more depth to their knowledge than they delved into here. (But: they defined their level and they stuck to it.) I proceeded to read the book three times carefully, and learned something new each time. The execution of this book is exemplary: bright, clear prose; well-organized delivery; appropriate level. I was also surprised to notice how they actually weave a =story= into the delivery of CG graphic example-scenes. You find yourself wondering about that boy and his father and the mob... Oh, no, it's never presented as an explicit example, but suddenly you notice how, artfully, it IS an example of how a story can be told, subtly, just in how you cut a few scenes together. They did it, without mentioning it, right in their own book.
Rating:
Summary: Very helpful indeed
Review: The word "[digital]" may be the title of the series, but this is probably the =least= "digital" book of the whole lot. It is about ... "cinematography, and directing." I like that approach very much and found it quite helpful, although I wished that the book were about twice as thick because I know the authors had much more depth to their knowledge than they delved into here. (But: they defined their level and they stuck to it.) I proceeded to read the book three times carefully, and learned something new each time. The execution of this book is exemplary: bright, clear prose; well-organized delivery; appropriate level. I was also surprised to notice how they actually weave a =story= into the delivery of CG graphic example-scenes. You find yourself wondering about that boy and his father and the mob... Oh, no, it's never presented as an explicit example, but suddenly you notice how, artfully, it IS an example of how a story can be told, subtly, just in how you cut a few scenes together. They did it, without mentioning it, right in their own book.
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