The Little Digital Video Book

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good introduction
Review: "The Little Digital Video Book" is very readable and to the point. I read it in two days and got some pretty good ideas for improving my home videos. This book will be most useful to readers who are familiar with iMovie editing software, for the author makes reference to that very accessiable editing software throughout his book.

I most liked the chapters on shooting and editing video. He provides tips on various types of shots: e.g. the action-reaction shot, shooting for cut-ins, establishment shots, and over-the-shoulder shots. In the area of editing, he talks about, among other techniques, setting music to shots, voice over narration, cut-ins, dissolves and fades. He provides some still photos to help explain these techniques. If I had written this book, however, I would have listed out many of these techniques for even easier reference.

Now the problem I have with this book is that like other home movie guides, it lacks a multimedia CD rom or website supplement. I think it's ironic to develop a guide about video production using mere words and black-and-white photo illustrations. In the era of multimedia presentations, guides such as this should come with a CD or with a reference to a good website that contains clips of the techniques that are explained in the book. For someone very new to digital video shooting and editing, mere written descriptions may not be enough. Also, I would have liked him to provide a list of references to other books and resources for those who want to get to the advance stage of home movie and other types of video production.

With that said, though I only give this book 3 stars, I would encourage you to buy it if you're looking for some ideas for home video production. Other home movie guides spend way too much time focusing on buying video cameras and editing equipment. What is needed are books that spend more time providing tips, ideas, and techniques for shooting and editing digital video. Ruben's book makes a good effort to this. Not only can you tell that he's actually produced home videos, but that he also brings his professional experience as a filmmaking consultant to this book. I look forward to him writing more advance books that focus more on shooting and editing with a digital camera.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good introduction
Review: "The Little Digital Video Book" is very readable and to the point. I read it in two days and got some pretty good ideas for improving my home videos. This book will be most useful to readers who are familiar with iMovie editing software, for the author makes reference to that very accessiable editing software throughout his book.

I most liked the chapters on shooting and editing video. He provides tips on various types of shots: e.g. the action-reaction shot, shooting for cut-ins, establishment shots, and over-the-shoulder shots. In the area of editing, he talks about, among other techniques, setting music to shots, voice over narration, cut-ins, dissolves and fades. He provides some still photos to help explain these techniques. If I had written this book, however, I would have listed out many of these techniques for even easier reference.

Now the problem I have with this book is that like other home movie guides, it lacks a multimedia CD rom or website supplement. I think it's ironic to develop a guide about video production using mere words and black-and-white photo illustrations. In the era of multimedia presentations, guides such as this should come with a CD or with a reference to a good website that contains clips of the techniques that are explained in the book. For someone very new to digital video shooting and editing, mere written descriptions may not be enough. Also, I would have liked him to provide a list of references to other books and resources for those who want to get to the advance stage of home movie and other types of video production.

With that said, though I only give this book 3 stars, I would encourage you to buy it if you're looking for some ideas for home video production. Other home movie guides spend way too much time focusing on buying video cameras and editing equipment. What is needed are books that spend more time providing tips, ideas, and techniques for shooting and editing digital video. Ruben's book makes a good effort to this. Not only can you tell that he's actually produced home videos, but that he also brings his professional experience as a filmmaking consultant to this book. I look forward to him writing more advance books that focus more on shooting and editing with a digital camera.

Rating:
Summary: Michael Rubin makes pros out of amateurs
Review: 170 pages of solid, easy-to-understand, information for the novice digital camcorder owner. If there is anything technical in this book, it is wonderfully sugar-coated so that reading it becomes enjoyable.

Anyone can take home-movies. Point and press a button. But, then watch your Christmas card list shrink when you show this boring rubbish to your friends. Michael steps through the easy, but precise steps that help you shoot good stuff. Then he explains how to edit it down to something your friends will look forward to watching.

For example, he explains the establishing shot, the cut-away, the shot/reverse shot, over-the-shoulder and POV. These simple techniqes will transform your home-movies from mundane to exciting.

If you have a digital camcorder, or anticipate buying one, then you MUST buy this book. Excellent job, Michael, thanks!

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Book
Review: Great Book ..... !!! Easy to understand.... NO JUNK info .... worth buying !!!

Rating:
Summary: Good editing starts with good shooting
Review: Great book if you're new to digital video. My starting point was to learn more about digital editing. But in order to do some neat editing, you need to have good footage. In this book it is explained in a comprehensive way what makes the difference between the avg. home video, and some nice, fun to watch video's.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Place to Start
Review: I am in the process of learning to make video documentries, and by this point have collected about 6-8 books on the subject.
The first book I read was this one, and I would recommend any newcomer to do likewise. If you don't plan to go beyond home videos this could be the only book you will need. But even if you have greater goals this book is an excellent starting point.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for digital video basics and tricks!
Review: I bought this book and it helped me out a lot!
Well worth the price. Right to the point learning!

Rating:
Summary: For the Newbie, an excellent foundation
Review: I picked this book up as part of Broderbund's MovieShop Deluxe editing software. The book was great, the software was really bad. Thank goodness the whole thing cost me less than the book by itself.

This is great for the beginner who has just bought their first DV camera or is about to and has had no prior video experience. It doesn't get heavy into the technical aspect of cameras, computers, or film making. Rubin spends most of the book giving great advice on shooting, organizing, and editing. (Let your user manuals give you the technical stuff.)

The focus of the book is on creating and finishing small projects. The exercises in the book help you understand why you should do some things and not others. The chapter on shooting gives you the foundation on which to get great shots that you can really use.

I found the chapter on organinzing video probably the most useful for me personally. I'd had some previous film training in college many years ago before DV became popular, and while it covered shooting and edting, we never covered organization.

This is not a long comprehensive book. An average reader could get through it in 2-3 evenings and learn all they will ever need to know to make their home videos entertaining and enjoyable. Very highly recommended!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Buy this book before you do anything!
Review: I wish I had. I spent way too much time and money on stuff I can't use, shooting too much tape and not getting the important, simple basic shots that make for easy editing. The advice in this book is so practical, so straightforward. He tells you how to get up and running, making smart videos of just about any event, activity, or slice of life. The chapter on logging tapes is worth the price of the book alone. Buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect 1st or 10th digital video book!
Review: If you own a camcorder, buy this book. Like any introductory resource, this is not a 100% reference. Advanced sound and lighting, for example, call for a more advanced text. However, as with still photography and film, the 'basics' are 90% of what you need for good results, and this book provides the basics in a clear and concise form.

The 50 pages on shooting are themselves worth the price of the book. Before I begin any video project, I do a quick review of these fifty pages to be sure I haven't forgotten any of the rules, not to mention the dozens of Rubin's tips and tricks.

After the shooting section, the rest of the book is a bonus. In fact, the editing section is a good practical reference. Clearly a Mac user, the author does his best to not make that obvious, other than his reference to certain software which is Mac only.

I have and have read five other video, digital video, and video production books with advanced techniques and practices. Each has some value. However, this book is the one I go back to for a refresher time after time. Like I said at the beginning...buy this book!