Camerawork Reading
I am by no means an expert cimatographer by any means. However I've had to do my fair share of camerawork. So I do have a couple books up my sleeve that have been very helpful in accelerating my knowledge about how to move a camera.
Setting Up Your Shots: Great Camera Moves Every Filmmaker Should Know
by Jeremy Vineyard, Jose Cruz (Illustrator)
Good: Ever wanted to talk about a technique you saw in a movie but don't know the term for it? Wanted to know why certain techniques are used in certain cirumstances? HAve you ever needed to show someone else the technique you are talking about, because your description just isn't doing it? If you answered "yes" to any of these, read this book.
Bad: Nothing. Except if you know all this stuff already. In which case you shouldn't be taking reccomendations from me anyway.
Film Directing, Cinematic Motion: A Workshop for Staging Scenes
by Steven D. Katz
Good:An excellent primer to get ideas about moving a camera, and to grasp why you should or should not move the camera. Also it has amazing diagrams that show not just the path of the camera, but the results on fillm (or video.) Finally it has interviews with various specialists that are pretty specific, but pretty revealing. (Example: One of the interviews is with a guy who is an expert on camerawork in moving automobiles.)
Bad: It's a little dry. Okay, well maybe more than a little dry. I'm thinking about it right now and I.... i nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
<snore>
