4 Best Books For Beginner Filmmakers

This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Film making in this day and age has become so common, that every one wants a hand on it, or in a way wants to be a part of it. Every person wants to be a Director and achieve a high status. There are film schools in nearly all the countries in the world, institutions of high recognition dealing with films, tv, radio and stage are bringing forward a new generation of artists, whether they are in the performing arts, screen writing, editing or camera. After all, all great filmmakers started from making short films in their backyards. 4 Best Books For Beginner Filmmakers

Stephen Spielberg is a perfect example because he used to make short films by using toy trains when he was a kid. Christopher Nolan made a short film as a project and then went on to make block buster feature films as a director. Alfred Hitchcock made great films which are still seen by film lovers, but where did they all start from? Yes, they started from reading books, and of course observing their seniors and then making films themselves. Below is a list of four Best Books For Beginner Filmmakers which every aspiring filmmaker should have to learn from. 4 Essential Books For New Filmmakers To Learn From

1 – Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee

Before starting to make a film, you have to have everything on paper so that you can work on it, make changes and make a perfect shape of a script. The root of all great films are scripts. If a script is good, the film would be good, but if a script is bad, then the movie will turn out to be bad too. Therefore, a focus on writing good scripts is the first step.

Robert McKee in this book with practical examples shows how to write a good script. He tells how to make a script stand out from others, give it the essential substance, what structure to follow and styles used to make a story look unique. Having this book is a must because novelists, screenwriters and even actors such as John Cleese have read it for guidance.

2 – Grammar of the Shot by Roy Thompson and Christopher J. Bowen

Films are shot by using cameras, but even before using a camera, you have to know the basics of the different shots required to make a movie. In this book, the two authors after doing a good deal of research have shown by examples and illustrations the different shots used by filmmakers. They also emphasise on the importance of the elements and types of shots used, including the explanation of complex and developing shots. It is a must have as it also introduces the new filmmaker to the equipment used for making films, which is of course a camera.

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3 – Grammar of the Edit by Roy Thompson and Christopher J. Bowen

Editing is another important part of filmmaking. By editing different pictures and putting them up together, a filmmaker can make a story come to life. Editing has different techniques to it and the topics tackled with in this book are the Cut, Mix and Fade. A good edit between two shots is very important, and this book explains in a very uncomplicated way of exactly how to do that. The focus of the book is teach the language of filmmaking by using different practical diagrams and illustrations to follow.

4 – Lo-To-No Budget Filmmaking by Elliot Grove

The above three books are enough to understand film making itself, but this book helps in understanding how to make films once you get in the field of it. A lot of people can’t afford to make films, which of course requires money and man power. This book written by Raindance founder Elliot Grove tells just what to do and how to make films in a micro budget.

It focuses on how to use digital cameras which are present in our phones, or even DSLRs. There is also a section of how to promote yourself and your film via the social media which includes twitter and facebook. The author also shares his film making experience and winning formulas used to run a successful production company.

Below are a few honourable mentions. If you want to know how the past great filmmakers worked, then these books are a must have.

4 Best Books For Beginner Filmmakers