MBR: The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

The Art Of Video Production
Leonard Shyless
Sage Publications
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320-2218
9781412916752, $64.95 www.sagepub.com 1-800-818-7243

One of the great pick-up lines was for a man to encounter a woman and
declare "You ought to be in the movies and I can make you a star!".
Advances in video technology have made it possible for anyone to
produce a video -- but it still takes training and know-how to make
one that is worth the investment of time, capital, and energy into its
production. "The Art Of Video Production" by Leonard Shyless
(Associate professor, Department of Communication, Villanova
University and former Director of the Video Production Lab) is a
single volume, 534-page instruction manual covering every aspect of
what goes into making a video. While covering all of the basic
principles and essential skills, "The Art Of Video Production" also
addresses the new digital technologies necessary for crafting and
creating effective video content. Enhanced with six interviews with
industry professionals that range from network, freelance, and
independent producers, to directors, writers, and editors, "The Art Of
Video Production" is a veritable compendium of practical advice,
insights, and tips for aspiring videographers. Professor Shyless
covers the video production process, video as a means of
communication, and how television works, as well as the specific
elements and techniques of video production including lighting, camera
usage, audio, graphic and set design, field production, editing,
scripts, producing, directing, and performing. Each chapter concludes
with a 'Questions for Review' to insure the reader has grasped the
information presented. Deftly written, effectively organized, and
enhanced with a Glossary, a Bibliography, and an Index, "The Art Of
Video Production" would make an ideal textbook for video production
courses, as well as being a core addition to personal, professional,
telecommunications industry, academic, and community library video
production instructional reference and resource collections.

An Actor's Work
Konstantin Stanislavski
Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10016
9780415422239, $35.00 www.taylorandfrancisgroup.com

Jean Benedetti provides the modern translation of this classic text on
actor training, a recommended pick for any college-level collection
strong in drama theory and actor training. His offers a more accurate
new translation of the classic, critiquing Method acting and its
legacy and putting Stanislavski's two-volume work back under one cover
as he originally intended. The result is a clearer, more revealing
legacy than the prior translation, and deserves a spot in any serious
college-level acting library.

An Actor's Work
Konstantin Stanislavski
Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10016
9780415422239, $35.00 www.taylorandfrancisgroup.com

Jean Benedetti provides the modern translation of this classic text on
actor training, a recommended pick for any college-level collection
strong in drama theory and actor training. His offers a more accurate
new translation of the classic, critiquing Method acting and its
legacy and putting Stanislavski's two-volume work back under one cover
as he originally intended. The result is a clearer, more revealing
legacy than the prior translation, and deserves a spot in any serious
college-level acting library.

Palestinian Cinema: Landscape, Trauma, and Memory
Nurith Gertz and George Khleifi
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street, Bloomington, IN 47404-3797
9780253220073, $24.95 www.iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796

Palestinian Cinema: Landscape, Trauma, and Memory is a one-of-a-kind
collaboration between an Israeli scholar and a Palestinian scholar
tracing the development of Palestinian cinema, with especial attention
paid to its response to political and social evolutions. Chapters
reveal that the worse social, political, and economic positions
become, the more Palestinian cinema intertwines itself with the
national struggle. Palestinian cinema creates its national narrative
against the Israeli narrative, and the bitter reflection between the
two viewpoints sadly echoes the greater resentment and hostility
between the two peoples sharing the same territory. In particular, the
films of Michel Khleifi, Rashid Masharawi, Ali Nassar, and Elia
Suleiman are discussed, as well as roadblock movies in general. "To a
large extent, the new directors have joined forces to protect
Palestinian unity and identity in the face of the threat of
extinction. Thus, they express, even more intensely than their
predecessors did, the strengthening national consciousness and
identity vying with familial, regional, pan-Arabic, class, or gender
identities. In their films, they strive to construct a single national
unity, which is strong and secured, by integrating different sections,
groups, minorities, and political stances." A 'must-read' for anyone
with an interest in Palestinian cinema and what it has to tell us
about the culture from which it comes.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to
promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We
accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given
to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites,
newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational
newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest
Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines
"California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch",
"MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch".
All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at
http://www.midwestbookreview.com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them
to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to
Frugalmuse.DeleteThis@aol.com (Be sure to include the book title, author,
publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit
ISBN number, and list price).

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com