Video in Print



Video in Print - Uncoded

Jack Wolcott

Although begun as a collection of books related to videography, this bibliography has expand to include cogent works about film, the source of most of the craft and artistry in video production, as well. It is only through the study of the art and craft of film editing, for example, that one can become adept in editing video, and the same may be said of lighting, audio and production practice. At the very least, it seems imprudent to ignore nearly one hundred years of experience accumulated in the older medium.

Most of the book titles have been linked to the source at which reviews, description of the contents, the table of contents and reader comments can be found. In many instances this is at , from which the majority can be purchased. An occasional title is out of print, but will be well worth the search to own. Starred books (*) are scheduled for release in the next few months. They have not been reviewed.

Because of their sheer volume I have omitted print magazine and trade journal articles, including instead a list of magazines and trade publications which I have found to be valuable resources to a student of the art and craft of videography.

I have included resources on the World Wide Web as a separate category. I have omitted WWW sites that relate to specific products, including instead a list of Forums whose links point not only to user groups, bulletin boards and chat groups, but may point to manufacturers and products as well. Perhaps the most comprehensive of these lists is to be found at The Digital Media Network (DMN) site, , which boasts more than 180 such links.

Books

Audio

Art of Digital Audio, The – 3rd Edition; John Watkinson (Item #2148 at the NAB Bookstore) At $85, this is clearly for the very serious audio technician. It covers just about every aspect of the subject in considerable detail. (See its contents and reviews at and at )

Audio-Vision, Michel Chin, Claudia Gorbman, with an introduction by Walter Murch (1994) The theory of audio in film (and implicitly, in video). Review and comments at

Audio Postproduction for Digital Video; Jay Rose (2002) Comes with CD-ROM examples. Review and comments at

Producing Great Sound for Digital Video; Jay Rose (2nd ed. 2002) Comes with CD-ROM examples. One of the most thorough works on the subject. Review and comments at

Professional Microphone Techniques; David Miles and Philip Williams (1998) Review and comments at

Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema; David Sonnenschein (2001) Review and comments at

Sound for Film and Television; Tomlinson Holman (2nd Edition) Comes with CD-ROM

Holman is the developer of the THX Sound System and, as such, writes with considerable authority on the subject of audio in film and video. Review and comments at

5.1 Surround Sound - Up and Running - by Tomlinson Holman (2000 Edition). Review and comments at

Business

Desktop Studio Video Bible: Producing Video, DVD and Websites for Profit; George Avgerakis (2002) This recent work covers just about every aspect of the business of video, from seeking clients to managing production crews and collecting on outstanding invoices. Review and comments at

How to Make Real Money with your Video Camera; Raymond G. Hutchins (2003) The implications of this, that anyone reading the book can go into business and succeed as a video professional, are frightening: Review and comments at

Independent Video Producer, The: Establishing a Profitable Video Business (1999) Bob Jacobs. Review and comments at

Camera

Cinematography: Imagemaking for Cinematographer, Directors and Videographers; Blain Brown (2003) Review at

* 24p Digital Video Production; John F. Rice (May, 2004) Review at

Copyright

Clearance & Copyright: What Every Independent Filmmaker Needs to Know; Michael C. Donaldson (2003). Copyright and rights clearance issues for film production, including boilerplate contracts. Donaldson is the author of several books on copyright and trademark law. Review at

Media Law for Producers ; Philip Miller, an attorney (4th edition, 2002) Review at

DVD/CD

CD-R/DVD: disc recording demystified; Lee Purcell (2002) Review and comments at

DVD Authoring and Production; Ralph LaBarge (2001) Review and comments at

Compression for Great Digital Video: Power Tips, Techniques, and Common Sense; Ben Waggoner. Comes with CD-ROM. (2002) A very thorough discussion of compression, from production and editing to streaming and animation. Review and comments at

Editing: Practice and Theory

* Behind the Scenes: Walter Murch on Feature Film Editing, Final Cut Pro, and the Future of Cinema, Charles Koppelman (due out in May 2004)

Color Correction for Digital Video; Steve Hullfish, et al (2002) Comes with CD-ROM Review and comments at

Conversations, The: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film; Michael Ondaatje (2002) Review and comments at

Digital Compositing for Film and Video; Steve Wright (2001) Detailed and technical. “Compatible with Adobe Photoshop. Written by a senior compositor with over ten years of digital compositing experience.” Review and comments at

Digital Nonlinear Editing: Editing Film and Video on the Desktop, (2nd ed. 1998)

The author, “Thomas A. Ohanian, is a Chief Editor, Director of Product Design for Avid Technology in Massachusetts and a designer of the Avid Media Composer.” Five years old, and therefore not entirely current, but an excellent and extensive treatment of the subject nevertheless.

Early Cinema: Space, frame, narrative; ed. Thomas Elsaesser (1990) Review and commentary at

Editing Digital Video: The Complete Creative and Technical Guide; Robert M Goodman, Patrick McGrath (2002, with CD-ROM) The guide is platform and edit system neutral. Review and commentary at

Film Editing: history, theory practice; Don Fairservice (2001) Review and comments at

Films of Akira Kurosawa, The; Donald Richie, Joan Mellen (1999) An detailed analysis of each of the great film maker’s films, majors and minors. To study these films is to study the work of one of film-making’s greatest artists. Review and comments at

First Cut: Conversations with Film Editors; Gabriella Oldham (1995) Review and comments at

Five C’s of Cinematography, The; Joseph V. Mascelli (1965, reprinted 1998) “Camera angles, continuity, cutting, close-ups, and composition.” Often called “the Bible” of cinematography. Content description at

Grammar of the Edit; Roy Thompson (1993) Review and comments at

In the Blink of an Eye Revisited; Walter Murch, Francis Ford Coppola (2nd edition, 2001) Review and commentary at

Making Documentary Films and Reality Videos: A Practical Guide to Planning, Filming, and Editing Documentaries of Real Events; Barry Hampe (1997) A summary, but with solid basics and worth a look as a starting point. Review and comments at

Nonlinear – A Field Guide to Digital Video and Film Editing; Michael Rubin (2002) Review and comments at

Non-Linear Editing: Storytelling, Aesthetics and Craft; Bryce Button (2002) Comes with CD-ROM Review and comments at

On Film Editing; Edward Dmytryk (1984) One of the greats. Hard to find, worth the search. Reviews and comments at

Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos; by Alan Rosenthal

(3rd ed., 2002) Highly regarded work, first published in 1996. Review and comments at

Video Editing, Steven Browne (2002) a post production primer. Review and comments at

Video Editing and post production: a professional guide; Gary H. Anderson (1993) Review and comments at

Family History Videography

How to Create a Video Family History: The complete Guide to Interviewing and Taping Your Family’s Stories and Memories, Rob Huberman, Laura Huberman (2003) Review and comments at

Keeping Family Stories Alive: A Creative Guide to Taping Your Family Life and Lore, Vera Rosenbluth (1990) Review and comments at

Recording Your Family History: A Guide to Preserving Oral History with Videotape, Audiotape, Suggested Topics and Questions, Interview Techniques, William Fletcher (1989) Not a lot of material on video, but regarded as an excellent work book for those interested in family interviews. Short review at

Lighting

Lighting for Digital Video and Television; John Jackman (2002) Jackman is a contributing editor for DV Magazine Review and comments at This is an very fine book, touching all aspects of the subject.

Lighting for TV and Film; Gerald Millerson, BBC. (3rd edition, 1999) Excellent handbook for lighting displays, people – groups and action – guerilla lighting and lighting styles. At $62.95 it’s pricey, but a great addition to the library. Review and comments at

Method of Lighting the Stage, A; Stanley McCandless (1958), a book long out of print but worth its weight in gold if you can find a copy. This is one of the earliest texts (first edition in the 1930s) to articulate the theory that underpins all theatrical, film and video lighting, a truly seminal work. A search of the web will produce the occasional copy for sale.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting; Blain Brown (1995) Review and comments at

Placing Shadows: Lighting Techniques for Video Production; Chuck Gloman (2000) The emphasis here is on location lighting. Review and comments at

Magazines and Trade Papers

I have found the magazines and trade journals listed here to be of value for several reasons. Some provide an excellent overview of what the consuming public has come to expect, both in equipment and in entertainment values. This is information of great value to videographers in their efforts to stay current as artists, technicians and marketers. Others present some of the most forward-looking thinking in the profession of videography and film making. Finally, they provide an excellent resource for technical reviews and specifications of new equipment.

Some of these magazines and journals can be yours, as video professionals, free for the asking. It’s always worth a try. Check out individual web sites for criteria.

Advanced Imaging () Way beyond typical wedding and event videography, but a fascinating read and lots of information pertaining to topics such as surveillance video, computer recognition, video microscopy and image acquisition.

DV Magazine () Articles and reviews. Good resource for consumer and video professional alike. Useful on-line forums; registration required.

Forum moderators include John Jackman (lighting); Jay Rose (audio); Bruce A. Johnson (cameras) and Ralph LaBarge (DVD).

millimeter, the Professional Resource for Production and Post () Well written high-light vignettes of who’s who and what’s what in this month’s world of production and post. Not much depth, but lots of breadth.

Mix, Professional Audio and Music Production () Can’t-do- without resource for the audio world. Not specifically related to video, but filled with ideas and information that are readily adapted for our profession. Excellent in-depth reviews of new products.

Sound and Video Contractor () Useful because of its reporting on the latest equipment and installation methods, both for professional use and for home entertainment. Know what your clients are watching their video on. Latest issue contained articles on equipment ventilation, video format converters and TV One’s new universal video/RGB scaler. Earlier issues have included theatre sound systems, surround sound speakers, wiring for clean audio, and projection equipment.

TV Technology A biweekly trade journal aimed primarily at the broadcast video industry, but often offering equipment reviews of value to the event videographer, along with articles on lighting and shooting. Has an excellent classified ad section. Great place to locate good gear at a reasonable price!

Videomaker Magazine () Probably the best source on the newsstand for keeping in touch with what’s going on in consumer video and for understanding what the consumer public has come to expect as a minimum in video production.

VideoSystems: Shoot, Edit, Display, Integrate () Heavy-weight articles and reviews on latest video, audio and projection gear.

WEV: Wedding and Event Videography () The official publication of WEVA International. Best source for up-to-date information on the theory, practice and technology of the wedding and event videography profession.

Web Sites

The sites given here represent the cream of the crop, a listing compiled after examining hundreds of sites. The criteria for selection included relevance to video production and the business of video; the quality of information provided; and the product-neutrality of the article.

Credibility is always an issue with material on the WWW. Although a site may look good to me, you will have to judge its value for yourself. The commentary which accompanies each entry is my own, reflecting my reaction to the site. The inclusion of a site in this list does not an imply its endorsement by WEVA or by Wedding and Event Videography.

Quite a few of the entries are “portals,” sites that provide access to multiple videography oriented links. In some instances these portals are associated with a specific manufacturer, and often are cluttered with advertising. Nevertheless, they provide access to so many links that braving the flying banners and pop-up windows seems a small price to pay for this access.

Virtually all equipment manufacturers are represented on the web by readily accessible sites, so none have been included here. Only in two or three instances have sites been included that are product specific and these appear because of the unique aspect of the product. Their commercial nature is clearly indicated.

Audio

Applied Microphone Technology Musical instrument-specific microphone selection. A commercial site, but excellent information.

Audio Engineering Society “Audio related WWW Indexes Link.” Huge collection of links to audio resources. See also their , “Additional Audio and Music Related WWW Links.”

“Audio Masterclass: Basic Repairs” From the UK’s Computer Music site. An 18 part tutorial on making basic “repairs” – “mistakes and glitches” to audio. With lots of wave forms illustrating each event.

: Speech Technology Hardware An exhaustive list of links to manufacturers. If it’s not listed here it probably hasn’t been manufactured.

Digital Audio: Xbert Tutorials and Links It’s hard to tell at whom this site is aimed, but it contains quite a few excellent links to digital audio information, as well as tutorials some may find interesting and useful. The author has done a good deal of research. Worth a look.

Film Sound “dedicated to the art and analysis of film sound design.” Up to date information on current film audio, and excellent links to assorted audio topics. Glossary of audio terminology.

Location Sound Corporation: Links Excellent list of links to sites for audio manufacturers, organizations, sound mixers/recordists.

Microphones Articles at UC Santa Cruz arts site. Useful overview.

The Minidisc Community Portal Links to just about anything associated with minidisc recorders.

Music Connections Online Book Store Good selection of books dealing with digital audio and audio production, with a short review of each book. Linked to , where you can usually find additional reviews and comments, as well as examine the Table of Contents and Index for each book.

PcMus: Audio Recording Tips Numerous articles, tutorials and links associated with music and audio recording and audio gear.

Post it with DolbyE “A post production primer on DTV.” Also extensive articles on pro audio production at

Taking the Mystery out of Wireless Microphone Systems An article by audio-technica. General information.

The Walter Murch Articles Links to major articles and interviews on sound and film/video editing. Comprehensive, forming a bibliography of articles and books by and about this outstanding editor and sound designer.

Wireless Manufacturers Worldwide listing of 17 wireless microphone manufacturers.

Wireless Microphone Theory An article by the DJ Society. Good discussion of wireless microphone problems.

Books and Tutorials: Bibliographies

B&H bibliography of Photo and Video books and tutorials . Click on link to “Books and Tutorials.” Extensive bibliography on video and lighting. Be sure to look at the “Lighting for Photography” heading.

Books on Digital Video Production A personal bibliography, with links to

Video Production Books Reviewed A good place to visit before buying. The reviews are linked to

Calibration

ePHOTOzine An excellent article on monitor calibration techniques, by John Tinsley.

Monitor Calibration A tutorial by Thomas Niemann. Calibration instruments shown on line, so you can calibrate as you go. Deals with black point, white point and monitor gamma.

NTSC Video Measurements: Table of Contents A site maintained by Tektronix. Answers to just about anything you’ve ever wondered about using a vector scope and wave form monitor, TBC, genlock and color bars. Lots of other useful links on the site as well.

Camera

BBC’s DV Camera Shooting Guides (each about 10 minutes to work through). For VX1000 and VX2000, PD150, PD100. Guides developed for BBC shooters who need to grab an unfamiliar mini-camera and run for a story. Lots of tips on the setup and quirks of these cameras.

Color Balancing Cameras An exhaustive discussion, with excellent illustrations. Part of the CyberCollege Internet Campus series. See also the full Television Module

The Curse of Digital Video an article by Barry Braverman. Discusses the use of filters with DV cameras.

Gritty Video Heads in the Field A discussion of head cleaning and video tape damage.

Video Camera Filters for Removing Compression Artifacts and Simulating A Film Look

A short technical discussion of filter types, warming filters and white balance.

Yahoo Directory of Underwater Photography Supplies Numerous resources for specialized filters.

FilmTools Camera on-board video monitors and mounts. Wide variety of unusual and imaginative mounts, sun shades, etc. A commercial site.

Chromakey

Alice in Bluescreen Land: The art and science of optical compositing by Mark Christiansen. Both the content and artwork at this site are superb! Well worth the visit just to look at the photos. Takes you step by step through a complex chromakey set up, but one any of us could duplicate.

The Blue Screen Page An extensive article on the art and craft of chromakey, both in taping and post. By Steven Bradford, “Film / Video and Electronic Cinematography,” whose homepage contains numerous excellent links as well. Illustrated with photos.

Build a Blue Screen Tutorial by Nick Jushchyshyn. Takes us step by step through the installation of a blue screen wall in his basement studio. Nicely illustrated with photos of the project and results from a shoot.

Chromatte chromakey system O.k., this is a commercial advertisement; but if you’re doing a lot of chromakey work you should be familiar with this product. The Western Wisconsin Society of Broadcast Engineers, Chapter 112 has written a hands-on review of this product .

Editing for the Deaf Viewer Using chromakey in the preparation of video for deaf viewers. Special requirements for a special audience.



Filmtools Links to all you’ll ever need for chromakey work.

Replacing Photographic Backgrounds: Ultimatte and Other Great Techniques An excellent, well illustrated article

by John Henshall. This article first appeared in "The British Journal of Photography", 22/29 July 1998.

Surviving an Ultimatte Shoot An article by Bill Barrett and Eda Sherman detailing the procedure for a two camera Ultimatte shoot. Provocative and very informative, even if you never use Ultimatte, a specialized commercial compositing product.

24 Phat Tips for Chromakey Lighting a step by step tip sheet by Robbert-Jan van der Does, “a professional freelance cameraman/editor/director based in the Netherlands who's been working in the TV industry for almost 20 years.” Discusses both lighting and post production tweaks.

Copyright

“Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code Circular 92” The law is indexed at this web site. It’s also cross referenced by links. Pretty heavy reading, but it’s all here.

Copy Rites An archived article by Jay Rose at Good account of the intricacies of copyright issues.

Know your (copy) rights an article by Dr. Mary Lynn Nichols, Ph.D. Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro TN, a nationally known authority on media copyright issues.

A web site maintained by attorney Paul D. Supnik, with links to articles about every aspect of entertainment law.

Wired Law Law links for entertainment and new media.

Demo Reels

Demo Reels an article by Bill Davis. Good basic tips on preparing a demo reel to promote you and your business.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Demo Reels An article by Lori S. Wyman, a Florida based casting director. What producers need to see when casting film and video actors.

Making a DVD Video Portfolio An article by Sonja Schenk. Part One is at , Part Two at and Part Three at Videographers will know most of what’s in here, but it provides excellent information for a market many have not yet tapped: actors, dancers and musicians who need “demo reels” to display their talents.

Digital Products Review

DV and Firewire Central Excellent resource for new digital product reviews.

Digital Video Organizations

Digital Video Organizations The site, maintained by Rick Davis, is primarily “an informational resource for people involved in or curious about the standards, techniques, and technologies involved in digital video engineering.” Numerous links to professional organizations and government agencies (e.g., FCC, NAB, etc.) A link from Rick Davis’ home page and his Digital Video page as well.

DVD and VCD

Bitrate Calculator Free, downloadable tool, very handy for compression calculation. With complete instructions. Not the only one on the WWW (look up “bitrate calculator”) but one of the best.

Configuring TMPGEnc for high-quality, DVD-compliant MPEG-2

an article by Rui del-Negro, a Portuguese videographer. Valuable insight into the utilization of this tool.

An extensive list of links pertaining to video compression. Points to books, articles, on-line libraries, tutorials and references, standards, source code, etc. The site is maintained by Mark Nelson.

and VCD a site that has answers to many DVD and VCD questions. Has user-based compatibility checker. Extensive forum.

How are movies stored on DVD discs? DVD 101, useful to DVD first-timers, and for passing along to your customers. Includes links to player and compatibility issues.

MPG-4: Copying a DVD video to a CD-ROM Looks at issues of high quality video at low data rates.

Editing

Color Technology by Charles Poynton. “Poynton’s Gamma FAQ and Color FAQ.” A collection of down-loadable PDF files. Fairly technical, probably not for the faint of heart, although very interesting.

Color Temperature and Color Correction in Photography Very informative for the videographer as well.

Color Theory Links

Color Theory Tutorial Basic but thorough.

Digital Photo 01: Color Correction Theory An extensive list of tips and tutorials on the subject.

Editing for the Deaf Viewer. Special techniques for special viewers.



“Match Frame and Jump Cut: A dialectic theory of montage in the digital age.” Very heavy going, but fascinating if you’re into editing theory. - Jan Speckenbach (03/2000)

“Montagetheorie des Films - Theory of Filmediting” - Gerhard Schumm Online bibliography and numerous links to articles on editing practice and theory; in English and German.

“Notes on Digital Film Editing” . Gerhard Schumm

© 02/2001 “This text - translated by Rita Pokorny - is the modified English version of a formerly published article: Schumm, Gerhard (1997) Das Filmbild im Computer - dicht und oft zu nah.”

POV: The Danish Journal of Film Studies (no. 6, December 1998) An excellent collection of articles on editing theory and practice. , the parent site, is an excellent resource for anyone interested in film and video production.

Synthetic Aperture Tips short, well written articles on Firewire to video; converting between QuickTime and avi files; digital video and digital audio; digital video codices; tips for better digital video and for adjusting monitors.

“Thoughts on the technique and aesthetics of editing.” ; Timothy J. Allen, Senior Non-Linear Video Editor, NASA Langley Research Center.

“Using Transitions Professionally,” a good article by John Jackman on the use of transitions in editing.

Walter Murch Articles Links to major articles and interviews on sound and film/video editing. Comprehensive!

Film Look for Video

The Elusive Film Look An article by Randy Hoffner. In the “Technology Corner” of TV on line.

Film Look Techniques for Video An article by Dan Coplan. Extensive discussion of shooting and processing strategies.

Making Video Look Like Film An article by Shawn Bockoven Although written for FCP, the article contains information of value for anyone wishing to make video look like film.

Making Video Look Like Film: The complete list Links page from UrbanFox. High end and low end production. Not very complete!

Shoot Video to Look like Film (Take 2) A short article by David Crossman on the Video University site.

Forums

The Forums listed here are primarily gateway sites to huge collections of links which may be hardware and software specific, of a general interest nature, or specific to some special aspect of video production. The list does not include product specific forums.

Creative Cow Media Professionals Users Forums, . Great resource for just about anything hardware/software/business/or aesthetics related. Lurkers o.k., posting requires free registration. A great resource.

The Digital Media Network (DMN), . In addition to numerous articles and reviews, this very fine portal site has links to more than 180 software and hardware forum groups. For a small annual fee you can utilize the site free of pop-ups and other annoying advertising, a service called “MyDMN.” It’s worth it!

Digital Video Forum . May require registration. Worth a (quick) look.

DV Café Discussion Groups Not technically a forum but a Users List, hosted by DVshop.ca, an Ontario, Canada store devoted to the promulgation of digital video. The User’s link-list is one of the best.

and VCD a site that has answers to many DVD and VCD questions. Has user-based equipment compatibility checker, anecdotal and therefore possibly unreliable. Extensive forum on numerous topics.

DVD- , “DVD developer’s community . . . helping members build successful, profitable DVDs.”

Heavy emphasis on Adobe Encore, but general forums on “DVD authoring, video editing and software.” $49.95 for three month membership. Minimal access without it. You’re probably better off saving your money toward your next camera!

Lab DV digital video , a for-pay, multi-lingual site. I haven’t paid the $12 for a three month access, but from afar the site looks very interesting. The site mechanics – e.g., pull down menus – are a little quirky.

Post Production Forum “Macintosh Digital Video Resources.” Has several interesting forums dealing with post production issues, not all restricted to the Mac. Requires registration to post queries.

Tech Forums: Computer Technology Forums Free, but needs registration. Lots of computer and web information, including operating systems, computer hardware, etc., plus discussion of video issues as they pertain to the computer.

United Entertainment Media Web Communities . Links to forums for Cinematographer; Digital Camera; Design in Motion; Director’s World; Editor’s Net; Post Industry; VFX Pro and Videography.

Video University Community Forums A wide range of topics of interest to videographers.

Windows Movie Makers forum Movie Maker, Media Player, Media Encoder; hardware, software recommendations, articles, etc. Requires registration but is free.

Glossary

Digital Video Glossary Presented by Digital Post Production, a member of the Digital Media Net Community.

Film Sound Glossary of audio terminology.

Glossary of DVD terminology

Video Preservation: Glossary of Terms Developed by the Bay Area Video Coalition.

Industry Links

Time “TV Link Index,” with an amazing potpourri of links. Also an excellent source for stock footage, which can be previewed on line.

Legal Videography

Legal Videography in California: Forensic Videography An excellent resource for those interested in learning about this branch of the industry. A site maintained by Whitcomb Legal Video, Long Beach, CA. Clearly specific to California, but outlining issues to be raised regarding practices in your own state.

Lighting

“Basic Lighting: McCandless Technique” A highly condensed sketch of the lighting theory upon which virtually all modern theatrical and film lighting is based. Taken from A Method of Lighting the Stage; Stanley McCandless (1958), a book long out of print but worth its weight in gold if you can find a copy.

Bill Holshevnikoff handbook and articles on lighting. Holshevnikoff has been in the business a long time, and his instruction is first rate: clear, simple, right to the point. An excellent lighting primer.

Color temperature from the Olympus Microscopy Resource Center. An excellent basic interactive article. See also the Center’s basic article on light and color.



“The equipment we use: soft boxes, umbrellas and diffusion panels.” One of a series of short articles on photographic and lighting equipment by Scott Smith, photographer.

HID: The only choice for [underwater] Digital/Still Lighting Good discussion of white balance problems underwater, and the success of using high intensity (6000-6500 Kelvin) lights.

HMI lights, an article by Steve Smith in “The Digital Journalist.” . You’ll find other articles by Steve Smith at , along with many other articles on the techniques and theory of photojournalism. The Digital Journalist is a monthly e-journal, described by its publisher as “A Multimedia Magazine for Photojournalism in the Digital Age,” issues of which have been achieved from 1997 to the present. The archive is well indexed at

Music Books Plus An extensive catalog of lighting books. More than 6,000 titles on various subjects. See full listing of topics in General Videography section.

“Professional Lighting Resources” A wide ranging collection of links to lighting resources, theory, practice and history. Maintained by Bill Williams and Associates. A splendid resource. This site has move around a bit, and was gone missing for some time, so use it while you can.

“Step by step guide to video lighting systems;” David Martin Jacques (April 2003) in Church Production Magazine A very sophisticated article on the use of light for church video broadcasts. Since this is hosted on a university web site and therefore subject to removal from the web at any time, it would be a good idea to download this (with the author’s permission) if you have any interest.

Techniques- general and software specific. News – Features and Editorials . Part of the Digital Media Network

Video lighting, an excellent collection of links to materials including ARRI’s 28 page Lighting Handbook

“Video Lighting Illuminated” by Bill Miller

. (An article in VideoSystems, March 1, 2003), linked on the web. “Reviewed and recommended texts for your lighting library.” Small selection, good reviews.

Monitors

Calibrating Video Monitors A short article by Bob Currier of Synthetic Aperture

Drivers and Links: Video Monitors Site maintained by Hardware Secrets. Just what the name suggests. A most thorough listing. “Last updated on Oct-21-2002 “, and apparently now no longer supported. A real loss, but still of great value in finding a specific company or driver for your monitor.

e-: Video Display Technology Page A good article on fundamentals of monitor design and technology. Many interesting links throughout the article.

FilmTools On-camera video monitors and mounts. Wide variety of unusual and imaginative mounts, sun shades, etc. A unique commercial site.

GlobalSpec “The world’s largest database of technical products and services.” Entry for Video Monitors. If you’re looking for a specific monitor – e.g., with a special number of lines of resolution, or I/O locations -- this is the site to visit.

Image Resolution for the Video Monitor Screen A short but informative Wayne Fulton article, from his useful book on scanning

A huge list of links to monitor manufacturers and technical specifications.

“Reducing Eye Strain from Video and Computer Monitors” A thoughtful article by Charles Poynton, “an independent contractor specializing in the physics, mathematics, and engineering of digital color imaging systems, including digital video, HDTV, and digital cinema (D-cinema).”

Video Monitor Test Pattern Tutorial A publication from the Department of Radiology, Harvard University Medical School.

Photo Printing from the Computer

ePHOTOzine

an article on color management in computer printing to photos, by Dr Richard Hann.

Making Fine Prints in your Digital Darkroom A series of articles by Norman Koren. Navigating this site is a nightmare, but it contains lots of very good information about calibrating your monitor and printer to provide the best photos.

Production

CyberCollege Internet Campus This is an extraordinary resource, with articles – many with excellent graphics – on just about any topic related to video production, a total of 70 lessons. This is possibly one of the best instructional sites on the internet.

Focus Enhancements/Videonics maintains this very basic informational page, . It contains well written basic, intermediate and advanced articles, with good illustrations. Non-product specific.

Great A site hosted by John Jackman. Information areas include video signal; cameras; lighting; production and post; business. Tips are brief, but provide solid information on subjects from aperture settings to zebra bars.

Guide Book for Guerrilla Film Makers, James Arnett, author, is the Creative Director of the Arnett Digital Lab. In addition to the on-line book this site has links to several tutorials. The site design is annoying, but the content is interesting and useful.

Mandy’s Film and TV Production Directory – International film and TV production resources. Services (33,000 listings), casting calls, production jobs, classified ads, vendors, etc. A venerable site and service.

Music Books Plus An extensive catalog of lighting books. The site has more than 6,000 titles, with categories and links for lighting; film production; professional recording; recording videos and DVDs; audio production; video production; sound effects and libraries.

Ned Miller’s Video Production Resources. Link list maintained by Chicago videographer. Excellent.

Special Problems in video production for deaf viewers A 22 part series, prepared by the University of Hamburg, Germany, for the European Union. In- depth outline of issues from story telling methodology to lighting the signer, voice over techniques, sub titles, captions and marketing of the finished tapes.

“Steadicam Operator’s Manual of Style” Far from being a product endorsement, this provides a satiric look at a somewhat obscure part of the film and video industry. Good for a chuckle.

Studio1Productions: Articles, tips and other information relating to video practice and equipment. Good stuff. Non-product specific.

Video University An excellent resource for articles on the art, craft and business of videography. Be sure to check out their Special Resources for Video

Video University: Library. Free articles and guides. “Hundreds of pages of expert articles, guides and handbooks for video production.”

Scanning

A few scanning tips A site maintained by Wayne Fulton. This site is referenced by Eastman Kodak in their discussion of scanning. It appears from the amount of cross referencing to Mr. Fulton on the WWW that he is regarded throughout the world as something of a scanning guru.

David’s Desk This is a personal site maintained by “David” at the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium. “David’s Desk” contains numerous excellent links to information which deals with graphics generally, and with scanning specifically. The essay on histograms is heavy going, but worth the effort if you want the best scanned images possible.

Digital Photography and Imagine “Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983.” Several dozen articles on subjects as varied as “Secrets of Apple’s iPhoto software” to a whole series of articles dealing with scanning and digital imaging.

Of himself, Al Fasoldt says :  “I'm an editor and columnist at The Post-Standard newspaper in Syracuse, New York, USA and have written about computers and consumer technology since 1983. I write Technofile, a weekly newspaper column on consumer technology published in The Post-Standard on Sundays.” You can spend hours at this highly informative and authoritative site.

ePHOTOzine An article on avoiding moiré patterns when scanning from articles and books, by Peter Bargh.

ePHOTOzine

“Scanning Leaves,” an article which deals with difficult lighting problems when scanning three dimensional objects, by Peter Bargh.

Scan Numerous links to articles and books related to scanning issues. The site is a veritable sea of advertising: links are located on left-hand side of page.

Scanning tips and related sites Extensive collection of links, maintained by deskTop . Just about everything you ever wanted to know about scanners and scanning.

Scanning tips for the production artist Lang Graphics Inc. article on the arithmetic of scaling

Sullivan’s Online Scanning Resources Website Just what the name suggests!

Ulead Learning Center: Scanning tips Not product specific. Good solid discussion.

Software: Free and demo

Library. Free demo software: video editing; effects and streaming player software.

Streaming Media

An Introduction to Streaming Video

By David Cunningham and Neil Francis - May 2001, University of Bath, UK. A report on the problems of attempting to stream video content on the Internet, with extensive reference links.

Producing Streaming Video (and Audio) for the Web

An article by Philip Greenspun. A subjective look, based on the author’s experiences.

Shooting for the Web An article by Christina Fox (Urban Fox) A short article filled with tips for minimizing the size of video files for streaming.

Streaming Audio Primer: How to put streaming audio on the Internet A five part article on the topic. Talks about various products but only as their use applies to the subject matter. Good basic overview.

Streaming Media Calculator A free tool, it will “calculate the file sizes for each of the eight bit rates listed . . . and will also calculate the ‘Intelligent Stream’ and ‘SureStream’ file sizes for those bit rates.” bit ratescalculate file sizes for each of the eight bit rates we have listed. If you check any of the bit rates, it will also calculate the "Intelligent Stream" Streaming Video for the Masse

An article in WebMonkey, the on-line web developer’s resource, by Reno Marioni, 19 Jaunary,2001. Good discussion of streaming media issues.

Video On the World Wide Web

An article posted by Videonics. Good basic overview of the problems and strategies, with numerous links to software and hardware sites.

Video Over the Internet A very intense discussion, with lots of good links. Posted by RAD Data Communications.

Video Streaming FAQ Touches on just about every question you might have. Answers are somewhat generalized, but informative.

Tape Preservation and Restoration

Audio Preservation and Restoration, including some links to video and film preservation. A site maintained by John R. Gibbs, University of Washington Music Library. A huge bibliography of books and articles on these subjects, with numerous links.

Magnetic Tape Preservation: problems with magnetic tape An excellent, highly technical discussion of what goes wrong with magnetic tape.

Magnetic Tape Storage and Handling A Guide for Libraries and Archives. Dr. John W.C. Van Bogart. National Media Laboratory, June 1995. Lots of good information regarding the causes and prevention of tape degradation over time.

Metal Evaporated Tape (ME) Versus Metal Particulate (MP) Tape: Possibility versus Proven Durability. A white paper presented by the Quantum Corporation, 1998. Very technical, interesting.

Tape problems solved: Information on sound and video recovery. Guerilla salvage of problem tapes. Use at your own risk!

Video and Audio Tape Restoration. A commercial site, with lots of very good information about what to do when disaster strikes your tapes, tips on tape preservation, etc.

Video and Audio Tape Restoration A commercial site, with lots of very good information about what to do when disaster strikes your tapes, tips on tape preservation, etc.

Video History Project: Preservation An excellent discussion of restoring damaged reel-to-reel tape. (1987)

The Video Recovery Project A technical paper by James Hoagland, Peter Hull, and Carolyn Gimian. Details steps taken in the recovery and stabilization process. More of general interest than of practical value to the event videographer, but makes for good reading.

Videotape Restoration: Where do I start? A checklist and methodology for prioritizing videotape restoration with limited funds. By John Lindner of VidiPax, whose web site contains a great deal of information and excellent links as well.

Vintage Video Restoration of reel to reel tapes. DreamTime Productions, San Francisco CA. Provides a difficult to find service.

Technical Articles: Microsoft®

Microsoft Audio and Video Technical Articles.

Everything from Windows Media 9® to skin development kits for the Palm Pilot®.

Television and Film History

Early recordings of video, restored.

Early Television Foundation A wonderful collection of television facts and memorabilia.

Television history – the first 75 years. Begins pre-1935. Superb resource for those interested in the history of production and equipment in the industry.

Scene 1: Enter Future Film Maker From the pre-1930s to the present. A link from the ThinkQuest site.

Underwater Video

Gates Underwater Products Good site for underwater housings, monitors, etc.

HID: The only choice for [underwater] Digital/Still Lighting Good discussion of white balance problems underwater, and the success of using high intensity (6000-6500 Kelvin) lights.

Producing High Quality Underwater Videos An article by Ian Sutherland. Good discussion of both equipment and technique.

High Intensity Discharge: Understanding Halycon HID lighting A commercial site, with a good explanation of these high intensity lights, their performance and maintenance.

UKRC (uk.rec.scuba News Group web pages) The site contains links to underwater videography information.

Yahoo Directory of Underwater Photography Supplies numerous links to suppliers of photo and video equipment for divers.

A note on using URLs. Understanding the information contained in a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) can be extremely useful in digging out information on the Internet, especially when you’ve arrived at a poorly designed page that contains no links and no indication of its parent site.

Lets examine , to see how this works. “http” -- “hypertext transfer protocol” -- is a way of telling your computer “here comes something in the hypertext format.” “www,” of course, indicates that this is a World Wide Web document. “,” the domain name, is the name of a specific web site, unique from all others. It is also the name of the primary directory in which all the web site documents are stored. “/issue0102/” is the name of a sub-directory in which other documents are stored -- in this case the articles and illustrations from a specific issue -- and it is in this subdirectory that we find a file called “videosmith.htm.”

Understanding this structure enables us to work backward to the parent site. If we delete “videosmith.htm” and press the ENTER key we get a listing of all the files in the “/issue0102/” sub directory. Delete “/issue0102/” and press ENTER and you’ll come to the parent directory, the Digital Journalist web site.

In another example of how a little tinkering can yield a flood of information, an article about making “Demo Reels” at ,

indicates that there will be two additional articles in the series, but there are no links to these articles. On a hunch, I changed the number one in “dvd1.html” to “2” and found the second installment, the number “2” to “3” to find the third.

URLs typically have a logical structure that, once penetrated, opens the way to lots of additional information. Try it for yourself. You can’t break anything.

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