Any good documentary books?

Found this one to be the best:

Making Documentary Films and Reality Videos : A Practical Guide to Planning, Filming, and Editing Documentaries of Real Events by Barry Hampe
 
I'd sooner make a movie about how to write a book than read a book to leaqrn how to make a movie.
 
No not really,

I read one, it would have been better if She made a dvd about it or an audio book.

It's 373 pages.

Documentary Storytelling (second edition) by: Sheila Curran Bernard
 
grinner said:
I'd sooner make a movie about how to write a book than read a book to leaqrn how to make a movie.
Click to expand...

Huh - if you completely shy away from reading books to improve, it's certainly great you have our dvxuser group forum to sharpen your skills.

Actually, I also enjoy multi-media (CDs, DVDs, audiocast/podcasts, etc) as an educational medium but I wouldn't expect much to compare with the books mentioned above. And while director's commentaries like Ken Burns are intriguing and inspirational, they certainly aren't "how-to" works. Besides, simply making the movie is maybe 10-20 percent of the overall effort from concept to distribution.

Regards, Michael
 
10-20 percent?
Where did you come up with those figures?
Of course, it varies... mainly around pre-production.
I guess my point is I were set out to learn to cook, I'd head for the kitchen, not the library.
 
Just a SWAG on the numbers and I agree the pre-production increment is a big variable. To be sure, Michael Moore invests fewer hours on research and script development than Ken Burns. Post-production effort is another big variable, but someone is responsible for all the M&A and distribution efforts, a big time sink to say nothing about all the G&A details.

The point I was trying to make is, for many these books provide invaluable instruction on the business side of filmmaking. Yes, we love to cook in the kitchen but that's a small part of running a successful restaurant business.

Consider Robert Rodriguez book "Rebel Without a Crew." While it's a great read from the perspective of the director, DP and scriptwriter, much can be learned (and is written) about the post-production side of the business.

Happy trails, Michael
 
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