Video: Digital Communication & Production

Jim Stinson 2nd Edition, 2008

Jim Stinson has spent most of his career as a writer, producer, director, videographer, and/or editor of educational and corporate video programs.  He has taught film production at Art Center College of Design, film studies at California State University, Los Angles, and video production at La Canada High School in California.  For twelve years, he was a columnist and contributing editor at Videomaker magazine.  Recently, Jim has been presenting a dozen or more seminars annually on video production.

This is a comprehensive textbook designed as a complete introductory course in video-the 21st century hybrid of television and film techniques that is the future of all media production. The word digital has been added to the title of this book for this second edition, reflecting the fact that video production is now entirely digital, from the camcorder at one end to the DVD at the other.  The computer has also taken over film-based production so completely that, outside of certain technicalities of lighting and cinematography, a person trained in video can work in film with equal confidence.

The text is presented in six major sections.  Chapters 1 and 2 get students out making videos immediately. Chapters 3 though 8 cover video communications; the concepts and principles behind the hardware and production techniques.  Chapters 9 and 10 present the crucial process of preproduction: preparing to make successful programs.  This second edition includes expanded material on scriptwriting for different video genres.  Chapters 11 through 16 introduce all major aspects of videography, lighting, and audio.  The chapters on lighting have been reorganized and expanded from two to three, to clarify procedures and include more solutions for practical lighting problems.  Chapters 17 and 18 survey the art of directing—both the camera and the people it records.  Chapters 19 through 24 explain the basics of post-production.  In this new edition, the original four chapters on post-production have been largely replaced by six new or heavily revised units that treat digital editing in greater depth, including professional-level DVD authoring.

CONTENTS

1. About Video

2. Getting Started

3. Video Space

4. Video Time

5. Video Composition

6. Video Language

7. Video Sound

8. Video Communications

9. Program Development

10. Production Planning

11. Camera Systems

12. Camera Operation

13. Lighting Tools

14. Lighting Design

15. Lighting Applications

16. Recording Audio

17. Directing for Content

18. Directing for Form

19. Editing Operations

20. Editing Principles

21. Digital Editing

22. Mastering Digital Software

23. Authoring DVDs

24. Analog Editing

 

Video: Digital Communication & Production

Workbook

This useful supplement includes 75 activities and mini-projects (2-5 per chapter) that allow the students to apply their knowledge and practice newly learned skills.  The workbook also includes Reading Review questions and a Vocabulary Review exercise for each chapter.

 

Video Production Instructor’s CD

by George R. Moll and Catherine Sobek Moll

As a companion product, The Video Production Instructors' CD is a teaching approach based on ten video production projects spread over two semesters.  It is fully correlated with the text book to enhance and expand the students’ understanding of video principles and techniques.  The ten high-student-interest projects on the CD have been extensively classroom-tested and refined by the authors.

Among the projects are an interview, commercial, stop-action animation, video montage, instructional video, documentary, music video, and public service announcement.  Reproducible masters for student project packets, PowerPoint presentations, and examples of student video productions are provided.  The CD also includes answer keys for both the Video:Digital Communications & Production text and workbook, allowing it to serve as an Instructors Manual.

Books

Suggested Grade Level is 8th — College

 

Sold Separately