Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know
by Jennifer Van Sijll
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jennifer Van SijllEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-08-01
ISBN: 193290705X
Number of pages: 257
Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions
Book Reviews of Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know
Book Review: Don't Let Good Reviews Fool You
Summary: 1 Stars
I read many reviews before I commit to getting a book. Because this book was so well reviewed, I thought it would be perfect.
I am a screenwriter and I recently directed my first commercial. I turned to this book to expand my visual vocabulary. I expected to see many visual conventions explained in graphic detail that I could adopt or at least be aware about.
Don't let the reviews fool you. This book is academic jargon. Deconstructionist dribble. Postmodern silliness. It is not -- I repeat, NOT -- practical cinematic storytelling devices put on paper by a working professional, but reads more like an undergraduate film student's take on Citizen Kane, Raging Bull, etc...
If you like film criticism, great. But this book claims to be a resource for screenwriters hoping to use a richer visual technique, or for directors who need to know the most common shots and visual conventions.
So you understand what I am saying, understand: the very first chapter/point is "The Horizontal Axis." Our young author -- with no real experience -- then goes on to relate how often times good characters move from left to right, and villains move from right to left. If you don't see how annoying and impractical and just plain theoretical this book can be, let me choose another example.
Chapter 14: Triangular Composition.
Using the film "Witness" as an example, our naive author goes on to show how the filmmakers used triangles to show a love triangle between three central characters. First of all, there isn't any use of triangles in any obvious way, even in the picture she chose. Second of all, because she overlays the screenplay, you can see how there is no notion as such in the screenplay as well. Worst of all, the author then claims that the other elements in the frame --a birdhouse, picket fence -- are themselves triangular and part of the thematic message.
This is the BS that they taught me in college English courses. This is what they call deconstructionism where the author's intent has nothing to do with a reader's ability to derive whatever meaning they want.
If you are looking for a good practical shot guide, or anything to expand your moviemaking technique, do not get this book. It is not written by a filmmaker. A PA would no more about film than this woman.
If you like post-modern crap, then get this book. I wish I could get rid of it.
More Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know reviews:
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Summary of Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know
What the industry's most succcessful writers and directors have in common is that they have mastered the cinematic conventions specific to the medium.
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