Placing Shadows, Third Edition: Lighting Techniques for Video Production

Book Description

A mix of theory and practical applications, Placing Shadows covers the physical properties of light and the selection of proper instruments for the best possible effect. For the student, advanced amateur, and pros trying to enhance the look of their productions, this book examines the fundamentals and is also a solid reference for tips on better performance.

* Heavily illustrated in full color!

* Covers the fundamental properties of light as well as many tips and tricks

* Includes up-to-date equipment and techniques such as lighting for High Def, HMI lighting, etc.

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Customer Reviews:

No Technique - thin on using shadows for anything.......2007-04-04

Reviewer Joel (CA United States) is 100% correct: This book's description and all of the other reviews are completely misleading. The book is thin on content at this price range and doesn't even truly cover the subject of "Placing Shadows", and, other then building off of a foundation of the standard 3 point lighting system, it doesn't provide any techniques to do anything with shadows at all.

What it does provide is a good easily understood explanation of color and the measurable aspect of temperature along with definitions of the various existing light bulbs, their properties and color temperatures. But if you are at the stage where you're looking to buy a book to help you with using shadows then you should already know everything this book has to offer on this subject. And if not this isn't the book to get it from.

This book is not what I thought it would be as I was expecting some advanced knowledge on creatively using lights to create shadows that would enhance my productions. What I got was a rehash of the basics of illuminating a subject, with illumination as the key word.

If you want to learn lighting for video go get one of the lesser costing setup books that have page after page of diagrams of different sets and the various positions of where the lights should go.

This is not the book to help you learn about using shadow techniques to enhance your production as it is more a book about light bulbs and their color temperatures.

Oh, yeah, the second edition's cover is completely different and looks like a cheeply produced self published paperback book.

Now I have only one question: Where do I get a refund?

Placing Shadows.......2005-12-21

Placing Shadows in an appropriate title for this book. Shadows are the 3rd dimension of lighting ignored by many video professionals. The book explains in depth, the spectrums and characteristics of different types of light. Most books don't go into these explanations except 400 level college video classes. By doing so, it gives a basis to go on to discussing the many assorted manufactures lights and their practical use. Not just hypothetical lighting situations, but actual sets, from office settings to exercise videos. Also acknowledging, every set is completely different and must be lit by what is necessary to create the look you need.
Additionally this book, described how to set up your monitor by using different color bars and using waveform monitors and vector scopes, something that many college graduates were never taught how to do, like ME! If a student learns and retains everything in this book you will be ahead of all you peers and will understand what is being done on a set when they're in the real world of video.

Good info if you want to know how a light bulb is made........2003-08-26

I have a background in photography so using tungsten lighting is not new to me. I thought this book would have more technique then I was led to believe.

It does have some great info on how a light bulb is created and the various parts but is not very fulfilling. this book is not what I thought it would be like and
the reviews from others are misleading.

It goes over various lighting setups, any photography book covers this and skims over ratios. It explains color meters in short detail but it would be great to have more "meat" to hang on to then the author's bad grammar and old sayings. He suggests that you learn by doing. enough about his experiences, show me something I don't know how to do!

If you want to learn lighting for video, this is not the book to buy. If you want to learn about light bulbs and color tempatures of tungsten lights then this book delivers.

I give it a 2 stars because it does have some merit but not in the area of lighting technique. For a really thin book, its not worth the price even if you get a discount.

Puts ligth on the life of beginers and pros.......2002-04-20

I belive this book can be very helpful for people who want to make films, either as a guide to create a nice looking product or as a general idea of how ligth works for the image, this book is a great begeaning in every cinematographer's career.

Great introduction to "Art" of lighting........2001-11-10

As a beginning Videographer I found this book a great introduction to the many different lights and techniques used in obtaining good video. The book is also very current on what is available today. I feel it could have been a little more in-depth, but for the price and length I found it well worth buying and reading. The authors write in a very "readable" style that educates you but doesn't bore you. Highly recommended.

Book Description

As James T. Kirk prepares to retire from a long and illustrious Starfleet career, events in a distant part of the Federation draw him back to a part of the galaxy he had last visited as a young man, a mysterious world called Faramond whose name takes Kirk on a journey back to his youth.

At sixteen, Kirk is troubled, estranged from his father, and has a bleak future. However, a trip into space with Kirk's father George and Starfleet legend Captain Robert April changes James Kirk's life forever, when a simple voyage becomes a deadly trap. Soon Kirk and his father find themselves fighting for their lives against a vicious and powerful enemy.

Before the voyage ends, father and son will face life and death together, and James T. Kirk will get a glimpse of the future and his own best destiny.

Customer Reviews:

A chronicle of the events that turned the rebellious Jimmy Kirk into Captain James T. Kirk.......2007-06-17

Like so many of the greatest commanders in history, James T. Kirk was a rebellious teenager, driving his Star Fleet father George Kirk to the brink of frustrated parental defeat. In his first attempt to show his son what Star Fleet was all about, Jimmy Kirk experienced the brutality of Kodos' own brand of survival techniques. When Jimmy leads his gang in an attempt to run away on an ocean ship, George tries one last time to alter his son's life course.
Although the mission is designed to be a "milk-run", it turns out to be much more than that. George Kirk, Captain Robert April, Jimmy Kirk and several other Star Fleet members are observing a unique star formation in a small craft when a pirate ship attacks them. They put up a good fight but when they think that they are about to be destroyed, they put Jimmy in a makeshift survival pod and try to send him out of danger. However, Jimmy has other ideas and proceeds to attack the pirate ship and disable them long enough for his father and shipmates to join in the fight. They manage to defeat their opponents, one of which is a boy genius who has somehow managed to develop a new and revolutionary shield technology.
There is a later story intertwined with this one. Years later Kirk is an admiral and the time frame is right after "The Undiscovered Country." The Enterprise is about to be decommissioned when it is forced to answer a distress call from one of the newest models of starships. When they arrive, Kirk finds himself confronting an old nemesis with delusions of godhood.
This book is an excellent glimpse into the troubled teen years of the strong-willed Jimmy Kirk and the circumstances that turned a potential sociopath into one of the finest commanders Star Fleet ever produced.

Best Destiny = Boring!.......2005-07-28

Ok so here we have a book that shows James T. Kirk as a punk kid being a belligerant goof who turns his life around with one dramatic moment. It would be great if it were more believable. There's too much melodrama in this. Yeah he's James T. Kirk but he's not the most influential force in the history of the genre. I thought the action was good but at times dragged out. His interactions with Engsign Veronica Hall were the worst. It's an ok story with some good background. It glosses over his relation with siblings and mother as well.

Star Trek: Best Destiny.......2002-12-06

Star Trek: Best Destiny written by Diane Carey is a flashback novel of James T. Kirk. This book mixes the past with the present in the Trek genre.

James T. Kirk is seen as a teenager wanting to show his father that he can and will be worthy of wearing the Starfleet uniform someday. This is the first adventure we get to read about where James T. Kirk plays a sugnificant role. There is personal danger, self-discovery, and unparalleled adventure.

We read about James T. Kirk about to retire from his long tenure with the fleet. Now, events draw him back to a youthful adventue with his father George and Captain Robert April. A part of the galaxy only left in James Kirk's memory, a world called Faramond, mysterious in nature Kirk takes us back when he was sixteen years old.

Although he was estranged from his father he admired what his father did for him, but Captain Robert April changes James Kirk's life forever. This is a good Father-Father image/ son book. The adventure now only in James' memory they face life or death... but a glimpse of the future sets James T. Kirk on a Trek of his own... best destiny.

Best Destiny Rules@@@.......2002-04-21

Rarely do authors dig into the past of major series characters, but Diane Carey does a magnificent job here! I've read this book dozens of times, and I find something new that I'd missed the time before! The skill with which Carey uses flashbacks to tell the entire story of Kirk's last mission is amazing, and we get one of the best glimces into Kirk's younger years than had ever been presented in print, small, or large screen formats. We also are introduced to several new people that molded Kirk into the best captain in Starfleet, his in-and-out father, Commander George Kirk, and Captain Robert April, the first captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Anyone calling themselves a Trekker should buy this book and read it often!!!!

A good read, James T. as in teenager..........2000-08-08

In all the Star Trek lore that's been written over 30 plus years, it's rare to see books that delve into the past of the primary characters in anything other than alternate realities or brief flashbacks. More of this book takes place in Kirk's teenage years than in the "present" (Kirk's last voyage before the Enterprise "A" gets mothballed). I hate reviews that ruin good books by giving away major plot points, so I'll resist. Overall, the flashback scenes really make the story while the current events are less interesting. The end of the "present" events are anticlimactic compared the the end of the flashback events, but kudos to the Authors for further fleshing out characters from earlier books: Captain Robert April (first Captian of the original Enterprise), Commander George Kirk (Jimmy's father), and Kirk's right hand man Drake (great comic relief). McCoy & Spock sadly are reduced to small roles, but the book is, after all, a story about a young Jimmy Kirk, and in that respect it does an admerable job.

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Is this really "the best"?
Definitely recommended!
A SMALL TASTE OF A GREAT COMIC SERIES
Truly the "best" of Trek comcics

The Best of Star Trek
Mike W Barr
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1563890097

Book Description

The Best of Star Trek- is an omnibus edition that gathers 8 issues of the DC Comics Star Trek series, including "Mortal Gods" (set in the time between Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) from 1984 and the three-part story "The Trial of James T. Kirk" (set between Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) from 1990. It includes an introduction by Nicholas Meyer, director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and a foreword by Robert Greenberger, the Editor of Star Trek for DC Comics.

Customer Reviews:

Is this really "the best"?.......2005-12-16

THE BEST OF STAR TREK claims to present the best stories from the DC Comics series, focusing on the crew of the Enterprise from Star Trek: The Original Series (STTOS). I am not that well-versed in the DC Comics incarnation of the original crew, but I can say that these stories do not inspire me to read others in the series (the Mirror Universe Saga excepted).

When summarized, the basic plots of the stories contained here don't sound that bad. The first story, "The Final Voyage", features the end of the original five-year mission, bringing back the more human-looking Klingons and the Talosians. "Mortal Gods" shows the crew investigating the disappearance of a Starfleet Officer, to find that he has violated the Prime Directive in a catastrophic way. The third story, "Double-Blind", features the Enterprise's involvement in a stand-off between two alien civilizations that are not as fearsome as their reputations would lead one to believe. "Retrospect" details the history of Scotty's first love, gradually moving backwards in time to their first meeting. The final story, "The Trial of James T. Kirk", has Kirk facing the charge of repeated violations of the prime directive, with numerous characters from the TV series returning to either witness for or against him.

To the point I can tell, these adventures are arranged to fit well enough with the TV series and movies, but writers Mike Barr, Diane Duane, and Peter David don't distill their ideas very well. Consider that this book is 240 pages, but there are only five stories, consisting of multiple issues in some cases - when the stories aren't all that great to begin with, stretching it out to two or three times the regular length is pure torture. In addition, there is too much reliance on witty banter between Enterprise crewmembers that is used to the point of overkill. The attitudes of the crew in most of the stories are so casual that you wouldn't think they were ever aware of any danger. STTOS was not primarily a comedy, but an adventure show... so let's have more adventure! In conclusion, if you really want to read the best of Star Trek, pick up the trade paperback STAR TREK: THE MIRROR UNIVERSE SAGA.

Definitely recommended!.......2000-05-04

As an enthusiast of TNG comics, this is definitely an assortment of the best. It can't include them all, but The gift, the story of Q, is probably the best written and illustrated, with accurate depictions of facial features, expressions, gestures. It's like 3rd-4th season Next generation episodes!

A SMALL TASTE OF A GREAT COMIC SERIES.......1998-07-11

THE BEST OF STAR TREK is a good sample of the wonderful DC STAR TREK comic series. The choice of stories gives people a good idea on what to expect in the rest of the series.The whole "The Trial Of James T. Kirk" story is good in itself,but the other stories chosen are very good as well.A very nice addition to any STAR TREK collection even if you have all of the single comics.

Truly the "best" of Trek comcics.......1998-04-14

If you're looking for the best of Star Trek in the comics medium, look no further. Peter David and Mike Barr are the two best Trek comic writers ever, and this collection proves it! No Star Trek fan will want to miss "The Trial of James T. Kirk" Humor, adventure, science fiction and those characters we've all come to know and love, written by authors who obviously love this series! What more can you ask for?

Average customer rating:

The Best of Trek = Trek at it's Best.
The Best of Trek
Best Book I've read.

The Best of Trek (Star Trek)

Manufacturer: Roc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451454634

Customer Reviews:

The Best of Trek = Trek at it's Best........2000-10-07

I'f you've never read Trek magazine (or even heard of it),don't worry. You're not alone. Until i read this book, i thought the only Star Trek mag was Communicator. Ignoring that, I picked up the book and startred reading. It was full of opinions, facts and debate. It had lots of interesting topics, like who would be my most logical woman for Spock, How Star Trek movies are like literature, and why Classic Trek is better than the '90s trek shows (my favourite). The Best of Trek is Trek at it's Best.

The Best of Trek.......2000-10-07

If you've never read anything from "Trek - The Magazine for Star Trek fans" , don't worry, you're not the only one. I haven't. When i got this book, the only Star Trek Magazine was the official one, Communicator.So, ignoring the fact, I read it, originally thinking it was a fanfiction book. But it was actually a book about facts, opinin and debate. It had intresting situations, about characters from the series, Classic Trek vs 90's trek, Trekkie conventions and more.The book got me more interested in Star Trek itself, and would highly reccomended it for any Trekkie, casual viewer, or someone who is just slightly interested in.

Best Book I've read........1997-12-24

Only book I've read.

The Best and the Brightest (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

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Trek Novel for P-Platers
What is goin' on now?!
love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Where no one has gone before.
An excellent and refreshing Star Trek novel!!!

The Best and the Brightest (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Susan Wright
Manufacturer: Star Trek
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0671015494

Book Description

Meet a new generation of cadets: a newly joined Trill just beginning the first of many lives; a Bajoran Vedek who finds himself torn between his vows and an unspoken love; a reckless young man fond of pushing the limits; a feline alien raised among humans; a brilliant but immature young woman with a lot to learn; and a native-born Earth woman with a talent for engineering.

Together they will learn about courage, life, teamwork, and themselves. Their future is just beginning -- but one of them will not survive!

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Every year, Starfleet Academy in San Francisco attracts many of the most talented and ambitious young people in the Federation. They come from all over the Alpha Quadrant, from hundreds of worlds and species, to prepare themselves for the challenges of the final frontier. Meet a new generation of cadets: a newly joined Trill just beginning the first of many lives; a Bajoran Vedek who finds himself torn between his vows and an unspoken love; a reckless young man fond of pushing the limits; a feline alien raised among humans; a brilliant but immature young woman with a lot to learn; and a native-born Earth woman with a talent for engineering. Together they will learn about courage, life, teamwork, and themselves. Their future is just beginning-- but one of them will not survive!

Customer Reviews:

Trek Novel for P-Platers.......2007-01-10

The Best and the Brightest lets you experience the lives and times of Starfleet Academy students. Although this novel would naturally appeal to 18-21 year olds, who wish to read about shared experiences of young love and university jealousies, it was also pleasing to see that heteronormativity isn't the only option acceptable as 'the norm' in the future. Susan Wright does include a same-sex relationship between to female classmates - bravo to her for being prepared to 'Go Boldly where no other Star Trek episode has gone before', although there were episodes that danced around the fringes. An enjoyable, light read that could have benefited more from not trying to include to many protagonists and plots. Would still recommend it happily.

What is goin' on now?!.......2005-08-17

This novel is obviously geared towards teens, but why is there an active homosexual pursuit from one character to convert a hetrosexual to her own sexual disorientation?

What is the author trying to prove? I feel the same way towards hetrosexual people: don't strut around saying what you do in the privacy of your own home. There are LESS that 1/10 of 1% of homosexuals in the general population, but this book makes it seem that homosexuality is normal and should be pursued.

Does the author have a political agenda to an otherwise good story?

Leave your romps at home. We don't want to hear it.

love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2005-02-26

I love this book.I wish they would make this book in to a serise.

Where no one has gone before........2004-03-19

There will, undoubtedly, be people disappointed with this book because it has only cameo appearances by the familiar characters; the story centers around the Starfleet Academy years of six cadets, from around the time of the episode "Time's Arrow" through slightly after the "Generations" movie. The author does a fine job of integrating the known background of the series into a story about people only marginally touched by those events, but the real story is a very touching coming-of-age story. As such, it is very different from what we've come to expect in a "Star Trek" novel, but there is enough action that anyone who reads these books for the action should be satisfied, even if the action is mostly episodic and does not provide the overarching storyline, which focusses primarily on character development.

What makes this book special is the two love stories it contains, both between pairs of the primary characters. In both cases, this is treated in a very unusual way (and one that I would dearly love to see more often): the people in question first get to know one another, then become friends, and only later fall in love and pair off. This remarkably sensible form of love story is doubtless considered very unromantic by some, thanks to the standard "Romeo and Juliet" love stories that we've all been force-fed since before we knew enough to resist them, in which the couple fall in love first, and only then (sometimes) get to know one another and become friends. Anyone with an ounce of sense knows that this story's take on the concept is the best way to go about things, but there are way too few people out there with an ounce of sense.

What REALLY makes this book special, however, is that one of the couples in question is two women. Taking the great tradition instituted by Gene Roddenberry that Star Trek is set in a world where all of the prejudices, biases, and disputes that so upset our century have long since ceased to be issues where it has never been taken before, Wright tells a love story between two women in which the words "lesbian", "gay", and "homosexual" never appear, and in which none of the characters find it at all odd or worthy of comment that the two friends/acquaintances of theirs who are in love happen to be of the same gender. In neither love story is sexuality more than hinted at; still, the pairbonding is clear and unambiguous, and totally unashamed.

A beautiful novel.

An excellent and refreshing Star Trek novel!!!.......2002-07-16

The Best and the Brightest is right on time. I read all the Star Trek books in all the incarnations and the ones like this are a real treasure. To me it is wonderfull to get outside the box of the normal Trek book. I have to admit that I was initially a little shocked about the lesbian thing, being not normal in the Star Trek books. It's all good though, being the twenty fourth century, I'm hopeful that by then all the stigma will be nothing but history. Overall a very wonderful book that gives life to some new characters and intermixes them into some of the events we've seen on the screen. If you've not purchased and read this one, you're missing out on some of the best work in the Trek world. This book is in very good keeping with the "Great Bird of the Galaxie's" ideas, principles and philosophy. Get this one while you still can before it goes out of publication. A huge thank you to the author for this one!

The Best of Enterprise Incidents: The Magazine for Star Trek Fans

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The Best of Enterprise Incidents: The Magazine for Star Trek Fans
James Van Hise , and Hal Schuster
Manufacturer: Movie Publisher Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1556982313

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The Best of Star Trek
Mike, Diane Duane, Peter David Barr
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Best of Star Trek: 4
Walter; Love G.B. (editors) Irwin
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Best of the Best of Trek 2

Manufacturer: Roc Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451451597

The Best of the Best of Trek Part One: The Definitive Collection for Star Trek Fans (Best of Trek)

Average customer rating:

Great!

The Best of the Best of Trek Part One: The Definitive Collection for Star Trek Fans (Best of Trek)

Manufacturer: Roc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451455584

Customer Reviews:

Great!.......2000-09-18

While I would not reccomend this for a simply casual fan, this book offers insightful essays into the universe of Star Trek. It's thought provking and insightful into the world of Trek. Absolutely brilliant.

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The Best of Trek #2 (Star Trek)

Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Product Description

From the magazine for Star Trek fans! Captain Kirk's little black book, The rise and fall of the Federation, Gateways between the Solar Systems, Speculations on Spocks past... These are just a few of the topics covered in this fascinating exploration of the many worlds of Trek.

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