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Average Customer Rating:

At last, the book that tells you what you really want to know

Customer Rating:

What a great book. Concise with well thought-out chapters. Figgis writes in his own voice without self-promotion. This is really essential reading for anyone embarking on independant film making with a digital camcorder. He covers all aspects including your relationship with actors. This is not a technical how-to textbook, it's about the kind of experiences you would only get from working along side an experienced director.

Don't be without it.

Customer Rating:

This book made me realise how easy it can be to make your own films and get involved with other peoples. It gave me the confidence to just go out and get my own first camera without panicking over whether it was 'the right one'. It has great tips for when you are working on a budget and is a great encouragement to just go out and give it a go. It gives practical tips, interesting and inspirational advice and is a quick and easy read that can be carried around with you wherever you go. I loved it and often use it as a point of reference.

very useful book

Customer Rating:

I really liked this book. It was very personal and most useful. There are loads of books out there about how to do this and that. What I wanted was some great advice. For starters know your equipment inside out, get a book and write notes about how your settings work, try different combinations. I thought that might be obvious to some but it was inspirational to me. Another great tip was treasure your equipment. Keep it immaculate, really clean especially the lens, otherwise big blobs appear on the big screen! Its got a lot of really good points which I found most useful. I like the fact that he talks about his work, his passion, his attention to every detail. It's important and very useful. Without passion nothing get done to the highest levels.

Anyone can make a film

Customer Rating:

This is a truly inspiring book for any aspiring film-maker. Though it is by no means a "how to" manual it nonetheless equips the reader with a sense that there really is no barrier to creating a film with next to no budget and minimal equipment. Figgis points out that ideas, ingenuity and vision are the essential tools of the film director rather than expensive equipment and a professional crew. The style of the book is conversational and full of anecdotes (some useful and illuminating others simply reminiscences) from Figgis' own film-making experiences. For me the book is most useful on lighting, on which subject Figgis gives some really practical and surprising tips, and working with actors, where his insights into the motivations and insecurities of that profession could save the novice director a lot of grief! Altogether a useful and highly readable addition to the aspiring film-makers bookshelf.

Lacking in Detail	Customer Rating:
Hmmm. . . This is a good book, I certainly found it inspiring and it's full of illuminating little hints. However, it's also very short and lacking in detail. Not a 'how to', more of an 'I did'.