iv Video Digital Communication & Production
About This Edition
Since the previous edition of this book, the pace of innovation in video has increased to
a breathtaking speed. Today…
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…tape is being supplanted as the primary video recording medium.
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…both professional and amateur still cameras have added high-defi nition audio/
video capabilities.
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…shirt pocket cameras, mobile phones, and other personal electronic devices have put
high-defi nition video recording in the hands of millions of casual users. These people
are also using their personal devices to distribute and watch video, as well as shoot it.
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…digital cameras have grown so popular in Hollywood that cinematography journals
and websites devote as much space to video as to fi lm. And whether a program is
recorded on fi lm or video, all postproduction is now, essentially, digital.
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…digital broadcasting and widescreen high-defi nition TV sets have revolutionized the
way people look at television.
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…many viewers now consume video on the desktop rather than in the den, with
movies and TV programs available for downloading on demand, and thousands of
short videos uploaded to Internet sites every day.
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…commercials inspired (or actually produced) by amateurs have been shown on
network and cable TV.
Meanwhile, video hardware and software have kept pace with these developments.
File-based recording systems are changing the production workfl ow, from preproduction
through postproduction. Ultra low-power LED units are revolutionizing lighting. Editing
programs are increasing their capabilities to keep pace with computer technology, while
streamlining their interfaces to fl atten the user learning curves.
To address these innovations and developments, we have revised every chapter in
the text (substantially rewriting half of them) and have provided over 400 new or revised
graphics. Most of these revisions are intended to update topics treated in earlier editions of
the book. However, one completely new chapter covers script writing for several key video
genres, and the chapter on analog postproduction has been sent into honorable retirement.
Once again, the author and publisher hope we have improved the book in the process of
updating it. We cordially invite readers to e-mail corrections and suggestions to www.g-w.com.
As always, we hope that Video: Digital Communication & Production will enhance your
pleasure in creating videos as much as it increases your skills.
Jim Stinson
Portland, Oregon
www.jimstinson.com