Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
iv
About the Fourth Edition
Since the previous edition of this book, the pace of innovation in video has continued at
a rapid pace. Today:
• As a recording medium, tape continues to lose ground to fl ash memory and external
DVR units.
• The image quality of digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras is so high that they
are routinely used on feature fi lms and programs for TV. At the same time, DSLRs
are so relatively affordable that they are used by advanced amateurs and entry-level
professionals.
• Shirt pocket cameras, mobile phones, tablets, and other personal electronic devices
have put high-definition image 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.
• At the other end of the user spectrum, digital cameras have grown so popular in
Hollywood that cinematography journals and websites devote more space to video
than to fi lm. And whether a program is recorded on fi lm or video, all postproduction is
now essentially digital.
• Digital broadcasting and widescreen high-definition TV sets have revolutionized the
way people look at television—and the way movie makers compose their images.
• 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.
• Commercials inspired—or actually produced—by amateurs have been shown on
network and cable TV. V V
Meanwhile, video hardware and software have kept pace with these developments.
File-based recording systems are changing the production workflow from preproduction
to postproduction. Ultra low-power LED units are revolutionizing lighting as more and
more lighting companies introduce new instruments. Editing programs are increasing their
capabilities to keep pace with computer technology, while streamlining their interfaces to
fl atten their user learning curves. Apps for phones and tablets now allow editing right in
the camera.
To address these innovations and developments, we have revised every chapter in
the text, and provided more than 500 new or revised photos and graphics. Most of these
revisions are intended to update topics treated in earlier editions of the book.
Recognizing that professionals and amateurs alike are now shooting off-the-cuff video
with phones and tablets, we have added a running feature called Casual Video: ideas and
tips for getting quality results from ad-lib shooting.
This edition also embodies a subtle shift in focus that fl ows naturally from changing
attitudes toward video as a medium. Underneath its technical discussions, this book has
always been, very simply, about making movies. With video now as respectable as film, fi
Video: Digital Communication & Production can state its long-term agenda explicitly.
As always, the author and publisher hope we have improved the book in the
process of updating it. We cordially invite readers to send corrections and suggestions to
www.g-w.com. We hope that this book will enhance your pleasure in creating videos as
much as it increases your skills.
Jim Stinson
Portland, Oregon