Mark Fry | Reading List

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Reading List

Here is a list of interesting and insightful resources to develop filmmaking, VFX, animation and cinematic storytelling skills.

Jump further down to Online Resources

Books in my library:
	Cinefex is a quarterly publication for in-depth coverage of filmmaking production and special/visual effects. Visit cinefex.com for more information.
	The Filmmaker's Eye: Learning (and Breaking) the Rules of Cinematic Composition by Gustavo Mercado
	The VES Handbook of Visual Effects: Industry Standard VFX Practices and Procedures edited by Jeffrey A. Okun and Susan Zwerman
	Color Correction Handbook: Professional Techniques for Video and Cinema by Alexis Van Hurkman
	3D Movie Making: Stereoscopic Digital Cinema from Script to Screen by Bernard Mendiburu
	The Art and Science of Digital Compositing 2nd Edition by Ron Brinkmann
	Digital Compositing for Film and Video 3rd Edition by Steve Wright
	Matchmoving: The Invisible Art of Camera Tracking by Tim Dobbert
	Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing From Concept to Screen by Steven D. Katz
	Film Directing Cinematic Motion 2nd Edition by Steven D. Katz
	Making Short Films: The complete guide from script to screen by Clifford Thurlow
	Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 most powerful film conventions every filmmaker must know by Jennifer Van Sijll
	Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation by Hans Bacher
	The Guerilla Film Makers Blueprint by Chris Jones
	The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook by Chris Jones and Genevieve Jolliffe
	Inspired 3D Short Film Production by Jeremy Cantor and Pepe Valencia
	The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams
	Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right 2nd Edition by Jason Osipa
	Directing the Story: Professional Storytelling and Storyboarding Techniques for Live Action and Animation by Francis Glebas
	Mastering Composition: Techniques and Principles to Dramatically Improve Your Painting by Ian Roberts

Books still on my wishlist:

Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler

Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

The DV Rebel's Guide: An All-digital Approach to Making Killer Action Movies on the Cheap by Stu Maschwitz

Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting by Steven Biver

Lipton on Filmmaking by Lenny Lipton

Independent filmmaking by Lenny Lipton

The Art and Technique of Matchmoving: Solutions for the VFX Artist by Erica Hornung

Digital Lighting and Rendering by Jeremy Birn

Timing for Animation by Harold Whitaker

Cinematography: Theory and Practice: Image Making for Cinematographer's, Directors, and Videographers by Blain Brown

The Camera Assistant's Manual by David E. Elkins SOC

Online Resources

While I may break away from the computer every so often to read those books, I regularly visit some fantastic online resources for VFX/filmmaking knowledge and inspiration.

FXGuide.com

If you are at all interested in VFX or filmmaking you should definately be visiting fxguide to take advantage of the hundreds of free articles and podcasts they have available:

Featured Articles - Read in-depth interviews and shot breakdowns
FXPodcasts - Listen to technical discussions with the pros who make movie magic
FXGuide TV - Watch video interviews covering software tools, tradeshows and sneak peeks at developments in the industry
The RC (Red Centre) - Listen to tech & gear oriented discussions about digital cinema production
The VFX Show - Listen to a panel discussion about films, how they were made and opinions on everything from the story, characters and choice of production tools used

FXPhd.com

The fantastic free content on fxguide.com is made possible in part through the paid service they offer for online professional VFX, post, and production training at fxphd.com. I haven't yet signed up for a term of training but their course listing always has me salivating.

Escape Studios

I have been transitioning from the video games industry over to the film VFX industry with the help of some great online training through Escape Studios. The online courses are in-depth, very thorough and teach standard industry practices. They also offer extensive classroom training here in London as well as Los Angeles if you prefer a more hands-on approach to learning. Sign up on the website and get a taste by viewing some free content using the Free Stuff link.

Twitter

You can learn a lot every day by simply following a few Twitter hashtags. I use Tweetdeck to monitor posts made containing #vfx, #filmmaking, #hdslr, #cinematography and #stereoscopic.