Knowing how to arrange specific shots for specific reasons, will have a greater impact on the audience, keeping them engaged for longer. And engaging your audience is a requirement of filmmaking. Coming from the perspective of writer first, I found a lot in here to think about when it comes to the craft of writing fiction. The second chapter show you how you could just a small idea for a story you want to build (the student wants to impress the professor) and build the story via shots and beats just from that small idea. If you're without an idea for a short film, I think you could play along with Mamet in this chapter and end up with a solid idea. As short as it is, still seems padded and repetitive -- really the sweepings from a stint teaching at film school. Enough funny direct Mamet-isms to make it worthwhile, and a useful no-bullshit and absolutist summary of the Eisenstein/Bresson approach. The steadicam, and all it represents -- following the action around -- is mentioned a few times as a symbol of all that's wrong with American filmmaking today, because movies are made out of shots, and shots are of simple clear actions that don't try to tell the story -- the story only emerges in the totality of the work. A sail doesn't have to look like a boat, a nail doesn't look like a house, and an actor doesn't have to express anything or do any work to see that the story gets told: they just do simple actions and the film is assembled from them. "A guy says 'that's a lovely dress'. He doesn't say 'I haven't been laid in six weeks.'" A good succinct version of his approach can be found on the Internet. It’s Mamet’s memo to the writers of The Unit, a network television show that he ran for a few seasons. With much humor and candor, he explains what a challenge screenwriting is and how the writers have to avoid decisions that are non-dramatic. Why would a great playwright want to run a network television show? He wanted to see what he could do within the constraints of the form. Whether we think he created art seems unimportant to Mamet.

Suppose you can specialize your video production company (or your freelance filmmaking career) in a particular niche market. In that case, it's easier for clients to find you and label you as the best possible expert to help them solve their problems—bringing their ideas visually to life! Yes, several great books cover the creative aspects of filmmaking, including "In the Blink of an Eye" by Walter Murch, "Making Movies" by Sidney Lumet, and "The Art of Film Acting" by Jeremiah Comey. Where can I find these filmmaking books?The stroy can only be interesting because we find the progress of the protagonist interesting. It is the objective of the protagonist that keeps us in our seats." Yes, there are several excellent books on directing, including "Directing Actors" by Judith Weston, "On Directing Film" by David Mamet, and "Notes on Directing" by Frank Hauser and Russell Reich. What are some good books for learning about cinematography? We choose the way that is closer to the objective, discarding that which is merely cute or interesting; and certainly discarding that which has 'a deep personal meaning' for us." AFTRS is definitely not the cheapest international school on our list. Not by a long shot. But it’s globally recognized as one of the top film schools in the world. There is no such thing as character other than habitual action, as Mr Aristotle told us two thousand years ago... "Character" is is exactly what the person literally does in the pursuit of the superobjective, the objective of the scene. The rest doesn't count."

Production: understand the film or TV drama production process from start to finish, from both technical and creative points of view Mamet's book on acting, True and False, was a rather audacious protest against typical trends of theater "acting" wherein Mamet verbally reamed the kind of performers who create "characters" and strive to make "interesting" choices. Stanslavski is worthless to Mamet, as are, likewise, method actors (I wonder how he feels about Daniel-Day Lewis!) Acting, argues Mamet, is about understanding what the objective of the play's text is and executing the obtainment of that objective, thereby communicating the play to the audience in the most uninflected way possible. The job of the actor is to speak of clear voice, be physically fit, and to communicate the play as it is written. Nothing more, nothing less. He scoffs hilariously at accents, mugging, and everything else that many, if not most, actors gravitate towards not only on the stage but in their day-to-day lives. As a person who loves acting but can't tolerate most "actors," Mamet's book was a revelation to me, and helped me to feel okay again about my decision to dodge acting as a career choice. It’s essentially a simple, straightforward, all-in-one guide that teaches you all the basics of directing a film production, no matter the genre.At the same time, a director will also be instructing other members of the crew, especially lighting, wardrobe and make-up supervisors. Directors work to get the best performance out of the actors but also need to ensure that all technical aspects are in place to get a great scene filmed.