Book Description
Chicago is a city known for its fabulous architecture and public sculpture by artists such as Picasso and Calder, but anyone who has seen the gorgeous lunettes in the Auditorium Theater or the South Side's Wall of Respect, which inaugurated the city's contemporary mural movement, knows that Chicago has an equally rich tradition of mural painting. Through these murals, the history of Chicago and the nation is writ in churches and lobbies, on viaducts and school walls. Mary Gray's A Guide to Chicago's Murals is the first definitive handbook to the treasures that can be found all over the city.
With full-color illustrations of nearly two hundred Chicago murals and accompanying entries that describe their history—who commissioned them and why, how artists collaborated with architects, the subjects of the murals and their contexts—A Guide to Chicago's Murals serves both a general and a specific audience. Divided into easy-to-read geographical sections with useful maps for walking tours, it is the perfect companion for tourists or Chicagoans interested in coming to know better this aspect of the city's history. Gray also provides crucial information on lesser-known artists and on murals that have been destroyed over the years, filling a gap in the visual record of the city's development.
Gray also includes biographies of more than 150 artists and a glossary of key terms, making A Guide to Chicago's Murals essential reading for mural viewing. From post offices to libraries, fieldhouses to banks, and private clubs to street corners, Mary Gray chronicles the amazing works of artists who have sought to make public declarations in this most social of art forms.
"A major lacuna in the history of art in Chicago has been filled, with the thoroughness of the research proportionate to the richness of the material revealed."—From the Foreword by Franz Schulze
"Gray's book . . . can function as a guidebook, as the murals are conveniently arranged according to the quadrants of the city. But the book is also beautiful to look at and indespensable as art history and Chicago history as well. . . . This book is a wonderful guide to Chicago's rich and unique mural tradition."—Elizabeth Alexander, Chicago Tribune Books
"If you love art and history, this is a book you'll truly enjoy."—Al Paulson, Utne Reader
Customer Reviews:
Hidden treasures of Chicago revealed.......2004-11-04
This exquisite volume would make a wonderful gift for any Chicagoan or nostalgic ex-Chicagoan, and its neighborhood-by-neighborhood scheme of organization makes it an excellent take-along for visitors to the city interested in Chicago's architectural heritage. Even longtime residents of the city will find photographs and histories of artworks whose existence they never suspected; the photos are beautifully executed and printed, and the intelligent commentary is based on thorough research.
Great for Chicago natives.......2003-08-16
If you love Chicago, and/or went to a Chicago Public School, you will love this book.
Absolutely terrific!.......2001-10-09
Not only is this catalog of Chicago's murals enormously useful for the casual reader/visitor, but its style is elegant and restrained, its color illustrations clear and gorgeous, its scholarship impeccable and useful, and quite simply a pleasure to study and own. We are fortunate to have such a comprehensive book.
Customer Reviews:
Great book!.......2007-07-28
This book is a great introduction to all forms of surface design, with detailed instructions for tranferring images to fabric in many ways. Awesome introduction or reference for anyone interested in cyanotype, screenprinting, image transfer, batik, etc.
The most comprehensive I've read.......2006-12-11
I own lots of fabric art books, and none of them come close to the amount of techniques this book has for putting color and images on fabric. It doesn't matter how many supplies I may run out of, because I can always turn to this book for *something* that I can still use. Easy to read and understand and lots of great examples. I always have this book nearby when a creative impulse strikes me.
Very helpful for all fabric work w/ very good illustrations.......2003-01-19
This book is a very good guide to all sorts of transfer methods on fabric for any kind of fabric work. It is very user friendly because the wording is clear and concise with very good full color examples that go along with the text. Troubleshooting hints are included with each method as well a lot of other useful hints. The examples and pictures of the actual work are very helpful in that they show many different applications of each technique and really help to get you thinking of ways to be able to further play with and modify the methods shown. Also, it is very clearly laid out into categories per chapter that make it very easy to use as a quick reference. A reference chart is included in the book telling the basic overview of each technique with information concerning the permanence of the method, fabric types recommended for each method, as well as many other useful info that really make this book very easy to use and covers the basics of most any kind of transfer method you could need. I originally had to buy this book for a fibers class I was taking but it has been more helpful after the class ended because it really was a very easy to use by being very easy to quickly reference with it's clear layout and detailed description of all of the advantages and disadvantages of each of the methods clearly labeled. It is a very good book and would recommend it to anyone interested in any kind of quilt or fabric work.
Imagery on Fabric.......2002-03-12
After seeing the demonstration today on the Carol Duval Show on HGTV, I am definitely ordering this book! What intersting ideas for quilting fabric! Loved it!
Fiber Artist's Bible.......2002-02-06
From high tech computer photo transfer to the ancient art of leaf hammering, this book is a comprehensive presentation of fabric manipulation and imagery. Avoiding the "cutesy" trap of so many crafts books, this volume is sophisticated and will be useful to artists and crafters of many styles and sensibilities.
Imagery on Fabric is smartly organized by method, rather than individual project, allowing for much more creativity from the reader. Each process is thoroughly explained and accompanied by fabulous photos of work by professional fiber artists as well as hobbyists. Laury also includes a useful list of resources for the various products and equipment that she discusses in her book.
When I bought this book I was just fiddling with fabric and art quilts. Laury and her book singlehandedly motivated me to fully embrace fiber arts as an exciting means of artistic expression.
Average customer rating:
- Read it, then read it again, then read a different book.
- A great source on color space, but that's about it
- Not worth it!
- A fun, down-to-earth read, held back by some minor errors.
- Best book on the subject
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Digital Moviemaking, 2nd Edition: All the Skills, Techniques and Moxie You'll Need to Turn Your Passion into a Carrer (The Filmmaker's Guide to the 21st Century)
Scott Billups
Manufacturer: Michael Wiese Productions
ProductGroup: Book
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Rebel without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player
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ASIN: 0941188809
Release Date: 2004-07-02 |
Book Description
Geared to professional-minded people who have had some prior experience in production and understand the fundamental difference between a hobby and a career.
Customer Reviews:
Read it, then read it again, then read a different book........2005-10-31
I liked this book. After getting a degree in film school, then going to a post production school you learn what books and what information is real, is for beginners, and is for the business people looking for a quick buck thinking they can run Hollywood over with their copycat movies.
This book has some guts, although not 100% correct on some issues, but well worth the read.
As Charles Henry Blackledge says in his review--some i agree with and others I do not...
Chuck writes---------------------------------------------------------------
If you're looking for a book that will give you practical, nuts and bolts, down to brass tacks advice on how to make a quality, professional looking DV movie on an ultra-low budget then "Digital Moviemaking" by Scott Billups is NOT the book you're looking for. This book was obviously written by a tech-nerd for other tech-nerds.
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Chuck!! I find that of you are making your own movie, one NEEDS to BE a tech-nerd. Self movie creation and publication is not for the creative types, you have to be all the above. We are not talking that you can be one and hire the rest, this is not what the book is about.
Yes I agree the title should be changed to fit the information, but why make the title ruin what information is in there?
Chuck writes----------------------------------------------------------------
If you are an aspiring filmmaker who has a good movie idea and want to know how to shoot it on an ultra-low budget then don't waste your money buying this book.
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If you ARE an aspiring moviemaker (we are shooting it on video; therefore, we are MOVIEMAKERS not filmmakies) you should NEVER use any home movie camera or home movie media (miniDV, any if them)--as you so call it low budget. People should only use these for practice, never for publication or projection. Seriousness shows what you will do with your time, money, and craft.
Of course one could have a wonderful, exciting, and entertaining story done on VHS, but why would one waste their efforts putting it on it. IT DOES NOT SHOW how serious or their commitment to their craft. Save up, borrow, or beg for the better stuff.
Chuck writes-----------------------------------------------------------------
I recommend instead reading "Digital Filmmaking 101" by Dale Newton and John Gaspard which is a much better book that explains in layman's terms how to shoot a quality, professional looking movie on digital video.
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I also have this book and found it informative as well.
With any information, news, gossip, and so forth, why do people read it from one source and call it truth or real? Read more than one paper, watch more than one news program, look at more than one weather station, and read more than one book on moviemaking--the more you do this better informed you will be.
- gerry davenport
A great source on color space, but that's about it.......2005-04-06
Billup's book is creative, fun read. But looking back on it, it's not one of those essential film books. The book's greatest strength is explaining color space and color depth, which are Billup's profession as he works on the technical side of HD production. He explores these rather dry issues in a fun and witty way. And he also explores working in Hollywood in a new, positive way. But beyond that, the book gives a very, very, very broad look at every other field of digital moviemaking, making it seem in the end too darn general to be effective. A better book for breaking into digitial filmmaking: $30 Film School by Michael Dean. It does a much better job of covering all the bases and is just as fun.
Not worth it!.......2004-11-03
If you're looking for a book that will give you practical, nuts and bolts, down to brass tacks advice on how to make a quality, professional looking DV movie on an ultra-low budget then "Digital Moviemaking" by Scott Billups is NOT the book you're looking for. This book was obviously written by a tech-nerd for other tech-nerds.
The majority of this book is technical information and history and should instead be entitled:"Hi-Definition Video Moviemaking" as this is what Billups spends the majority of the book discussing. There is precious little in this book that a low-budget filmmaker will find of use. Billups and co. are apparently of the opinion that it's a waste of time shooting on anything other than HD video or 35mm film and seem to have nothing but contempt for Independent, low-budget filmmakers.
If you are an aspiring filmmaker who has a good movie idea and want to know how to shoot it on an ultra-low budget then don't waste your money buying this book. I recommend instead reading "Digital Filmmaking 101" by Dale Newton and John Gaspard which is a much better book that explains in layman's terms how to shoot a quality, professional looking movie on digital video. It was written by 2 guys who have made good low-budget films and have a lot more respect for and understanding of independent, low-budget filmmakers than Scott Billups.
A fun, down-to-earth read, held back by some minor errors........2004-08-30
I got this book a matter of days ago, and upon finishing the introduction, I hated the author with a passion. He had me furious with his no-nonsense, kick-in-the-crotch attitude that went against everything I believed. Or so I thought. After a good night's sleep, I realized that most of what he had to say was correct, and I found my way around to agreeing with most of his points. I decided to give the rest of it a chance, and I'm glad I did, because although Billups continues telling it like he thinks it is (he's right pretty much all of the time, to his credit), he manages to inject a sense of humor into the proceedings, and keep the book light hearted enough so as not to scare you away. This helps tremendously in making him seem more like a working professional, and not a pompous, self-important windbag.
I haven't got much to say about the GOOD parts of the book; they are numerous indeed, and I learned a good deal from them regardless of the fact that I don't see myself doing this for a living.
No, what struck me most about this book was the liberal sprinkling of spelling, grammatic, conceptual, and structural errors. Never before have I encountered such nonsense in a FIRST edition book, let alone a second. What am I talking about? Well, the spelling errors are usually minor, and easily overlooked, but the grammar is another thing entirely. "Orientated" instead of "oriented", "bandpass" instead of "bandwidth", things like that. "Orientated", I suppose, is technically correct (though it makes one look about as ridiculous as "irregardless" does), and "bandpass" may very well be the proper term in certain situations, but it's like the difference between "GNU/Linux" and "Linux": NO ONE uses the "proper" term, NO ONE is going to be confused, and as such it is completely unnecessary. Insisting on the techie version serves only to make you look like a pretentious tightwad.
When it comes to conceptual errors, I mean the way he, in one situation when discussing 3D modeling/rendering, confuses alpha channels with bump maps. Alpha channels control the transparency of a material, bump maps make the bumps. Again, even if what he said was correct (I'm no expert, maybe bump maps really are alpha channels in a stricter sense), the fact remains that NO ONE speaks this way, no manuals define things this way, nor do special interest technical books or training videos. If you ask someone to put an image with the letter H in the alpha channel of a material, and place that material on a surface, you're going to get a big H-shaped hole in your surface, not an H-shaped bump on top of it.
He also flip-flops between describing image dimensions as width by height and describing them as height by width. Even though the vast majority uses the width by height description, something I agree and feel comfortable with, I would hardly mind him using the other if he were the least bit consistent. He's back and forth throughout the course of the text, and it can be quite disorienting (not "disorientating", you'll note).
Then we have the more basic structural errors. The only way to adequately demonstrate this phenomenon is to provide a fictional example (note that he is NEVER this blatant, and doesn't even touch on this subject):
"The default lens package included with Camera X is absolutely wonderful, but the lens they give you along with Camera X is pretty darn great."
See what I mean? That he repeats himself, saying the SAME thing about the SAME product in the course of one sentence for no reason is disturbing enough; more troubling is his use of "but" when he should be using "and". If you're going to tack a positive comment about an object on to an existing comment about the same object that's already positive, you use "and".
There's also a tendency to use common words and phrases over and over and over again. I do this all the time (my parenthetic comments in this review, for example), but in a professionally published work? You'd think somebody would do a "Count Instances" in their word processor.
Things like that contribute to an overall sense of "wha...?" when reading this book. At first I attributed this stuff to an absolutely abysmal proofreader, but firstly, I own several other books from MWP which sound far better. Secondly, as we reach the end of this book, we start to see more and more quotes--eventually interviews, and entire guest-written chapters--from others in the field, typically people the author has worked with and known for some time. None of their writing exhibits this behavior.
In short, this book is like certain types of music and movies: the content may be great, but the way it's put together makes you a bit nauseous. You don't know exactly why, but sounds with certain frequencies and/or images with certain kinds of movement make you sick, no matter how moving the song/film may very well be.
It IS worth full price, it IS worth reading several times over, and you WILL get something out of it whether you want this hobby to become a career or not. The errors are not world-ending, and the overall idea gets through loud and clear.
They're big enough for someone like me, though, to feel that something, however small, is missing.
Best book on the subject.......2004-04-01
I reviewed this Book for High Definition Magazine in 2003. I was so impressed that I thought this information should be available generally.
Back in the 60's Scott Billups would have been known as a video freak. The subtitle of his book Digital Moviemaking: "All the skill, techniques and moxie you'll need to turn your passion into a career": also betrays his understanding that digital moviemaking is a business as well as a technicians paradise - and I have to say right here right now, what this man don't know about video - ain't worth knowin' !
"Those who know will always have a job, those who know why, will be in charge." From Chapter two.
Digital Moviemaking is a very readable book and there are a plethora of technical details for all but the most seriously anoraked of our readers. Scott's approach to High Definition is to take you on a journey of understanding through the underlying principles of the digital realm.
There are many many technical descriptions that allow the reader easily into a highly complex digital world - He begins with a basic description of the fundamentals of analogue to digital conversion, through the systems of compression, up through DV all the way to High Definition. This is a necessary path because the understanding of High Definition issues lay within the undergrowth of simple digital encoding and compression. I haven't come across a book as clear as this one before.
Scott is the Richard Dawkins of digital technicalities - he can make even the most dense technical information fun:
"While RGB theoretically creates the most robust ITU-R 601 signal, the most common reference to 601 as colour difference, component digital video, sampled at 4:2:2 at 13.5 mhz with 720 luminance samples per active line, digitized at either 8 - or 10 bit.
Whew, it hurt me to write that too".
This fundamentally technical book actually made me understand and laugh out loud ! What's more, it's an energetic enough book to begin with image capture, work its way through the editing process, then out and onto film - and beyond. At the end there's a reference section in which you'll find an extremely concise guide for the newly fledged HD Cinematographer.
But this book is also a rant against Hollywood which is fun in itself and Scott is on a mission to re-educate and re-inform his audience who he sees as enthusiastic but slightly wayward idealists who want to invade Hollywood's hallowed avenues without the right information.
"Just imagine if the snakes that slither through the gutters of Hollywood actually had a say in matters. They'd glut the market, take their booty, and retire in a heartbeat. You know it, I know it, and they know it."
Scott has worked with many great filmmakers, including David Lynch, and he was even assistant to the great James Wong Howe, so you know that what he's got to say has real authority, though I get the feeling he'd poo poo that suggestion himself. He's also at the very cutting edge of invention - he'll think nothing of capturing bits of a movie he's shooting on 35mm, on his laptop from a small digital camera for later compositing at the edit with the 35mm footage.
Digital Moviemaking is a great way into digital video and High Definition in so many areas, and Scott insists you understand why you're making the choices you're making, and why you should let craft and technique lead you in the end.
As Jerry Rubin, and possibly Scott too might advocate - read it, even if you have to "steal this book!"
Book Description
In this hip and irreverent book, you'll learn exactly what you need to make your own digital movie and become the hot young filmmaker of tomorrow.
Customer Reviews:
One of Two Best Books On Subject.......2003-01-08
The technical mumbo-jumbo in this book is very well explained by Mr. Billups, and this is one of two books that I found essential in starting my digital movie business (SPEXProductions) with only limited knowledge of the essentials required to make intelligent decisions to purchase the best equipment at the best price. Many of the toys featured in his book are already outdated, but essential need-to-know technical basic concepts haven't changed very much. It was doubly hard for me because I'm using a lot of greenscreening techniques in our LIBERTY 72 project.
Like almost everything else in this genre, many of the featured toys and tech are already outdated. But wait! Don't miss out on this book. It's real diamond mine is that Billups has managed to (cleverly) slide in the best (and most humorous) description of the totally insane Hollywood mindset that I've ever seen from a Hollywood Insider. I don't know if he still gets invited to those "A-List" Hollywood parties (yes, I do believe I've seen him at more than one!) but he is always welcome out here where the real people are - and where hopefully a lot of great movie makers of the future will originate! Anyone can find a "how to" tech book ... but it is rare to find so many more things that everyone who wants to join the business need to know about some of the other pheripherals of the business. This is like buying several books under one cover. A must read for beginners!
Best book out there.......2002-06-26
After purchasing numerous books on the subject, in recent months, Scotts' book was a breath of fresh air!!.I was overwhelmed with the brutal honesty and passionate guidance of this book, that of which can only come from significant experience!!
All of my questions regarding "Which Camera ?", "Which Editing platform?", "Which Asylum will I be in at the end of all this ?" etc were answered. As someone who is about to spend close to 30k on a system I have been in "research mode" for the past 2 months.This book answered ALL my questions.
It is not only incredibly factual, but a very amusing and inspirational read. If you are thinking of purchasing digital equipment this is the best resource that I have come across.
Excellent book, worth every penny and great web-site for reference. Highly recommended.
There are better books out there on this subject.......2002-05-08
If you want to learn about the process of making a low budget film that's digital this probably is not the book for you. I'm in the process of producing a film (my first) and thought this book would help guide me. It didn't. It seemed to me that the author spent most of the time talking about the techniques to use that would allow the best transfer to film. Don't get me wrong, this is useful information but that's not exactly what I was looking for.
So, if you've never made a film before and want to get an understanding of what's involved and your only going to buy one book, don't buy this one. I highly recommend Digital Filmmaking 101 by Dale Newton and John Gaspard (same publisher). This is a great book on how to make a digital film on a low budget. Check it out before you buy this book.
A great read But, watered down Knowhow.......2002-03-14
I found this book a very enjoyable and easy read. However, what I got out of it technically, as far as digital moviemaking was thin. I realize that everyone has their way of doing things but some of Billups suggestions I found questionable. The message that I walked away with from this book was; There are many ways to make a movie, choose the one that works for you, But that's not what's important. What's really important is the content of what your lensing. Which is a great message, but kind of a strange one for a how-to book. I have to admit that since reading it I've been walking around repeating to myself, what are the three most important things when making a movie; "Content, Content, Content"
Hubris.......2002-02-24
At first, I thought this book was great. I followed Billup's tips to the letter. But, many things weren't making sense. So, I began to reach out to other digital moviemakers out here in Hollywood...
Time and time again, professional WORKING DP's, editors and directors would scratch their head when I explained a question I had regaring one of Billup's "tips." Repeatedly they'd say, "Who is this guy!?! That doesn't make any sense!" Then, they'd show me how they do things, which always made more sense.
For instance, the whole lightmeter issue. Billups makes such a huge deal out of it, but every professional videographer I spoke to told me the same thing: light meters are for film!
Anyway, like I said... at first I liked the book, as I appreciated Billup's "no holds barred" approach. But, as I learned much of his "insight" was rather "outsight," I've turned to viewing the book as a load of hubris.
Average customer rating:
- Barry writes only a brief forward. The rest is MacNelly.
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A Golf Handbook: All I Ever Knew I Forgot by the Third Fairway
Jeff MacNelly
Manufacturer: Triumph Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1572431156 |
Customer Reviews:
Barry writes only a brief forward. The rest is MacNelly........1999-09-01
Singularly unfunny
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