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Can't get your characters to shut up? Is the bit player in Act II more compelling than your protagonist? Do your scenes drag on f-o-r-e-v-e-r? Whatever your problem, screenwriting guru Syd Field can help; he's written four previous books on screenwriting, teaches worldwide, and is "involved in the reading and writing of about a thousand screenplays a year." Screenplays bog down in vague and mysterious ways, says Field; identifying a screenwriting problem is half the battle. Fixing a screenplay that seems dazed and confused might seem like Mission: Impossible, but you've got to have courage under fire. By identifying symptoms in the writing, Field isolates about 20 different screenwriting problems, each related to plot, character, or structure (after all, what else is there?). His fixes generally involve getting to know your characters or story better, through the use of automatic writing, biographical sketches, and the like. For examples of spectacular screenwriting, he offers excerpts from the screenplays for Thelma and Louise, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Apollo 13, and Silence of the Lambs. Field is a man of many mantras: "Writing is rewriting," "Film is behavior," "Drama is conflict," "Action is character." But his advice is so useful that you'll forgive him his facile phrasemaking. And you'll thank him for persuading you that, yes, "a problem is an opportunity, a challenge that will allow you to ultimately improve your craft." --Jane Steinberg
Book Description
All writing is rewriting. But what do you change, and how do you change it? All screenplays have problems. They happened to Die Hard: With a Vengeance and Broken Arrow-and didn't get fixed, leaving the films flawed. They nearly shelved Platoon-until Oliver Stone rewrote the first ten pages and created a classic. They happen to every screenwriter. But good writers see their problems as a springboard to creativity. Now bestselling author Syd Field, who works on over 1,000 screenplays a year, tells you step-by-step how to identify and fix common screenwriting problems, providing the professional secrets that make movies brilliant-secrets that can make your screenplay one headed for success...or even Cannes. Learn how to:
•Understand what makes great stories work
•Make your screenplay work in the first ten pages, using Thelma & Louise and Dances With Wolves as models
•Use a "dream assignment" to let your creative self break free overnight
•Make action build character, the way Quentin Tarantino does
•Recover when you hit the "wall"-and overcome writer's block forever
Customer Reviews:
A reasonable approach to story bandaiding.......2007-07-17
Syd Field is, of course, the master teacher when it comes to screenplay writing instruction and story theory. He has written many books about how to develop great characters and put them into an engaging story.
His book, The Screenwriter's Problem Solver, is an attempt to help writers work through story glitches by setting up common story problem scenarios and explaining how to iron them out. Though this book is good in principle, I didn't feel it helped me tremendously.
I have written many screenplays. I also watch and analyze many movies and stories. I think most of what this book teaches is pretty much known to the experienced screenwriter. Though, for a newbie to the craft, it might be a good read. I would recommend some of Field's other books, like Screenplay or The Screenwriter's Workbook.
Hope this helps.
-Craig Nybo, co-author of Total Human: The Complete Strength Training System
Problem solved.......2007-05-15
Syd Field writes about problems of screenwriting in such a way that every problem becomes a challenge and a new beginning. You lear to love your problems because they take you to the next level.
Very Helpful Guide for Screenplay Writers.......2006-11-10
My son references this book often when he has writer's block, is uncertain of film techniques & rules of practice, and when he needs a little creative inspiration. Extremely helpful, and easy to read for first-time writers!
FOR ANY STORYTELLER.......2006-08-03
Although written for screenwriters, Syd Field's The Screenwriter's Problem Solver is full of useful advice for any kind of storyteller; as a novelist in the middle of writing my next novel, I found Problem Solver very helpful. Unlike most screenwriting books, which are about building your story from the ground up, The Screenwriter's Problem Solver is for the writer with a story-in-progress, exploring the relationship among character, plot and structure, and how each fit into the whole story -- and ways to troubleshoot if one or more of these elements needs to be strengthened. Field draws examples from screenplays that worked (and those that didn't), with liberal examples from a variety of popular films, including The Shawshank Redemption, Thelma & Louise, Crimson Tide, How to Make an American Quilt and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The end result is a useful text for any storyteller wanting to build a better story.
Rambley McGee.......2005-11-03
This is the worst book I've read on screenwriting. Usually I am totally against screenwriting books, but when I read the title and looked at the table of contents I thought this would be of some help. The author should read what he writes before getting it published. Talk about talking heads, jeez! He rambles on about meaningless things that have nothing to do with screenwriting. I don't wanna know about your students, or the internet, or your seminars. I wanna know about what the title claims it will be. Please take those 11 bucks and go see a movie or two, and stay away from this rambley collection of words on pieces of paper.
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The Cambridge Music Guide
Stanley Sadie , and
Alison Latham
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Paperback
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The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Classical Music
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Harvard Dictionary of Music: Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged
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The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music: From Rock, Pop, Jazz, Blues and Hip Hop to Classical, Country, Folk, World and More
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HarperCollins College Outline History of Western Music (Harpercollins College Outline Series)
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Bach, Beethoven and the Boys - Tenth Anniversary Edition!: Music History As It Ought To Be Taught
ASIN: 0521399424 |
Book Description
The Cambridge Music Guide is for all those who love music and wish to know more about its colorful history, development and theory. Superbly illustrated, the Guide is a comprehensive tour of every aspect of the musical world, expertly edited by Stanley Sadie, editor of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. The guide explains all the elements of musical notation, of pitch and harmony, of different musical genres. The development of musical instruments and the modern orchestra is charted through the ages, and the roots of music itself are traced--from Medieval chant to modern jazz solos and the electric wizardry of today's composers. With individual studies of all major composers and a unique series of "listening guides" to important works through the ages, The Cambridge Music Guide serves as a comprehensive introduction for all those studying, playing or simply seeking more enjoyment from the world of music.
Customer Reviews:
Great value.......2002-09-11
This book is beautiful, with visual aids, illustrations, pictures, and tables, some of which are in color. The layout is clear and welcoming. The text is clearly written and informative and covers the history of Western music from Gregorian Chant through the 20th century.
Book Description
The Rite of Spring is Stravinsky's most revolutionary work. This comprehensive guide tells in vivid detail the story of its inception and composition, of the stormy rehearsals that led to the scandalous premiere in 1913, and of Stravinsky's later betrayal of the ballet's first choreographer, Nijinsky. Peter Hill probes beneath the surface of the music to reveal an architectural conception of unsuspected guile and subtlety. He provides a detailed discussion of the work in performance and a hard-hitting conclusion, which poses a radical challenge to the orthodox view of the work.
Book Description
Early Keyboard Instruments discusses a variety of issues involved in the performance of keyboard music from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. It brings together a range of topics that have come to the fore in recent decades and forms a useful introduction to historical performance issues for the student performer or amateur, whether playing on period instruments or on the modern piano.
Book Description
This handbook for flautists addresses all who wish to consider the issues raised when performing music of the past, and experiment with them on old or new instruments. Its aim is to provide an authoritative and practical guide with evidence drawn from a variety of primary sources directly and indirectly associated with the flute. The author provides sound advice on instruments and their care, historical techniques, stylistic issues and historically informed interpretation, with examples drawn from a wide range of case studies, including Bach, Handel, Mozart and Brahms.
Customer Reviews:
Useful, practical, frugal.......2006-12-19
A well researched, well written book that delivers what it promises. Useful to all those interested in the early flute: players, scholars, conductors. Recommended as a bargain at the price.
Book Description
This handbook provides a historical account of the development of the violin, viola and their close relatives as well as a practical guide to playing techniques and principles of interpretation. It aims to help performers to play in a historically appropriate style and to guide listeners toward a clearer understanding of the issues that affected string performance during this series' core period (c.1700-c.1900). Its six detailed case studies, which include Bach and Beethoven, will assist readers in forging well-grounded, period interpretations of major works from the repertory.
Book Description
This guide, written by one of the foremost interpreters of early clarinet music, is intended for all clarinetists with a desire to investigate music of earlier periods. It contains practical help on both the acquisition and playing of historical clarinets, while performers on modern instruments will find much advice on style, approach and techniques, which combine to make up a well-grounded, period interpretation. Most importantly, case studies that include the music of Handel, Mozart and Brahms help recreate performances as close as possible to the composer's original intention.
Book Description
This introduction to the early horn provides a historical account of the instrument's development during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as well as a practical guide to playing techniques and principles of interpretation. The book aims to help performers to play in a historically appropriate style and provides a series of case studies including major works from the horn repertoire by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Brahms. It includes chapters on the historical background of the instrument, its design and development, and choice of instrument today.
Customer Reviews:
Aid to interpretation.......2000-10-14
This would be a very useful book for horn players involved in early music groups, or for anyone interested in interpreting scores more faithfully to their period. It also offers playing tips that would be good for any developing player, as well as some tips on choosing an instrument appropriate to contemporary and historical genres. There are also sections on the history and development of the horn that would be of interest to general readers.
Book Description
This comprehensive, accessible guide to Bartók and his music contains up-to-date research by a new generation of Bartók scholars. Part I sets the cultural, social and political background in Hungary at the beginning of the twentieth century, and considers Bartók's research into folk music. Part II surveys his compositional output in all genres, relating changes in style to broad aesthetic issues, his folk music studies, and his activities as a pianist, music editor and teacher. The final part considers various aspects of reception and the variety of responses to Bartók's music in Europe and the United States.
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Wizard Study Guide Study Without Stress (Cambridge Wizard Subject Guides)
Robert Lewers
Manufacturer: Wizard Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1875739866 |
Customer Reviews:
"Don't quit the day job".......2007-08-31
"Don't quit the day job", as Doyle Brunson said recently in an interview.
I bought this book some time ago and enjoyed it thoroughly. It is a must read for poker buffs who are looking for ways to upgrade their game. It is important to realize that even Doyle changes up his game from time to time, and cannot be relied upon to predictably do what he recommends here.
In my opinion, much of what Doyle recommends has value. Pay attention to his comments about what strategy works for which stakes.
Have fun out there but remember how nice it is to keep eating and living indoors.
Robert Hardy
power poker strategy.......2007-08-27
very good book. very interesting. only problem. doyle brunson plays top notch poker players and makes bets of multiple thousands of dollars. some of his strategies won't work in your average 10 dollar buy in hold em tournament that you hold in your garage once a week. doyle brunson is a risky player who gambles alot. people might fold at your bluff if they are looking at a 3,000 dollar bet but at your house, where people only have to pay 4 black chips and 2 blues to see the flop, they are more likely to call. i guess basically what i'm saying is that no poker strategey works on every type of player you will encounter. But the book mentions this fact many times. good reading? yes. have i won more pots because of it? maybe a few.
poker made easy? part I.......2007-08-17
NOT for beginners. This was, and still is, a must have for any serious poker player. Things you learn from pros and the like and well worth the read.
It's enough to be worth the money........2007-07-07
Doyle Brunson's Super System uses up about a fourth of this book, but it is enough. I don't feel cheated about the three quarters that weren't about what the title says. Just a couple of hours reading "the rules" and I have completely different thoughts while I'm watching poker on TV. That's called a new perspective. It's more fun for me when I'm not struggling to figure out what the players are thinking and doing, or trying to do. It's more interesting when you know when somebody is "breaking the rules".
I don't intend to ever play poker and I don't intend to learn the book. I just wanted to spend less time being baffled. This book was enough to accomplish that.
Can we get a copyeditor, please?.......2007-07-05
Doyle Brunson, Super/System: A Course in Power Poker (Cardoza, 1978)
First off: whoever did the typography for this book, and then let it sit as-is for thirty years, really should be put up against a wall and shot. It's terrible. There's way too much bold, way too much italic, and way too many seemingly arbitrary switches between the two. Many times, a phrase starts off in bold and ends in italic, or vice-versa. Before the next edition of this book, someone needs to get in there with a copy-editor's pen and give these six hundred five pages a thorough going-over. As it stands, the book is well nigh unreadable, and that has nothing whatever to do with its content.
As for its content, well, that's a different story. A lot of this will seem like basic strategy to the self-taught player who's been around for a few years, but it's a gold mine for the beginner. Confused by when and how to play suited connectors in a no-limit hold'em game? Brunson will tell you. Wondering what all the fuss is over deuce-seven lowball? You'll find out here. What are the differences between a limit hold'em ring game and a no-limit tournament? (If you think there aren't many, I suggest not wandering into one if you specialize in the other if you expect to keep your money.) It's all laid out for you.
The one thing that may bug some readers (aside from the awful typography) is that a decent portion of the book is devoted to the now-almost-dead game of five-card draw. But hey, if you're not reading it with the intention of reviewing it later, and you never play five-card draw, you can just skip it, right? Also, remember that this book is thirty years old, and some games that weren't popular in Vegas, California, and Texas are not represented. To me, the biggest hole is the lack of a section on pot-limit variants, but they didn't become popular until Omaha did; that sort of thing is what Super/System 2 is for. ***, having had one star knocked off for the awful editing/proofreading.
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Radio and Television: Supplement Two: 1982-1986
Clinton Helen E.
Manufacturer: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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General Broadcasting
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ASIN: 0810821583 |
Book Description
Lists almost 1,000 English-language books, booklets, and reports on radio and TV published between 1982 and 1986.
Books:
- The Sense and Sensibility: Screenplay & Diaries : Bringing Jane Austen's Novel to Film
- The Stanley Kubrick Archives
- The Star Wars Poster Book
- The Sunday Philosophy Club (Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries)
- The Twilight Zone Companion
- The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood
- This Side of Heaven
- Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates (Harvest Book)
- When Blanche Met Brando: The Scandalous Story of "A Streetcar Named Desire"
- Wong Kar-wai: Auteur of Time (Bfi World Directors)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- J.K. Lasser's Your Winning Retirement Plan
- Zoot Suit and Other Plays
- So You Want to be A Screenwriter: How to Face the Fears and Take the Risks
- Talk to Her: Interviews
- The Witch Hunter's Handbook: The doctrines and methodology of the Templars of Sigmar
- When the Wind Blows
- Wild flowers of Malawi
- The Ecology of Management Accounting and Control Systems: Implications for Managing Teams and Work G
- The American West Transformed: The Impact of the Second World War
- The Strangeness of Beauty: A Novel
The Screenwriter's Workbook (Revised Edition)
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
Selling a Screenplay: The Screenwriter's Guide to Hollywood
Four Screenplays: Studies in the American Screenplay
Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting
