Whether you are an old hand at visual effects or just thinking about getting your feet wet with your first indie film, Mark’s book delivers a very detailed history and hands-on, step-by-step detailing of effects techniques, both past and present, reminding everyone that visual effects are still about more than just staring at a monitor and watching pixels move. —Kevin Kutchaver, Emmy Award winning VFX Supervisor and Founder of HimAnI Productions, Inc. This book perfectly addresses the number one problem in the movie business: all decisions are made based on fear. “Will I lose my cushy job if I make the wrong decision?” With this book on your desk that’s one less problem to worry about. —Glenn Campbell, Visual Effects Supervisor at AREA 51
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Filming the Fantastic
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Filming the Fantastic A Guide to Visual Effect Cinematography
Mark Sawicki
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
Senior Acquisitions Editor: Elinor Actipis Senior Project Manager: Dawnmarie Simpson Associate Acquisitions Editor: Cara Anderson Assistant Editor: Robin Weston Marketing Manager: Christine Degon Veroulis Cover Design: Alisa Andreola Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK Copyright © 2007, Mark Sawicki. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, E-mail:
[email protected] You may also complete your request online via the Elsevier homepage (http://elsevier.com), by selecting “Support & Contact” then “Copyright and Permission” and then “Obtaining Permissions.” Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, Elsevier prints its books on acid-free paper whenever possible. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sawicki, Mark. Filming the fantastic : a guide to visual effect cinematography / Mark Sawicki. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-0-240-80915-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10