The Filmmaker's Guide to Visual Effects: The Art and Technique of VFX for Directors, Producers, Editors and Cinematographers *RISBN*

The author knows his stuff. Very educational for a filmmaker. However...the photographs were way too small and with too much contrast to see the detail the author was trying to communicate..Seems funny that having a book dealing with a visual medium, that the author (or publisher) dropped the ball with the illustrations.

An essential read for those wanting to learn visual effects or become prepared for working in the modern age of filmmaking. No matter what part of production you work in or are interested in, this book is for you.

Very good book, coming from vfx side of things I see no errors in describing the hex pipeline, a solid distilled source of knowledge for everyone who need to catch up on the essentials.

Amazing book​!!!!!!!! So insightful and informative.

Very well written from an insiders perspective. Perfect for filmmakers with little or no VFX background and a must for VFX students.

Everyone knows that super-hero movies use a lot of visual effects. But the credits for “Little Women” indicate a team of 29 visual effect artists! That’s because it’s often cheaper to shoot a scene with visual effects than without. Just one example is that it may be cheaper to use visual effects than to construct an elaborate set.Eran Dinur’s book is aimed at the overlords who use visual effects, like directors, producers and film editors who can turn over visual effects work to a team of specialists, giving them instructions on what they want to see. The book has little practical instruction on how to create visual effects although there is mention of the green screen process and rotoscoping to remove elements from a video or film, to then be used with a different background. There is no mention of specific software, or the menus to accomplish the tasks (although to be fair Dinur did spend a goodly amount of time telling readers how to make sure a green screen has no wrinkles.) Instead the author concentrates on the kind of effects that can be created, the way the director and producer can specify the effects they want, and the way to control the costs of the effects. (A documentarian I know almost busted the budget by shooting interviews with green screen without realizing the cost of VSX artists, and then finding the costs of extracting and converting beyond her means.)For what it’s worth special effects, rather than visual effects, are real but controlled effects, like blood spurting from a wound.Given the size of the crews and the equipment involved in visual effects, I thought I might advise you not to try this at home. But one of my fellow film makers regularly shots his one-man plays against a green screen and then puts himself in front of various backgrounds. It may be that if the one-man operator or lone wolf reads this book he will see a few simple applications that may prove useful to him. Prospective makers of feature films and videos would do well to learn the money saving and costing features of special effects.Although the book is clearly written, occasionally I was confused as when the author discussed projecting depth markers like trees and bushes onto cards. Was he using the term to mean using layers in a non-linear editor? In addition most of the photographs were too dark and lacking in contrast to clearly illustrate the point being made.It’s clear that actually creating visual effects is a specialty beyond the scope of this thin volume. On the other hand, for the film or video manager who needs to control the process, if not the effect, this is a good introduction.Note: The publisher provided me with a review copy of this book at no charge.

I actually bought this book at Sam French brick and mortar but I had to write a review. I am about to direct a feature which while no blockbuster still has a serious budget and will not only require visual effects but I know I need them to stretch my budget and production value. This book is written in a very comprehensible cogent manner. Every accomplished story teller should look at this as a gift to expanding their craft and their scope of filmmaking.I am so grateful that Mr. Dinur wrote this book at it came out just at the right time for me. Fantastic!

Eran is incredibly insightful, this book is a must read for filmmakers.

A brilliant guide to VFX written in a language that a filmmaker can understand. I work on set as a 1st AD and felt a base knowledge of VFX would help me understand better the processes and challenges increasingly present from VFX on set. This book did not disappoint. I can now liaise with the VFX supervisor, producers, directors and DOP's in a language that demonstrates a degree of knowledge of the craft. Great read, great examples, couldn't put it down :)

Bought for my son's Christmas present, he is an editor and he loved it!

It's very good for a starter vfx artist or filmmaker to get deep unberstanding what is vfx and how affect to a work flow.

La biblia de los VFX. Si bien es cierto que no entra al detalle en los aspectos mas tecnicos de cada departamento, este libro te resume a la perfección todos los apartados relacionados con el mundo de los efectos visuales.La clave es que va dirigido a directores, filmmackers, dires de foto etc. y no a gente que quiere aprender vfx. De este modo, explica todo de una manera muy sencilla, facil de entender y con muchos ejemplos reales y visuales que sirben de gran ayudaAun así, si te inicias en los vfx, es un libro obligatorio para conocer hasta el último departamento!

Si eres director o un creador audiovisual y quieres añadir VFX a tus creaciones pero no tienes ni idea de que tendrás que tener en cuenta a la hora de grabar y de comunicarte con el equipo de VFX este libro te ayudará enormemente.Un experto en este ámbito como los Eran Dinur te ejemplifica todos los pasos y cosas a tener en cuenta en la creación de una película con VFX.No es un libro técnico pero ayudará a los artistas y directores a entender la técnica