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Obsidian plugin to fetch articles and highlights from Omnivore
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Jargon tidying #105

Closed jun6lee closed 1 year ago

jun6lee commented 1 year ago

Example Bookmark: https://www.grc.com/intro.htm

Imported in obsidian looks like this

  Home of Gibson Research Corporation  

Steve Gibson's and Gibson Research Corporation's Web homepage. Original URL | Read on Omnivore

Gibson Research Corporation Proudly Announces

hard drive data recovery software The industry's #1 hard drive data recovery software is NOW COMPATIBLE with NTFS, FAT, Linux, and ALL OTHER file systems!

And the exclusive home of . . . online internet security test More than 106,642,625 shields tested!

To proceed, click the logos or select from the menu above.

Could look tidier if the symbols were processed better. Am I missing something in my template that might sort this?

Steve Gibson's and Gibson Research Corporation's Web homepage.

jun6lee commented 1 year ago

Hmm, please look at it raw, above it seems to look okay.


##   Home of Gibson Research Corporation  
---
Steve Gibson's and Gibson Research Corporation's Web homepage.
[Original URL](https://www.grc.com/intro.htm) | [Read on Omnivore](https://omnivore.app/me/https-www-grc-com-intro-htm-1895e3cd2bb)

**Gibson Research Corporation Proudly Announces**

**[![hard drive data recovery software](https://proxy-prod.omnivore-image-cache.app/486x209,sRd5tXG93jXStZypR9bLG7wcKKttCg5Z9YN5g9Enmblo/https://www.grctech.com/_pblcpee13ah4l_/image/sr6largelogo.gif)](https://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm)** 
**![](https://proxy-prod.omnivore-image-cache.app/1x12,sdsrO0pRGfIGSXdv25miBs3SMYGesdNdn8oqVZUihE48/https://www.grc.com/image/transpixel.gif)** 
**The industry's #1 hard drive data recovery** 
**software is NOW COMPATIBLE with NTFS,** 
**FAT, Linux, and ALL OTHER file systems!** 

**_And the exclusive home of . . ._** 
**![](https://proxy-prod.omnivore-image-cache.app/1x15,swUstlqgz6n17Sqj-sENeFSYumwIOcCMLYckM8U0P99g/https://www.grc.com/image/transpixel.gif)** 
**[![online internet security test](https://proxy-prod.omnivore-image-cache.app/410x67,sFPiuIPbRRx97ljaUAnDSLgNTR0KpqBFfL_YvrVEfw_s/https://www.grctech.com/_pblcpee13ah4l_/image/su2blackglow.gif)](https://www.grc.com/default.htm)** 
**More than 106,642,625 shields tested!** 

**To proceed, click the logos or select from the menu above.**
jun6lee commented 1 year ago

Another example comparing with a previous Instapaper sync below: Original URL: https://screencraft.org/blog/10-filmmaking-books-every-aspiring-filmmaker-should-read/

---
url: https://screencraft.org/blog/10-filmmaking-books-every-aspiring-filmmaker-should-read/
readlater:
  id: "1617831098"
  provider: instapaper
  synchtime: 1689099045177
---

# 10 Filmmaking Books Every Aspiring Filmmaker Should Read

The 10 best filmmaking books to help jumpstart your career.

by [Karl Williams](https://screencraft.org/blog/author/karlwilliams/) on July 6, 2023

![](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)

![](https://screencraft.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-Filmmaking-Books-Every-Aspiring-Filmmaker-Should-Read-768x432.jpg)

Compiling a list of the 10 filmmaking books every aspiring filmmaker should read would have been a very difficult task when I was in film school — but for the 180-degree, polar-opposite reason that it is today. 

There probably weren't 10 books in existence about filmmaking at the time. My particular focus was screenwriting, and if I recall correctly (and you'll figure out in a second why I might not), there were only two books that had anything to do with the subject of screenwriting at all: Syd Field's _Screenplay_ and William Goldman's _Adventures in the Screen Trade_. Which were both relatively recent.

Every other text from which we gleaned screenwriting knowledge was not actually a book specifically about screenwriting, from [Aristotle's](https://screencraft.org/blog/how-to-use-aristotles-favorite-plot-tool-peripeteia/) _Poetics_ (plays) to Lajos Egri's _The Art of Dramatic Writing_ (also plays). So yeah, let's just say this was a while ago. (I actually knew somebody who had the hairstyle we then referred to as the "Flock of Seagulls.")

---

That was then, and this is now.

Today, there are so many books about every aspect of film and video production that there's even a successful publisher, Michael Wiese Productions, that only produces high-quality filmmaking books. Like YA (Young Adult) fiction, it's a category that barely existed decades ago but has now become its own best-selling genre.

Because there are so many hundreds (at this point, probably well over a thousand) potential "top picks," I've focused on ten filmmaking books that were meaningful to me personally. Every one of them taught me things I didn't already know. Each changed my perspective on the art of cinema or the business of film and television in some way. And every one of them left me feeling inspired. In the way a great foodie movie like _Chef, Big Night_ or _Babette's Feast_ can make you hungry, these books made me hungry to get busy creating.

I've also made the decision to highlight filmmaking books that are considered classics because I think it's critical to cinema that its artists have a shared lexicon of references. Just as it's important for film students to study and understand the importance of movies made before, say, 2010 (black and white is okay! It will NOT hurt your eyes!), it's important to read the filmmaking books that previous generations have deemed foundational (and that many current film and TV tomes are trying to emulate).

**Read More: [These Filmmaking Podcasts Will Change the Way You Make Movies](https://screencraft.org/blog/filmmaking-podcasts-change-the-way-you-make-movies/)**

![10 Filmmaking Books every aspiring filmmaker should read](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)

![10 Filmmaking Books every aspiring filmmaker should read](https://screencraft.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-Filmmaking-Books-every-aspiring-filmmaker-should-read-1-scaled.jpeg)

## [_Adventures in the Screen Trade_](https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Screen-Trade-Hollywood-Screenwriting/dp/0446391174/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1686324122&sr=1-1), William Goldman (1983)

Goldman, the writer of _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Marathon Man, All the President's Men_ and _The Princess Bride_, among other classics, provides an often hilarious account of his singular career as a screenwriter that brought readers into the world of a professional screenwriter, creating a public awareness of what "screenwriting" actually entailed for the first time. It's also partly a survival guide and warning about the vagaries of Hollywood and creativity. Its opening sentence, "Nobody knows anything," has proven to be as memorable and oft-quoted by film buffs as the rest of his work.

## [_Spike Lee's Gotta Have It_](https://www.amazon.com/Spike-Lees-Gotta-Have-Filmmaking/dp/0671644173/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2IJV8W6H9N8Y5&keywords=spike+lee%27s+gotta+have+it&qid=1686324084&s=books&sprefix=spike+lee%27s+gotta+have+it%2Cstripbooks%2C130&sr=1-1), Spike Lee (1987)

This chronicle of the making of _She's Gotta Have It_ is an inspiring deep dive into the boots-on-the-ground, nuts-and-bolts process of indie filmmaking, based on journals that Lee kept during the production. _She's Gotta Have It_ is one of the films that kicked off the modern era of independent film, and is still a touchstone today: Lee recently remade the film as a Netflix series. My most vivid memory of this book is Lee writing about trying to wedge a rented editing console (a Steenbeck, maybe?) into his tiny New York apartment.

**Read More: [The Script Lab: 5 Trademarks of a Spike Lee Script](https://thescriptlab.com/blogs/30776-5-trademarks-of-a-spike-lee-script/)**

![10 Filmmaking Books Every Aspiring Filmmaker Should Read](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)

![10 Filmmaking Books Every Aspiring Filmmaker Should Read](https://screencraft.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-Filmmaking-Books-Every-Aspiring-Filmmaker-Should-Read.png)

Do the Right Thing (1989)

## [_Making Movies_](https://www.amazon.com/Making-Movies-Sidney-Lumet/dp/0679756604/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3NQ72NQIQ80VC&keywords=making+movies&qid=1686324007&s=books&sprefix=making+movies%2Cstripbooks%2C136&sr=1-1), Sidney Lumet (1996)

Another great New York filmmaker, Lumet was the director of such classics as _Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network_ and _The Verdict_. He lays out the process of getting a movie made and while it can be a little dismaying at times to realize that on some levels, it's just as hard to make a movie that has a fantastic script and huge stars attached as it is to make a low-budget indie, this is ultimately an inspiring page-turner that's a master class from one of the greats.

## [_Rebel without a Crew_](https://www.amazon.com/Rebel-without-Crew-23-Year-Old-Filmmaker/dp/0452271878/ref=sr_1_1?crid=EHEJ8E8PP8XW&keywords=rebel+without+a+crew&qid=1686323987&s=books&sprefix=rebel+without+a+cre%2Cstripbooks%2C128&sr=1-1), Robert Rodriguez (1996)

Decades later, it's still hard to believe that such a stylish, inventive, visually witty film was made by a first-time director on a $7,000 shoestring budget. In this book, he literally tells the reader how he did it — the book reads almost like a bonus feature to the film. Thanks to Rodriguez's passion and zeal for his work, this behind-the-scenes account crackles with energy — you will definitely finish this book knowing that you, too, can make a movie worth watching for next to nothing.

**Read More: [The Script Lab: Download _El Mariachi_](https://thescriptlab.com/property/el-mariachi/)**

![10 Filmmaking Books Every Aspiring Filmmaker Should Read](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)

![10 Filmmaking Books Every Aspiring Filmmaker Should Read](https://screencraft.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-Filmmaking-Books-Every-Aspiring-Filmmaker-Should-Read2.png)

El Mariachi (1992)

## [_Every Frame a Rembrandt_](https://www.amazon.com/Every-Frame-Rembrandt-Practice-Cinematography/dp/1138410632/ref=sr_1_1?tag=nofilmschool-20&keywords=Every%20Frame%20a%20Rembrandt:%20Art%20and%20Practice%20of%20Cinematography&qid=1581485592&s=books&sr=1-1&geniuslink=true), Andrew Laszlo (2000)

The veteran director of photography walks his readers through five motion pictures he shot, teaching the fundamentals of cinematography along the way. "War stories" from the sets of _Southern Comfort, The Warriors, Rambo: First Blood, Streets of Fire_ and _Innerspace_ illuminate unique pictorial challenges in each production. Essentially the book version of the author's acclaimed and highly popular 2-day cinematography seminar, _Every Frame a Rembrandt_ brims with absorbing accounts of how the look of a film is crafted by professionals with decades of experience.

## [_In the Blink of an Eye_](https://www.amazon.com/Blink-Eye-Perspective-Film-Editing/dp/1879505622/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1J05G6DLISYUJ&keywords=in+the+blink+of+an+eye&qid=1686326250&s=books&sprefix=in+the+blink+of+an+eye%2Cstripbooks%2C148&sr=1-1), Walter Murch (2001)

A superb introduction to the art of film editing by one of its masters: Murch, who edited the _Godfather_ trilogy and classics such as _Ghost_ and _The English Patient_, is not only an Oscar-winning editor but was also the first person to ever receive an on-screen credit as "sound designer" (for _Apocalypse Now_). His "Rule of 6" (6 criteria to consider in making a cut) has become a touchstone, and his theories about the psychological aspects of editing are endlessly fascinating. An embracer of new technologies, Murch updates this volume from time to time as editing systems advance; he was the first editor to cut an entire feature film in Final Cut Pro (_Cold Mountain_). Essential for editors of any type of cinema.

## [_If It's Purple, Someone's Gonna Die_](https://www.amazon.com/Its-Purple-Someones-Gonna-Die/dp/0240806883/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2QGWGHLDYD2ZD&keywords=if+it%27s+purple%2C+someone%27s+gonna+die&qid=1686324156&s=books&sprefix=if+it%27s+purple%2Cstripbooks%2C127&sr=1-1), Patti Bellantoni (2005)

A fascinating exploration of the use and symbolism of color in filmmaking, the author posits that certain colors (utilized either with instinct or intent) can actually not only influence emotions, but create them. The book's intended audience is the visual designers of films — it's priceless alone for its interviews and comments from cinematic heavy hitters such as production designer Henry Bumstead (_Vertigo, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Sting_ and most of Clint Eastwood's films including _Unforgiven_) and cinematographer Roger Deakins (_The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo_ and many other Coen Brothers films, and two Oscars recently for _Blade Runner 2049_ and _1917_). However, even as a screenwriting teacher, I found this book essential for getting me to think about ways to get students out of the "action…dialogue…dialogue…action" box and be more visual on the page.

![10 Filmmaking Books every aspiring filmmaker should read](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)

![10 Filmmaking Books every aspiring filmmaker should read](https://screencraft.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-Filmmaking-Books-every-aspiring-filmmaker-should-read2.jpg)

Vertigo (1958)

## [_The War of Art_](https://blackirishbooks.com/product/the-war-of-art/), Stephen Pressfield (2002)

Pressfield, famed as a historical novelist (his _Gates of Fire_ is an even better version of the Battle of Thermopylae than _300_) has some street cred in the movie world: his book _The Legend of Bagger Vance_ was turned into a major motion picture starring Will Smith and Matt Damon. But Pressfield also has a side gig as a writer of inspirational works aimed mostly at writers and let me tell you, this guy feels your pain. You're getting the goods here, from someone who has faced the blank page and had to come up with something out of nothing. I never use the words "writer's block," but when I have a few times in the past gotten…let's call it "stuck"...this book helped me get my fingers tapping at the keyboard again. I've bought many paperback copies of this treasure and given them away to writer friends as gifts. Practical but spiritual at the same time, it's a quick-read breaker of creative logjams and a map that guides, to paraphrase Mary Heaton Vorse, "the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair."

## [_So You Want to Be a Producer_](https://www.amazon.com/So-You-Want-Be-Producer/dp/1400051665/ref=asc_df_1400051665/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312151229432&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16694591789845769761&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031623&hvtargid=pla-493091842753&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=61316180639&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312151229432&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16694591789845769761&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031623&hvtargid=pla-493091842753), Lawrence Turman (2005)

There are a number of fantastic filmmaking books that focus on producing: Christine Vachon's _Shooting to Kill_ and Julia Phillips' _You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again_ both spring immediately to mind. But this how-to from the producer of _The Graduate_ and more than 40 other films is uniquely encouraging and enthusiastic about the job of producing. Describing it as a frustrating rollercoaster ride, he also insists, "Even the complainers love it." The producer of _The Thing, Short Circuit, The River Wild_ and _American History X_ — and for more than 25 years, the chair of USC's eminent Peter Stark Producing Program — Turman covers the entire process of making and releasing a film, from raising money through hiring the creative talent to marketing the finished product. A brass-tacks look at the mechanics of making motion pictures from an authoritative source whose work was always smart and frequently influential.

## [_Letters to Young Filmmakers_](https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Young-Filmmakers-Creativity-Getting/dp/1615930639/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RAXC4KDP2VEP&keywords=letters+to+young+filmmakers&qid=1686327472&s=books&sprefix=letters+to+young+filmmakers%2Cstripbooks%2C132&sr=1-1), Howard Suber (2012)

Deceptively breezy and easy to consume in one thoroughly enjoyable sitting, legendary UCLA professor Suber distills a lifetime of teaching emerging filmmakers into this single repository of advice and encouragement. Inspired by Rilke's _Letters to a Young Poet_, Suber's cinematic pearls of wisdom will echo in your brain later when you're on set or at the keyboard. His chapter that takes a skeptical view of the age-old advice, "Write what you know," will be very familiar to my screenwriting students. His chapter simply titled "Decisions" is meant for filmmakers but honestly? It's just a solid overall life lesson. If you don't have a mentor in the business, at least you can read a mentor's book.

![10 filmmaking books every filmmaker should read](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)

![10 filmmaking books every filmmaker should read](https://screencraft.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-filmmaking-books-every-filmmaker-should-read.png)

The Graduate (1967)

**Read More: [10 Best Filmmaking Websites for Indie Filmmakers](https://screencraft.org/blog/10-best-filmmaking-websites-for-indie-filmmakers/)**

---

Karl Williams is a screenwriting instructor at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona. He has won the Comedy and Sci-Fi Awards at the Austin Film Festival and the Jack Nicholson Prize for Excellence in Screenwriting at UCLA, where he earned his MFA. In addition to blogging for Final Draft, he co-hosts the screenwriting advice podcast _Get Your Story Straight_.

---

compared to

---
id: bc18e27c-a372-4b29-ab49-30d05bf0c01b
booked: 2023-07-16 18:24:40
date_published: 2023-07-06 18:30:48
highlight_type: article
omnivore_url: https://omnivore.app/me/https-screencraft-org-blog-10-filmmaking-books-every-aspiring-fi-1895e395130
source_url: https://screencraft.org/blog/10-filmmaking-books-every-aspiring-filmmaker-should-read
---

## 10 Filmmaking Books Every Aspiring Filmmaker Should Read - ScreenCraft
---
What are the best filmmaking books on the market today? ScreenCraft takes a deep dive into the essential library to start for your career.
[Original URL](https://screencraft.org/blog/10-filmmaking-books-every-aspiring-filmmaker-should-read) | [Read on Omnivore](https://omnivore.app/me/https-screencraft-org-blog-10-filmmaking-books-every-aspiring-fi-1895e395130)

The 10 best filmmaking books to help jumpstart your career.

by [Karl Williams](https://screencraft.org/blog/author/karlwilliams/) on July 6, 2023

![](https://proxy-prod.omnivore-image-cache.app/0x0,sNcyNMU6WNp6xzHoTfFMGK4VxRYMzUESXLRQjScG8-3A/https://screencraft.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-Filmmaking-Books-Every-Aspiring-Filmmaker-Should-Read-768x432.jpg)

Compiling a list of the 10 filmmaking books every aspiring filmmaker should read would have been a very difficult task when I was in film school — but for the 180-degree, polar-opposite reason that it is today. 

There probably weren't 10 books in existence about filmmaking at the time. My particular focus was screenwriting, and if I recall correctly (and you'll figure out in a second why I might not), there were only two books that had anything to do with the subject of screenwriting at all: Syd Field's _Screenplay_ and William Goldman's _Adventures in the Screen Trade_. Which were both relatively recent.

Every other text from which we gleaned screenwriting knowledge was not actually a book specifically about screenwriting, from [Aristotle's ](https://screencraft.org/blog/how-to-use-aristotles-favorite-plot-tool-peripeteia/)_Poetics_ (plays) to Lajos Egri's _The Art of Dramatic Writing_ (also plays). So yeah, let's just say this was a while ago. (I actually knew somebody who had the hairstyle we then referred to as the "Flock of Seagulls.")

##### Got a great film you need help finishing? Enter it into the [Film Fund Competition](https://www.screencraft.org/fund)!

That was then, and this is now.

Today, there are so many books about every aspect of film and video production that there's even a successful publisher, Michael Wiese Productions, that only produces high-quality filmmaking books. Like YA (Young Adult) fiction, it's a category that barely existed decades ago but has now become its own best-selling genre.

Because there are so many hundreds (at this point, probably well over a thousand) potential "top picks," I've focused on ten filmmaking books that were meaningful to me personally. Every one of them taught me things I didn't already know. Each changed my perspective on the art of cinema or the business of film and television in some way. And every one of them left me feeling inspired. In the way a great foodie movie like _Chef, Big Night_ or _Babette's Feast_ can make you hungry, these books made me hungry to get busy creating.

I've also made the decision to highlight filmmaking books that are considered classics because I think it's critical to cinema that its artists have a shared lexicon of references. Just as it's important for film students to study and understand the importance of movies made before, say, 2010 (black and white is okay! It will NOT hurt your eyes!), it's important to read the filmmaking books that previous generations have deemed foundational (and that many current film and TV tomes are trying to emulate).

**Read More: [These Filmmaking Podcasts Will Change the Way You Make Movies](https://screencraft.org/blog/filmmaking-podcasts-change-the-way-you-make-movies/)**

![10 Filmmaking Books every aspiring filmmaker should read](https://proxy-prod.omnivore-image-cache.app/2048x1365,sFtY9XczOo81bKq91BgGbijrXIWQMGPne_NcM-PPvaZw/https://screencraft.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-Filmmaking-Books-every-aspiring-filmmaker-should-read-1-scaled.jpeg)

## [_Adventures in the Screen Trade_](https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Screen-Trade-Hollywood-Screenwriting/dp/0446391174/ref=tmm%5Fpap%5Fswatch%5F0?%5Fencoding=UTF8&qid=1686324122&sr=1-1), William Goldman (1983)

Goldman, the writer of _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Marathon Man, All the President's Men_ and _The Princess Bride_, among other classics, provides an often hilarious account of his singular career as a screenwriter that brought readers into the world of a professional screenwriter, creating a public awareness of what "screenwriting" actually entailed for the first time. It's also partly a survival guide and warning about the vagaries of Hollywood and creativity. Its opening sentence, "Nobody knows anything," has proven to be as memorable and oft-quoted by film buffs as the rest of his work.

## [_Spike Lee's Gotta Have It_](https://www.amazon.com/Spike-Lees-Gotta-Have-Filmmaking/dp/0671644173/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?crid=2IJV8W6H9N8Y5&keywords=spike+lee%27s+gotta+have+it&qid=1686324084&s=books&sprefix=spike+lee%27s+gotta+have+it%2Cstripbooks%2C130&sr=1-1), Spike Lee (1987)

This chronicle of the making of _She's Gotta Have It_ is an inspiring deep dive into the boots-on-the-ground, nuts-and-bolts process of indie filmmaking, based on journals that Lee kept during the production. _She's Gotta Have It_ is one of the films that kicked off the modern era of independent film, and is still a touchstone today: Lee recently remade the film as a Netflix series. My most vivid memory of this book is Lee writing about trying to wedge a rented editing console (a Steenbeck, maybe?) into his tiny New York apartment.

**Read More: [The Script Lab: 5 Trademarks of a Spike Lee Script](https://thescriptlab.com/blogs/30776-5-trademarks-of-a-spike-lee-script/?deviceId=8d55754e-8f43-489e-9277-91cc0556f4fc)**

![10 Filmmaking Books Every Aspiring Filmmaker Should Read](https://proxy-prod.omnivore-image-cache.app/2042x1192,sH40MXWtLCkReaaex5lC2ZcJji3NxuwaGwF5OqZI6NKQ/https://screencraft.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-Filmmaking-Books-Every-Aspiring-Filmmaker-Should-Read.png)

Do the Right Thing (1989)

## [_Making Movies_](https://www.amazon.com/Making-Movies-Sidney-Lumet/dp/0679756604/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?crid=3NQ72NQIQ80VC&keywords=making+movies&qid=1686324007&s=books&sprefix=making+movies%2Cstripbooks%2C136&sr=1-1), Sidney Lumet (1996)

Another great New York filmmaker, Lumet was the director of such classics as _Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network_ and _The Verdict_. He lays out the process of getting a movie made and while it can be a little dismaying at times to realize that on some levels, it's just as hard to make a movie that has a fantastic script and huge stars attached as it is to make a low-budget indie, this is ultimately an inspiring page-turner that's a master class from one of the greats.

## [_Rebel without a Crew_](https://www.amazon.com/Rebel-without-Crew-23-Year-Old-Filmmaker/dp/0452271878/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?crid=EHEJ8E8PP8XW&keywords=rebel+without+a+crew&qid=1686323987&s=books&sprefix=rebel+without+a+cre%2Cstripbooks%2C128&sr=1-1), Robert Rodriguez (1996)

Decades later, it's still hard to believe that such a stylish, inventive, visually witty film was made by a first-time director on a $7,000 shoestring budget. In this book, he literally tells the reader how he did it — the book reads almost like a bonus feature to the film. Thanks to Rodriguez's passion and zeal for his work, this behind-the-scenes account crackles with energy — you will definitely finish this book knowing that you, too, can make a movie worth watching for next to nothing.

**Read More: [The Script Lab: Download _El Mariachi_](https://thescriptlab.com/property/el-mariachi/?deviceId=8d55754e-8f43-489e-9277-91cc0556f4fc)**

![10 Filmmaking Books Every Aspiring Filmmaker Should Read](https://proxy-prod.omnivore-image-cache.app/2048x1095,s5xOWlwFvbSGnfU2A-e8PGTBciCVRXmqlGidl3XNjPpg/https://screencraft.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-Filmmaking-Books-Every-Aspiring-Filmmaker-Should-Read2.png)

El Mariachi (1992)

## [_Every Frame a Rembrandt_](https://www.amazon.com/Every-Frame-Rembrandt-Practice-Cinematography/dp/1138410632/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?tag=nofilmschool-20&keywords=Every%20Frame%20a%20Rembrandt:%20Art%20and%20Practice%20of%20Cinematography&qid=1581485592&s=books&sr=1-1&geniuslink=true), Andrew Laszlo (2000)

The veteran director of photography walks his readers through five motion pictures he shot, teaching the fundamentals of cinematography along the way. "War stories" from the sets of _Southern Comfort, The Warriors, Rambo: First Blood, Streets of Fire_ and _Innerspace_ illuminate unique pictorial challenges in each production. Essentially the book version of the author's acclaimed and highly popular 2-day cinematography seminar, _Every Frame a Rembrandt_ brims with absorbing accounts of how the look of a film is crafted by professionals with decades of experience.

## [_In the Blink of an Eye_](https://www.amazon.com/Blink-Eye-Perspective-Film-Editing/dp/1879505622/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?crid=1J05G6DLISYUJ&keywords=in+the+blink+of+an+eye&qid=1686326250&s=books&sprefix=in+the+blink+of+an+eye%2Cstripbooks%2C148&sr=1-1), Walter Murch (2001)

A superb introduction to the art of film editing by one of its masters: Murch, who edited the _Godfather_ trilogy and classics such as _Ghost_ and _The English Patient_, is not only an Oscar-winning editor but was also the first person to ever receive an on-screen credit as "sound designer" (for _Apocalypse Now_). His "Rule of 6" (6 criteria to consider in making a cut) has become a touchstone, and his theories about the psychological aspects of editing are endlessly fascinating. An embracer of new technologies, Murch updates this volume from time to time as editing systems advance; he was the first editor to cut an entire feature film in Final Cut Pro (_Cold Mountain_). Essential for editors of any type of cinema.

## [_If It's Purple, Someone's Gonna Die_](https://www.amazon.com/Its-Purple-Someones-Gonna-Die/dp/0240806883/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?crid=2QGWGHLDYD2ZD&keywords=if+it%27s+purple%2C+someone%27s+gonna+die&qid=1686324156&s=books&sprefix=if+it%27s+purple%2Cstripbooks%2C127&sr=1-1), Patti Bellantoni (2005)

A fascinating exploration of the use and symbolism of color in filmmaking, the author posits that certain colors (utilized either with instinct or intent) can actually not only influence emotions, but create them. The book's intended audience is the visual designers of films — it's priceless alone for its interviews and comments from cinematic heavy hitters such as production designer Henry Bumstead (_Vertigo, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Sting_ and most of Clint Eastwood's films including _Unforgiven_) and cinematographer Roger Deakins (_The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo_ and many other Coen Brothers films, and two Oscars recently for _Blade Runner 2049_ and _1917_). However, even as a screenwriting teacher, I found this book essential for getting me to think about ways to get students out of the "action…dialogue…dialogue…action" box and be more visual on the page.

![10 Filmmaking Books every aspiring filmmaker should read](https://proxy-prod.omnivore-image-cache.app/1200x800,szmVzjheM6GUVzSk3LEPZrLQ7ZT1SnnX86k30EfOh0AE/https://screencraft.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-Filmmaking-Books-every-aspiring-filmmaker-should-read2.jpg)

Vertigo (1958)

## [_The War of Art_](https://blackirishbooks.com/product/the-war-of-art/), Stephen Pressfield (2002)

Pressfield, famed as a historical novelist (his _Gates of Fire_ is an even better version of the Battle of Thermopylae than _300_) has some street cred in the movie world: his book _The Legend of Bagger Vance_ was turned into a major motion picture starring Will Smith and Matt Damon. But Pressfield also has a side gig as a writer of inspirational works aimed mostly at writers and let me tell you, this guy feels your pain. You're getting the goods here, from someone who has faced the blank page and had to come up with something out of nothing. I never use the words "writer's block," but when I have a few times in the past gotten…let's call it "stuck"...this book helped me get my fingers tapping at the keyboard again. I've bought many paperback copies of this treasure and given them away to writer friends as gifts. Practical but spiritual at the same time, it's a quick-read breaker of creative logjams and a map that guides, to paraphrase Mary Heaton Vorse, "the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair."

## [_So You Want to Be a Producer_](https://www.amazon.com/So-You-Want-Be-Producer/dp/1400051665/ref=asc%5Fdf%5F1400051665/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312151229432&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16694591789845769761&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031623&hvtargid=pla-493091842753&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=61316180639&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312151229432&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16694591789845769761&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031623&hvtargid=pla-493091842753), Lawrence Turman (2005)

There are a number of fantastic filmmaking books that focus on producing: Christine Vachon's _Shooting to Kill_ and Julia Phillips' _You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again_ both spring immediately to mind. But this how-to from the producer of _The Graduate_ and more than 40 other films is uniquely encouraging and enthusiastic about the job of producing. Describing it as a frustrating rollercoaster ride, he also insists, "Even the complainers love it." The producer of _The Thing, Short Circuit, The River Wild_ and _American History X_ — and for more than 25 years, the chair of USC's eminent Peter Stark Producing Program — Turman covers the entire process of making and releasing a film, from raising money through hiring the creative talent to marketing the finished product. A brass-tacks look at the mechanics of making motion pictures from an authoritative source whose work was always smart and frequently influential.

## [_Letters to Young Filmmakers_](https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Young-Filmmakers-Creativity-Getting/dp/1615930639/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?crid=1RAXC4KDP2VEP&keywords=letters+to+young+filmmakers&qid=1686327472&s=books&sprefix=letters+to+young+filmmakers%2Cstripbooks%2C132&sr=1-1), Howard Suber (2012)

Deceptively breezy and easy to consume in one thoroughly enjoyable sitting, legendary UCLA professor Suber distills a lifetime of teaching emerging filmmakers into this single repository of advice and encouragement. Inspired by Rilke's _Letters to a Young Poet_, Suber's cinematic pearls of wisdom will echo in your brain later when you're on set or at the keyboard. His chapter that takes a skeptical view of the age-old advice, "Write what you know," will be very familiar to my screenwriting students. His chapter simply titled "Decisions" is meant for filmmakers but honestly? It's just a solid overall life lesson. If you don't have a mentor in the business, at least you can read a mentor's book.

![10 filmmaking books every filmmaker should read](https://proxy-prod.omnivore-image-cache.app/1630x1282,sQI5rxDdl_YIsTDXx62GgTurCfrzKhJ1qNgdtQAVnz-U/https://screencraft.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-filmmaking-books-every-filmmaker-should-read.png)

The Graduate (1967)

**Read More: [10 Best Filmmaking Websites for Indie Filmmakers](https://screencraft.org/blog/10-best-filmmaking-websites-for-indie-filmmakers/)**

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Karl Williams is a screenwriting instructor at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona. He has won the Comedy and Sci-Fi Awards at the Austin Film Festival and the Jack Nicholson Prize for Excellence in Screenwriting at UCLA, where he earned his MFA. In addition to blogging for Final Draft, he co-hosts the screenwriting advice podcast _Get Your Story Straight_.

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####  Facebook Comments
jun6lee commented 1 year ago

' instead of apostrophe seems to be the main one -- but a parser for neatness would be nice

jun6lee commented 1 year ago

I was being stupid.

{{& content}} as per your documentation -- https://docs.omnivore.app/integrations/obsidian.html#controlling-the-layout-of-the-data-imported-to-obsidian

Resolved.

Edit: {{{content}}} would have done the trick too.