Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
Written by Stu Maschwitz, co-founder of the Orphanage (the legendary guerrilla visual effects studio responsible for amazing and award-winning effects in such movies as Sin City, The Day After Tomorrow, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), this book is a must-have for all those budding filmmakers and students who want to produce action movies with visual effects but don't have Hollywood budgets. The Orphanage was created by three twenty-something visual effects veterans who wanted to make their own feature films and discovered they could do this by utilizing home computers, off the shelf software, and approaching things artistically. This guide details exactly how to do this: from planning and selecting the necessary cameras, software, and equipment, to creating specific special effects (including gunfire, Kung Fu fighting, car chases, dismemberment, and more) to editing and mixing sound and music. Its mantra is that the best, low-budget action moviemakers must visualize the end product first in order to reverse-engineer the least expensive way to get there. Readers will learn how to integrate visual effects into every aspect of filmmaking--before filming, during filming and with "in camera" shots, and with computers in postproduction. Throughout the book, the author makes specific references to and uses popular action movies (both low and big-budget) as detailed examples--including El Mariachi, La Femme Nikita, Die Hard, and Terminator 2. Note from the Publisher: If you have the 3rd printing of The DV Rebel’s Guide, your disc may be missing the data files that accompany the book. If this is the case, please send an email to Peachpit in order to obtain the files at ask@peachpit.com

Rating : - A Must Have
I have already completed one truly independent feature film, and I overlooked this book. After being turned away by festival after festival, I picked up THE DV REBEL GUIDE and realized many errors I made that could have changed the overall production value of my feature. As if this wasn't insight enough, Stu Maschiwitz gave me new ways to fix my work, and perhaps turn it into a proper money-making product. This book also offers so many insights into an overall one-man production process that anyone who that wants to buck the system and make their own movie ought to read. If you are Final Cut Pro or After Effects user, you will be relieved to find application specific workarounds and hints that bring your hard fought work into the professional world. Stu has mapped out a strong, clear and effective production pipeline from preproduction through to final render. THE DV REBEL's GUIDE is worth every cent, and shouldn't be ignored.