What are the best books, websites, videos etc. on film grammar?
I assume you’re talking about an extremely loose definition of Film Grammar, in which case I’d recommend: Cinematography Cinematography: Theory and Practice: Image Making for Cinematographers, Directors, and Videographers by Blain Brown The Five Cs Of Cinematography by Joseph Mascelli Editing (picture and sound) In the Blink of an Eye – Walter Murch The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film – Michael Ondaatje The Eye Is Quicker: Film Editing: Making a Good Film Better by Richard D Pepperman The Technique of Film and Video Editing: History, Theory, and Practice by Ken Dancyger Story On Directing Film by David Mamet Directing Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen by Steve Katz
Sorry, I didn’t know I was using “film grammar” in an unusual way. What I’m looking for in particular is a clear explanation of the “rules” of editing: how to follow one image with another in such a way that it’s immediately obvious what is going on. What I am absolutely not looking for is information on how to edit like a glitzy MTV performance video or like Michael Bay, where it’s frequently impossible to tell who is where in relation to everyone and everything else, and what any given action changes in relation to everyone and everything else. Now I feel a bit foolish for calling it “film grammar” when searches on “editing” turn up some very useful info. But what I’m looking for isn’t restricted to editing; it also has to do with framing images and choosing what goes where in them, as well as how to move things through images, etc. Thanks for all the suggestions of useful texts. If anyone has any more, please don’t hesitate to share them.
