Movie Stunts & Special Effects: A Comprehensive Guide to Planning and Execution

Description

Throughout film history, one of the fundamental fantasies portrayed on screen has been the kind of physical action few of us could ever experience in real life. The image of an 'every man' engaged in hand-to-hand, mortal combat, defending his family or even the world population against an overwhelming and malevolent force, speaks to our most primal instincts and thus became a mainstay of movie entertainment. In order to translate these deep-seated fantasies to the screen, filmmakers have been developing special skills and crafts for over 100 years. It is these skills that make 'movie magic' and have allowed audiences to take part in the primal hopes and fears we all possess. Movie Stunts & Special Effects: A Comprehensive Guide to Planning and Execution is designed to inform filmmakers on how to plan for and utilize these crafts by engaging and empowering filmmakers to better communicate with stunts and effects practitioners, and thereby enabling them to more fully realize their vision. Director/Producer Andrew Lane surveys fights, use of weapons, cars and vehicles, falls, the use of pyrotechnics, atmospheric effects, bullet hits, wounds and blood, among many other categories. Factors such as cost, time to implement, safety accommodations, and assessing the competence of those employed to plan and execute stunts and special effects are numerous and very specific. Each topic in Movie Stunts & Special Effects is examined using narrative explanations and extensive interviews with world-renowned experts. Various stunts and special effects are explored in the context of how they are best captured by a camera and then editorially constituted in the final product.

Andrew Lane is Assistant Professor of Directing at Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University, USA, and has previously taught directing and visual storytelling at the UNCSA School of Filmmaking, USA, and the USC School of Cinematic Arts, USA. A member of the Writers Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for over 25 years, Andrew Lane has written or co-written over twenty films, re-written numerous others, produced over twenty features, and directed seven.

Movie Stunts & Special Effects: A Comprehensive Guide to Planning and Execution is an excellent addition to the library of any filmmaker, especially the novice, who is all too often unaware of the responsibility, care, time and preparation required to stage a successful stunt or special effect. This book examines the key visual tricks that make real the fantastic elements of film and demonstrates clearly how to eliminate the 'crossed-fingers' approach to stunts and effects. * David K. Irving, Director, Writer, and Associate Professor of Film and Television, New York University, USA * Finally a film book with no competition in the marketplace! A book that all aspiring filmmakers with dreams of shooting cinematic action scenes really must read. Veteran filmmaker Andrew Lane has made a valuable contribution to 'how to do the inherently dangerous safely' while creating the visceral moments you want. * Wayne Crawford, Filmmaker and MFA in Filmmaking Program Director, Horizons University, Paris, France, and Associate Professor of Directing, UNC School of the Arts, USA * This is a book that is invaluable to anyone contemplating a film that involves stunts, special effects, or visual effects and wants to know how to approach these very specialized areas safely and economically. Not only students, but indie filmmakers from all disciplines can learn something from Andy Lane's collaborators. The stunt and effects people who have generously shared their experiences enhance the value of the book. I would recommend it to any and all. * Betsy Pollock, Associate Dean of Production, American Film Institute, USA *