Grammar of the Film Language

by Daniel Arijon

Book Overview

Visual narrative formulas for anyone involved in the film and tape industry. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 187950507X
• ISBN13: 9781879505070
• Release Date: September 1991
• Publisher: Silman-James Press
• Length: 624 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

This book was published in 1991.

I would guess the "grammar" of film language has changed just a bit in 33 years.

The best book on film making

After 17 years in the entertainment business, I have, or have read just about every book on film making there is and this is by far the most comprehensive when it comes to explaining what a composed image means. It also explains how to shoot and compile sequences to create specific rhythms, moods and elicit desired emotions from your audience. This is hands-down the best book for Directors, Editors, and Cinematographers available.

Sexist? Probably. Invaluable? Oh yeah.

I have to say that the illustrations are odd. A significant number have scantily-clad women and naked women but there are also illustrations of naked men. It's kinda bizarre but if you look on the illustrations as artist sketchings of the nude form and focus on the information being presented, it's an invaluable guide to camera motivation and how to tell a story in a way that engages the audience. It's difficult to get this information from any source. Schools typically don't teach this stuff and I've never seen it presented to the depth available in this book. It's literally a linguistic guide to cinema, treating motion pictures as a language that the audience has learned from past movies, a language that's apparently innate within our brains. Aspiring filmmakers would be wise to absorb the principles in this book before spending a lot of time and money making movies. The principles in this book explain how camera shots and editing help tell your story. How to compose your shot to show a character's reaction to another character's action. How to reveal story points to the audience at the right time. How to convey time, space and relationships between characters and objects. Great stuff!

The best technical and creative book on blocking and shots

Unequivocally the best reference for shots and blocking. Strickly for the professional director and cinematographer; this is a highly technical book. I refer to this book during my prep for each film, and no matter how many times I have read it, I am always reminded of something dynamic and valuable. Each page has storyboard drawings that show camera position, screen direction, and sequence of cuts. Also shown are dolly moves and character movement. These diagrams are accompanied by clear and detailed commentary. Do not be misled by the selected sample pages above. Fully 35% of the book is diagrams; the text explains the diagrams. The book is organized with the most basic coverage at the beginning, and each chapter thereafter presents increasing complexity of blocking. The shots presented are all from actual films, a factor that gives the material and the book an aliveness and vitality. Some of these films are complete unknowns, others are classics. Yet the source is inconsequential; what is amazing is that Mr. Arijon has essentially put into this book every possible combination of camera placement and character arrangement that has ever been done in cinema. Every director I have shown this book to has immediately gone out and gotten their own copy for reference. Anyone planning to direct or shoot a film will find this book an invaluable contribution to their ideas and creativity. Again due to its highly technical content, this is for professionals or serious students. The bible of blocking for cinema.

A strongly recommended addition to film school reference

Grammar Of The Film Language by professional screenwriter, film editor, and director Daniel Arijon is a comprehensive, thorough, "user friendly" guide to the assorted visual narrative techniques used in professional filmmaking. From the basics of placing players and cameras in the right positions to sequencing patterns, clearly explained with the help of more than 1,500 black-and-white illustrations. A strongly recommended addition to film school reference library collections, Grammar Of The Film Language is a core practical reference for anyone with an interest in filmmaking, or who just wants to know more about what makes the craft of shooting movies and TV shows tick!

The best technical and creative book on blocking and shots.

Unequivocally the best reference for shots and blocking. Strickly for the professional director and cinematographer; this is a highly technical book. I refer to this book during my prep for each film, and no matter how many times I have read it, I am always reminded of something dynamic and valuable. Each page has storyboard drawings that show camera position, screen direction, and sequence of cuts. Also shown are dolly moves and character movement. These diagrams are accompanied by clear and detailed commentary. The book is organized with the most basic coverage at the beginning, and each chapter thereafter presents increasing complexity of blocking. The shots presented are all from actual films, a factor that gives the material and the book an aliveness and vitality. Some of these films are complete unknowns, others are classics. Yet the source is inconsequential; what is amazing is that Mr. Arijon has essentially put into this book every possible combination of camera placement and character arrangement that has ever been done in cinema. Every director I have shown this book to has immediately gone out and gotten their own copy for reference. Anyone planning to direct or shoot a film will find this book an invaluable contribution to their ideas and creativity.