I bought the first edition of this way back when and loved every page. The problem with many of the best film books, especially film production, even more so low-budget filmmaking, is that they’re writtent by Americans and so discuss only making movies in the US. This was the first book I’d ever seen or read that featured tips on filmmaking in the UK. Now, admittedly, the people behind the books (it’s spawned a series it seems, see links below) haven’t done exceedingly well in the biz, but they’ve got experience of quite a few low-budget films, and even got courted by Hollywood. Not only do you get their film adventures, lessons and thoughts, a film diary of their productions and plenty of small tips, you also get an abundance of interviews with other people in the industry from financiers, bondmen, insurers, caterers, producers, directors and writers, covering every stage of production. It adds up to a well-rounded view of the industry and some insider knowledge I’ve never seen before or since. This makes it not just an entertaining and inspiring read but also an educational one too.
As if they wasn’t enough, you also get a legal toolkit with examples of everything from option agreements to release forms and budget templates. The there’s the production toolkit with templates covering call sheets, continuity reports, movement orders, shooting schedules and more. You get some software for formatting your screenplays and producing budgets, and last, but not least, you get The Directory, a yellow pages of film-related businesses. It really is everything you need.
It all started with The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook, but now there’s also:
Guerilla Film Maker’s Handbook: Hollywood Edition
A version designed to cover the US/Hollywood market. It’s described as: The best-selling low-budget filmmaker’s bible in the UK has now, at long last, been totally revamped for the US film industry.
Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint
This boils down the filmmaking process to a series of flow diagrams and checklists so that even someone who hasn’t picked up a film camera before can shoot a movie.
Guerilla Documentary Film Makers Handbook
This is due for release in May 2006.
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