Performing Arts : Television

There was a time is screen culture when the facial close-up was a spectacular and mysterious image… The constant bombardment of the super-enlarged, computer-enhanced faces of advertising, the endless 'talking heads' of television and the ever-changing array of film stars' faces have reduced the face to a banal image, while the dream of early film theorists that the 'giant severed heads' of the screen could reveal 'the soul of man' to the masses is long since dead. And yet the end of this dream opens up the possibility for a different view of the face on the screen. The aim of the book is to seize this opportunity to rethink the facial close-up in terms other than subjectivity and identity by shifting the focus to questions of death and recognition. In doing so, the book proposes a dialectical reversal or about-face. It suggests that we focus our attention on the places in contemporary media where the face becomes unrecognisable, for it is here that the facial close-up expresses the powers of death. Using Walter Benjamin's theory of the dialectical image as a critical tool, the book provides detailed studies of a wide range of media spectacles of faces becoming unrecognisable. It shows how the mode of recognition enabled by these faces is a shock experience that can open our eyes to the underside of the mask of self - the unrecognisable mortal face of self we spend our lives trying not to see. Turning on itself, so to speak, the face exposes the fragile relationship between social recognition and facial recognizability in the images-cultures of contemporary media. more...

Price: $39.95

With the rise of television and video, film teaching has become inexpensive, causing an increase in the study and evaluation of film, in addition to practical film-making. The author provides an aesthetic framework for film study, giving ideas for more...

Price: $53.95

GASPING FOR AIRTIME is a hilarious and often moving memoir by former Saturday Night Live cast member Jay Mohr. When twenty-year-old Jay moved from New Jersey to New York City to pursue his dream of stand-up stardom, he never thought he'd land his first real job on Saturday Night Live . But he did?and what followed were two crazy years of trying to keep up with his talented castmates and get on the air as often as possible (a daunting feat for a rookie cast member). more...

Price: $9.95

Are you an associate producer who needs to juggle projects and vendors while keeping on top of the latest trends and formats? Or an independent filmmaker who can't afford a misstep in the crucial postproduction phase? Take a step back and get a clear overview of the process. This guide will show you how to navigate each step in taking a TV or film project from production to final delivery. Start by getting a handle on the critical issues of budgets and schedules. From there, you'll learn the smoothest way to manage dailies, sound, editing, and completion. Detailed instructions and checklists for film, video, and High Definition procedures will teach you new ways of doing things and help you avoid costly errors.The second edition is fully updated and information-packed. There is extensive new material on high definition as it affects dailies, editing, and delivery. The chapter on the film laboratory has been expanded further to include discussions on troubleshooting film damage and YCMs, which are so important in maintaining film assets. The latest information on film restoration, digital technologies, acquisitions, and a chapter on what's on the horizon round out the update. more...

Price: $47.95

TV sitcom is the goldmine genre, watched by millions. An absurd predicament, witty banter, a group of hilariously dysfunctional people: it all seems so easy. But is it? If you’ve ever said ‘I can do better than that’, then this book will encourage, test and pull you through the sitcom-writing boot camp. more...

Price: $9.99