How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck: Advice to Make Any Amateur Look Like a Pro

When people ask me the best way to learn video skills, I point them to this book. Whether you’re just starting to get into video or have video experience, Steve Stockman gives you the tools you need to create videos people will actually watch. Of course, you have to learn the skills, practice them and then implement them. First off, Steve tells you up front that this book isn’t about equipment. And that’s a good thing because you may have the latest and greatest DSLR/mirrorless camera, an old hand-me down camera or your smartphone. This is a technique and skills book. Steve breaks everything down into easy to digest chapters and succinctly explains everything. He doesn’t overwhelm you with technical jargon, but writes in everyday, understandable language. You don’t need a videography/cinematography dictionary next to you as you read this. He provides everything you really need to know to get started, or get reoriented if you’ve fallen victim to all those fancy YouTube techniques or crazy transitions. I have both the Kindle and paperback versions. If you thumb through the pages of my paperback edition, you’ll discover all the notes, highlights and underlines I’ve made in it. It’s a book I reference again and again. If you want to make videos and don’t know where to start, then start with this book. Or if you started already and need some help to cut through all the other video stuff “creators” inundate you with, then cut to the chase and get this book.

Excellent book. Well written and fun to read, in addition to being very informative.

The short chapter make this an easy book to pick up for a few minutes, get a new concept, and then out it down.It changed how I think about making videos. I just finished it, so I haven't got a finished video. But I shot one last night, and I shot it very differently, based on what he said. We'll see how it comes out.

No book I have ever read or course I have taken has ever educated so thoroughly, concisely, and simply as this one. As applicable to the corporate manager as it is to aspiring artist, it not only tells you how to shoot video that doesn't suck but how to communicate your thoughts and ideas in a way which will be effective and entertaining.Even though I grew up in theater and television, and am a decent and well-educated writer, even within the first few chapters I was able to shoot and edit professional level video as I could not before. The only limitations are my equipment, but with this book any equipment is adequate--even your smart phone--to turn those videos that even your mother wouldn't enjoy into ones that people who don't even know you will want to share.Most of all, I liked how it related storytelling visually to the techniques I already know in writing. And the results are obvious.Only a few weeks before reading this book I shot a video of my friends and their kids, edited it down to just a couple of minutes, and set it to music as a gift. Of course they liked it, but they didn't love it because it my video sucked. After reading just the beginning of this book and doing the first few projects, I shot a video of my wife going to a salon to get a haircut, focusing the story on the heroine who was our friend the hairstylist, and not only was she extremely happy with it, but so was the business owner who runs an art gallery and is involved in the artist community here in New York City. They even wrote a long thank you with a description of what they loved about my video--the variety of angles, the action, and how it told a story they didn't realize was there before. And that was just a haircut.Now people actually ask me to please bring my camera when they know I'm going to an event, because even though they all have cameras, they know mine will be great.This book can't give you talent, but it can enable you to express the talent and ideas you already have, and using equipment and resources you already own. But more than that, this book cuts through the hard mantle of jargon and lingo, and the intimidating descriptions of 'must have' equipment which other instructors will insist upon, to the essentials of expressing your ideas effectively in most any venue or genre.

This is a rare kind of book. It doesn't only teach technical facts about filmmaking as a school textbook is supposed to do, but somehow manages to make the readers understand the ideas and accept them as their own.Unlike other books on filmmaking, this one does not speak about the technical side of video at all; instead, it talks at length about things that make a short video work and keep people interested and entertained. Most of us instinctively know a good video from a bad one; after finishing this book, the reader should be able to explain WHY a video is good or bad.It is apparent that a lot of effort has been put into making this book so helpful. It is richly illustrated with hand-made drawings, and the author's friendly style makes it a quick and pleasant read.Chances are, a reader today has at hand at least one or two devices that can shoot high quality video. By reading Steve Stockman's book, you should be able to identify and fix all the errors you've been making (if you've been shooting video) or avoid such mistakes (if you are a beginner).As I said in the beginning, this is a rare kind of book. Most non-fiction books on a given subject, you read once and then put on the bookshelf for eternity. This one is different: it is so jammed full of helpful advice and ideas that you will want to re-read it over and over again.Great value, highly recommended to all aspiring film makers.