Rating: 
Summary: A good start for beginners
Review: I'll keep this short: The first half of the book is great with tips for shooting and general techniques. The second half is all about three different editing programs on computers. Of course, the program I bought (Pinnacle Studio 8) wasn't covered. I would have prefered to have seen more on the shooting tips, and less on the programs. I'd buy another Dummies book all about the program if they made one for Pinnacle. Overall though, it was worth the price for the first half I suppose.
Rating: 
Summary: Not just for dummies!
Review: I'm a budding digital video enthusiast and this book simply wetted my appetite for more! The book ios written in that down to earth manner that all "Dummies" books are famous for. But it's not just technical stuff, it cover subjects that many filmakers need to know i.e. sound, lighting, and making the shoot. Good read for all!
Rating:
Summary: Being a Dummy is not always a prerequisite...
Review: Kudos to Martin Doucette! I've been waiting for a recognizable personality to write a good beginner's book for Digital Video.I always try to use the "...for Dummies" books in my classes because I think that they talk in plain English and lay a basic foundation for learning to take place. It's easy for the beginner to start at the beginning of the book and for the more advanced student to jump to what they need. Digital Video for Dummies is no different. I'm using the book for the included software and its explanation of non-linear editing, but it is also a good refresher for my students on shooting and lighting. Anyone that teaches digital video production should give this book a second look as a text. People who want to break into digital video production should use this as their bible.
Rating: 
Summary: Professional-quality productions,from equipment to editing
Review: Make your Hollywood dreams come true with this digital video starter kit If you want to produce professional-quality home movies, wedding videos, sales presentations, or multimedia Web content, all you need is a digital camcorder, a souped-up PC.....and the know- how contained in this savvy guide. So get this book, pick up some gear, grab your bullhorn, and start directing! Discover how to: Select the right digital camcorder Outfit your PC for video editing Plan and sound, graphics, animation, and more Transfer video to tape, CD-ROM, or the Web
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent beginner's book
Review: Some people are turned off by the title "Digital Video for Dummies," but if you have ever used one of the "for Dummies" series, you will find that perhaps the title should be "Digital Video for People Who Don't Know Anything About It." That doesn't scan well on a book cover, though. The book covers everything from equipment to technique. It is quite thorough, considering its size, barely over 300 pages. There is some truncated software included to get you started on digital editing. Simple clear explanations of the differences between digital and analog video are included, as well as the different formats that exist and the relative merits of each. You could definitely save money on your first purchases of equipment by getting this book before you decide what to buy.
Rating:
Summary: Good and Bad
Review: This book is divided into two main parts.
Part one is about cameras lightning and general hints and tips when filming with a camcorder. This part of the book is very good and informative. Part two of the book is about digital video editing software. The software covered here is Adobe Premiere 5.0, Windows Movie Maker and iMovie. Also Adobe Photoshop is covered! The coverage are a bit too shallow on the software. The information given on Adobe Premiere is so general that maybe it should have been left out. I know this book is supposed to be a helping hand for novices, but this is not enough info! The main problem with digital video software is tweaking and setting preferences. The rest is possible to learn by doing. I think the author could have focused more on spesific hardware, and ways to hook them up on the PC. In addition there is some information on useful equipment, and a demo CD. Overall not a bad book to purchase, but I believe there is better books out there, even for us novices!
Rating:
Summary: Strictly for beginners!
Review: This is a very good book for extreme digital video beginners. However, if you have the least amount of experience (already got your equipment hooked up, bought software, etc.) you will not find much helpful in this title. Primarily, the book caters to people who have zero experience with digital video, and plan on purchasing Adobe Premiere to use with a Mac computer. If you use other software on a PC (with the exception of Windows Movie Maker), this book will not aid you much in polishing your skills.
Rating:
Summary: Strictly for beginners!
Review: This is a very good book for extreme digital video beginners. However, if you have the least amount of experience (already got your equipment hooked up, bought software, etc.) you will not find much helpful in this title. Primarily, the book caters to people who have zero experience with digital video, and plan on purchasing Adobe Premiere to use with a Mac computer. If you use other software on a PC (with the exception of Windows Movie Maker), this book will not aid you much in polishing your skills.
Rating:
Summary: buy this book
Review: This is the most down to earth and comprehensive book i've read on video production. I wish they had this when I was taking video production in college. this book is a necessity for both the professional and the parent that wants to edit their child's birthday party. I learned as much in these few pages as I had earning a bachelors degree. If this had been published back in the 90's I wouldn't have lost all that money to tuition.
Rating: 
Summary: Ignores Mac users
Review: While this book has some useful information, the author seems to go out of his way to avoid helping Macintosh users. Given the popularity of the iMac DV and G3/G4 Macs with built-in firewire, it would make sense to at least have some pictures and/or commands to use this with the MacOS. In addition, the CD is not compatible for use with same. Most of the books I have on Adobe products recognize that at least half (or more) of the users of Photoshop, Premiere, etc., are Mac users and manage to give information helpful to both Mac and Windows users with little difficulty. Apparently, this is beyond the capability of Mr. Doucette.
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