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The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide A Down and Dirty DV Production

The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide A Down and Dirty DV Production

“The key to Artis’ style is his instant accessibility. He strives to give daunting, complicated technical and aesthetic concepts total and immediate clarity….he’s as attentive to the subjective, intangible aspects of filmmaking (such as working with crews and interview subjects) as he is to the objective, technical ones….Most of this information is as applicable to fiction filmmakers as documentarians, making Artis’ book a handy guide for a wide range of beginning independent directors and cameramen.” - American Cinematographer


“Anthony Artis’ “The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide” is a good primer for the entry-level documentary filmmaker, presented in a breezy, down-to-earth vernacular style.”
-Thomas White, Editor of Documentary Magazine, a publication of the International Documentary Association.

“I vouch for this book…extremely helpful for the newborn documentary filmmaker.” -Albert Maysles, Grey Gardens

“A superb addition to the ‘how to’ subsection of your library, Artis’ tome is concise, while containing useful, accessible information on every aspect of documentary filmmaking, all with a doggedly hands-on attitude. Five stars.” - Empire Magazine

“The book is a very easy, straightforward read with plenty of graphics to demonstrate proper and improper techniques.It is also extremely user friendly in its layout.. [It] will be helpful to you for many, many years to come.” - Microfilmmaker Magazine

“The book has a luxury presentation that makes you feel like a successful filmmaker - or that you soon will be - from the word go…Carried out in full colour, which makes a relief from too many academic tomes, its 296 pages are chock-a-block with very useful illustrations. But the clincher seem to be the DVD which is all part of the package. You’re a filmlmaker, after all. A visual artist. Why would you want to spend all your time reading when you can be watching and learning.” - British Film Magazine

“Anthony Artis has consolidated years of practical, professional experience into the quintessential blueprint for documentary filmmakers. I have used the techniques in this book on my documentary and narrative film projects, knowing that budget should never stop a filmmaker from seeing his or her vision through. I highly recommend this book if you want to turn your limitations into assets. Now shut up and shoot!” -Pete Chatmon, Writer/Producer/Director PREMIUM and 761st

“Plain and simple, nuts and bolts on making documentary films. It’s told in a conversational manner with no wasted or minced words and most importantly no BS! Few books of this type would mention how important it is to take care of your crew and how that can dramatically improve the outcome of your film. Definitely told from an insiders point of view with useful and practical info that won’t go over your head.” -Cliff Charles, DP, When the Levees Broke, ThePeoplesDP.com

“The practical approach promised in the title is delivered fully by the text. Artis exposes the pitfalls that can swallow a beginning filmmaker and offers straightforward advice to avoid them.” -Jonathan Luskin, Flying Moose Pictures, San Francisco.

“The book is comprehensive and detailed. Indeed the most comprehensive practical (I do hate the word ‘guerrilla’, a filmmaker is surely at the end of the day just a filmmaker!) guide to documentary filmmaking I have ever come across! … It has three principle outstanding qualities that you seldom find individually let alone together in the same book. The first is how comprehensive it is; the second is how intensely practical it is; and the third is how clear it is… But remember that this book will not tell you how to make a great film or indeed a good film. Or indeed even pretend to. But it will give you clear and practical guidance on how to make your film. And without such guidance it is hard to even get started. This book will help you do so much more than that!
-Nik Powell (Director of the National Film and Television School in London)

“…jam packed with useful information spelled out in a useful way. You can’t ask for much more. This book gets a big recommend for aspiring documentarians and a solid recommend for other filmmakers, including aspiring narrative filmmakers, who will find plenty of the advice applies beyond documentaries.” - Making the Movie

“While focused first and foremost on documentaries, this is an utterly indispensable resource for anyone who wants to get their films made, on any budget… Smart, fun, and on your side, Shut Up and Shoot is packed with good stuff you’ll otherwise have to learn the hard way.”

-Bill Camarda, from the December 2007 Barnes and Noble Newsletter

Mr. Artis sets us straight from the start: “this ain’t your mamma’s film book; this is a book for people who want to make documentary films”. He makes it emphatically clear when he adds: “This book is for people who are done talking about the films they want to make and who are ready to shut up and shoot”.

–Rob Goald, Film Festival Today, Online

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars “The back door to film school is now open!”
Anthony Q. Artis has lovingly placed a complete video production course between the covers of a book. Here are all the things a conscientious film teacher tells his students, plus a DVD that shows, among other things, examples of good and bad sound along with interviews with prominent documentarians.

The book puts the focus on doing. Its tacit assumption is that everyone makes mistakes when they begin production, so you might as well get on with making them. Chapter one is titled Preproduction, and in fifty-two pages it covers everything from determining the goal of your documentary (What story do you want to tell and why?) to care and feeding of crew members (Don’t skimp on food!).

By chapter two we’re on location, and the book offers a lot of good advice about making a film in someone else’s backyard. From then on it’s all about getting it shot, getting good information, good images and good sound, planning for and conducting interviews, and the key to every successful documentary: editing and postproduction.

Do I love everything about this book? No. While it talks about guerilla filmmaking, in many ways it embraces a rather formal approach to making a documentary, which is to record interviews and shoot B-roll. While Artis says in chapter 6, “your B-roll is your A-roll,” I find a bias here in favor of told evidence over visual evidence.

That said, there is a lot to like about “The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide.” This book is so rich in so many ways that it is an excellent starting point for the beginning, wannabe documentary filmmaker as well as a handy resource for the rest of us who learned on the job, or learned our fundamentals so long ago that we can occasionally use a brush-up. Just as I carried the “American Cinematographer Manual” in my hip pocket when I was making documentaries on film, I’d keep this book on the reference shelf near my computer and stick it in my shoulder bag before going on a shoot.

And, if I were still teaching, this would definitely be one of the books I’d use.

[...]

5 Stars Your Call To Action To Make a Film NOW!
Anthony Artis has written an excellent guide to documentary filmmaking that will get you out of your brain and behind the camera. His direct approach is inspiring, and his book will carry you through your film all the way from concept to distribution.

The book covers all of the basic aspects of documentary filmmaking, along with advanced techniques to make your films smarter and better looking. Whether you’re making your first film, or your twentieth, Shut Up and Shoot will make you want to pick up your camera now!

5 Stars Shut Up and Read This Book
Up-and-coming documentary filmmaker Anthony Q. Artis has created a delightful primer and reference guide for any filmmaker, whether you want to make documentaries or narratives (though Artis mentioned he is currently working on a similar guide for narrative projects, which I look forward to).

Each step of the filmmaking process (minus screenwriting for you narrative moviemakers out there; but don’t worry, throw a rock and you’ll probably hit a useful screenwriting book like Screenplay or Story) is covered in just the right amount of detail. From planning to distribution, this guide is designed to cut out the fat we find in other film guides and does so brilliantly.

And if you don’t enjoy reading books, well, ironically enough, this book was made for you. The words are printed with a great font and size, making it a fast read and an easy-to-navigate reference guide and almost everything covered in plain text is then illustrated in a full color, easy-to-understand chart, graph, or other visual aide.

For anyone interested in narrative filmmaking, you can check out “The Power Filmmaking Kit” by Jason J. Tomaric, another book I highly recommend. And right here on Amazon.com, Anthony Q. Artis himself wrote up a stellar review of Tomaric’s tome, with 5 stars. It’ll hold you over until Artis’ next great text.

5 Stars Film School Teacher in My Book Bag!!!!!
I have been playing around with my Hi-8 camera and Final Cut Express for a couple of years and as I get better more and more people ask me to do projects for them. So when I decided I was going to “step-up” and do it right this book was one of the first purchases I made. As my title indicates, it has been like having a film school teacher in my book bag. I keep it with me all the time and I have gone back to certain chapters at different times to help make decesions about a good camera down to getting my light set-up just right. It has been a great resource to me as a beginner and given me a sense of confidence out in the field.

The best thing may be that this book is really complete in it’s scope even if you’re not aspiring to be a documentary film-maker, but at the same time it is very clear and keeps your attention. Lots of real-life examples from Mr. Artis himself as well as other pros who have contributed to the book. There are suggestions for gear and even other books. Great investment.

5 Stars Excellent Book
This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to make a documentary. I agree with the author, in that some books, and some film classes end up messing with your head with so much useless or confusing information. This is a very practical book, filled with great examples and very good tips for the inexperienced documentarian. Next year I will be shooting my first documentary and I couldn’t tell you how much the information on this book has helped me to prepare. Congratulations, highly recommeded!

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