Produce Your Own Special Interest Videos for Fun and Profit

DVD Production
Philip De Lancie & Mark Ely (2001, Focal Press, www.focalpress.com, 171 pp., $35)
DVD Production provides a complete overview of what's involved in creating DVDs, from the planning phases to the finished product.
Background information includes complete descriptions of each flavor of DVD, including DVD-Video, DVD-ROM and DVD-Audio. The meat of the book discusses production, including what you want the finished disc to be able to do. There are also details on "bit budgeting," the process of determining how best to exploit the space on the DVD. The section ends with the actual encoding of the content for replication or burning onto DVD-R. DVD Production concludes with ideas on how to streamline the DVD production environment.
The icing on the cake is the trial version of Sonic Solutions DVDit! provided in the package, adding to the already high value of the book. We'd recommend DVD Production to anyone who wants to start making DVDs.

Digital Moviemaking
Scott Billups (2000, Michael Wiese Publications, www.mwp.com, 238 pp., $27)
A deep knowledge of video and film production combined with a wry sense of humor and willingness to skewer sacred Hollywood cows make Digital Moviemaking stand out. The focus is on technology, but there are discussions of cast, crew and directing.
Just about anything you would want to know about producing film or digital video is covered here, including television standards, camera selection, lenses, use of light and editing equipment. A short but eye-opening chapter shows how to make a movie for $10,000 with used and rented equipment. The book ends with streaming your video on the Web and taking digital video to film.