Book Review - Digital Video for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Great Home Movies

Review by Ron Cotton - May 11, 2005

by Colin Barrett
Published By Lark Books (http://www.larkbooks.com/)
$19.95 US Soft cover
144 pages, Copyright 2005.
ISBN: 1-57990-668-0

When I first laid eyes upon this book, I was shocked how vivid this glossy print book was and its square appearance. Later, I discovered its true purpose of marking the book, breaking it down into its four distinct sections: Camcorder Basics, Shooting Techniques, Capturing Events, Digital Video Editing, and Sharing Movies. This colorful “tabbing” made future cross referencing a snap. The 2-column layout with informational boxes and full color images made skimming this book easy. The layout is reminiscent to The essential Digital Video Handbook by Pete May.

Digital Video for Beginners introduces that any digital camera is much like any other to the novice and yet few venture further than the red record button. Amateurs must go the extra leg to achieve the look that doesn't appear to be “accident-prone.” Digital Video for Beginners main aim is instructing the basic user on how to achieve the professional touch without overwhelming the amateur film maker. All of this without using a large amount of useless Jargon to those making home movies.

What I found most unique about this book is the emphasis on how to record everyday life as it unfolds. This factor alone sets this book apart from most others. Although this is book is specifically for novices, the book explains advanced techniques like time coding and digital video editing while being very careful not being too specific – making this publication's information timeless.

Overlooking prosumers DV formats (besides miniDV) was somewhat surprising, and yet not unfounded as DV is still a young and growing field.

Colin Barrett is no spring chicken when it comes to filming. Having both hands-on experience as a former television cameraman and writing in several video magazines makes him an authority in the field.

Colin Barrett's Website: www.simplydv.com