The complete film dictionary
By: Ira Konigsberg.
Edition: 2nd ed.
Publisher: Penguin Reference
Published: 1997
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 469
Subjects: Motion pictures -- Dictionaries; Cinematography -- Dictionaries
Description: This new edition covers all the spectacular technical advances in filmmaking of the past ten years, particularly those involving special effects and the electronic revolution. Many of the new and revised entries on such topics as computer animation, virtual reality, Industrial Light and Magic, nonlinear editing, and HDTV are based on the author's on-site inspections of the latest technological tools of the trade and questioning of experts in the field.

Another recent development in film is, as Konigsberg remarks, "how much the world of business and the marketplace influence virtually everything in the industry." With style, facts, and figures, he has added up-to-date information on all the corporate players of the movie world and produced small essays on such key concepts as distribution, exhibition, home video, cable television, test booking, and box office. Specific films are cited to illustrate points made throughout the text.

This is a dictionary for film students, film buffs, and anyone in the industry, particularly those who actually make the movies. The entries on the practical aspects of filmmaking (camera angles, lighting, film stock, sound, etc.) are myriad - the most plentiful in the book - and presented in clear, highly readable prose. Entries on the art of film as well as the profiles of American and European studios are mini-essays on the history of moviemaking.

No other dictionary of film is as inclusive and comprehensive as this. Its encyclopedic scope and down-to-earth accuracy mark it as a true classic.