Films For Television

Derided as simple, dismissed as inferior to film, famously characterized as a vast wasteland, television nonetheless exerts an undeniable, apparently inescapable power in our culture. The secret of television's success may well lie in the remarkable narrative complexities underlying its seeming simplicity, complexities Kristin Thompson unmasks in this engaging analysis of the narrative workings of television and film. After first looking at the narrative techniques the two media share, Thompson focuses on the specific challenges that series television presents and the tactics writers have devised to meet them--tactics that sustain interest and maintain sense across multiple plots and subplots and in spite of frequent interruptions as well as weeklong and seasonal breaks. Beyond adapting the techniques of film, Thompson argues, television has wrought its own changes in traditional narrative form. Drawing on classics of film and television, as well as recent and current series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Sopranos, and The Simpsons, she shows how adaptations, sequels, series, and sagas have altered long-standing notions of closure and single authorship. And in a comparison of David Lynch's Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks, she asks whether there can be an "art television" comparable to the more familiar "art cinema."

Building Successful and Sustainable Film and Television Businesses provides a truly cross-national, comparative dialogue that is vital to the field of media industry studies today. It presents an overview of the film and television sectors in Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, drawing together their common elements.

Breaking down the traditional structures of screenplays in an innovative and progressive way, while also investigating the ways in which screenplays have been traditionally told, this book interrogates how screenplays can be written to reflect the diverse life experiences of real people. Author Jess King explores how existing paradigms of screenplays often exclude the very people watching films and TV today. Taking aspects such as characterization, screenplay structure, and world-building, King offers ways to ensure your screenplays are inclusive and allow for every person’s story to be heard. In addition to examples ranging from Sorry to Bother You to Portrait of a Lady on Fire, four case studies on Killing Eve, Sense8, I May Destroy You, and Vida ground the theoretical work in practical application. The book highlights the ways in which screenplays can authentically represent and uplift the lived experiences of those so often left out of the narrative, such as the LGBTQIA+ community, women, and people of color. The book addresses a current demand for more inclusive and progressive representation in film and TV and equips screenwriters with the tools to ensure their screenplays tell authentic stories, offering innovative ways to reimagine current screenwriting practice towards radical equity and inclusion. This is a timely and necessary book that brings the critical lenses of gender studies, queer theory, and critical race studies to bear on the practice of screenwriting, ideal for students of screenwriting, aspiring screenwriters, and industry professionals alike.

Twelve distinguished scholars and critics discuss the production, reception, and distribution of Hollywood and foreign films after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and examine how movies have changed to reflect the new world climate.

* An invaluable insight into the use of visual effects in film and television * Fully illustrated with diagrams to show you step-by-step techniques * Covers visual effects processes from front-of-camera to post-production * Integrated approach to film, video and digital techniques * Redefines the rules of photography so that they can be broken for effects * Shows the line of development from the oldest to the newest processes * A must for cinematographers, editors, designers and students of VFX alike * Everything you need to know to plan and supervise visual effects shots * Essential reading for anyone working in commercials/advertising photography or effects Written by an experienced professional, this manual is the essential guide to understanding the principles and background of modern visual effects. Visual effects are at the forefront of a digital revolution in the film and video industry and are becoming more and more important to movie language. This book teaches the practical techniques and skills required to incorporate effects successfully into both film and television production.

Music has played a critical component in the success of films. This volume compiles over 100 years of writings devoted to the subject of film and television music and its practitioners.

This is a guide to reference works in movies and television. Beginning with general guides, dictionaries and encyclopedias, the book then turns to filmographies, filmmakers, and filmmaking. It is for librarians, faculty, and novice filmmakers.

The new short story collection from Nebula Award-winner Howard Waldrop. This collection of bizarre journeys of the imagination includes stops in Texas, where invading Martians find an Alamo of their very own; and New Jersey, where Herbert Hoover loses the election, takes to the airwaves, and changes the course of history.