BOOKS ON INDEPENDENT FILM / VIDEO

All You Need to Know About the Movie and TV Business, by Gail Resnik & Scott Trost. Fireside Press.

The Art of the Documentary : Ten Conversations with Leading Directors, Cinematographers, Editors, and Producers, by Megan Cunningham; New Riders Press.

Before You Shoot: A Guide to Low Budget Film and Video Production, by Helen Garvy. Shire Press.

The Beginning Filmmaker's Business Guide, by Renee Harmon. Walker and Company.

The Beginning Filmmaker's Guide to a Successful First Film, by Renee Harmon. Walker and Company.

BFI Film and Television Handbook,Eddie Dyja. Univ. of Calif.

The Biz: The Basic Business, Legal and Financial Aspects of the Film Industry, Schuyler M. Moore. Silman-James Press.

Bowker's Complete Video Directory, edited by M.K. Reed. R.R. Bowker, NYC. (800) 521-8110.

Breaking In: How 20 Film Directors Got Their Start, by Nicholas Jarecki. Broadway Books.

Breaking into Film: Making Your Career Search a Blockbuster, by Kenna McHugh. Petersons Guides.

The Budget Book for Film and Television, 2nd Edition, Robert Koster. Focal Press.

Budgets and Markets: A Study of the Budgeting of European Film,Terry Ilott.

Celluloid Mavericks: A History of American Independent Film, by Greg Merritt. Thunder's Mouth Press.


Chick Flicks: Theories and Memories of the Feminist Film Movement, by B. Ruby Rich. Duke Univ Pr.


Cinema of Outsiders, Emanuel Levy. New York University Press.

Clearance and Copyright: Everything the Independent Filmmaker Needs to Know, Michael C. Donaldson. Silman-James Press; 2nd Edition.

The Complete Independent Movie Marketing Handbook: Promote, Distribute & Sell Your Film or Video, Mark Steven Bosko. Michael Wiese Productions.

Contracts for the Film and Television Industry, by Mark Litwak. Silman-James Press.

Cross-Cultural Filmmaking: A Handbook for Making Documentary and Ethnographic Films and Videos, by Llisa Barbash and Lucien Taylor. Univ. California Press.

Dealmaking in the Film and Television Industry: From Negotiations to Final Contracts, Mark Litwak. Silman-James Press.

Documentary Filmmakers Speak, by Liz Stubbs. Allworth Press.

Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film, by Peter Biskind. Simon & Schuster.

Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis, by Harold L. Vogel, 5th edition (May 2001). Cambridge Univ Press.

Escape from Film School, Richard Walter. St. Martin's Press.

The Feature Film Distribution Deal: A Critical Analysis of the Single Most Important Film Industry Agreement, by John W. Cones. Southern Illinois Univ. Press.

Film and Video Budgets , Home Video: Producing for the Home market, Producer to Producer: Insider Tips for Entertainment Media , The Independent Film and Videomakers Guide , all by Michael Wiese Productions, 11288 Ventura Blvd, Suite 821, Studio City, CA 9160. (800) 833-5738.

Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents, 5th Edition (with CD), by Louise Levison. Focal Press.

Girl Director: A How-To Guide For The First-Time Flat-Broke Film and Video Maker , by Andrea Richards. 1580086756.

Guidelines to International Production, David Calderwood. 52 Brady Road, Shrewsbury, NJ 07702. (908) 530-4451.

IFP/Los Angeles Independent Filmmaker's Manual,2nd Edition, Nicole Laloggia & Eden Wurmfeld. Focal Press. Includes a CD Rom.

Index to AV Producers and Distributors, National Information Center for Educational Media.

Indie Producers Handbook: Creative Producing From A to Z, by Myrl A. Schreibman, Gilbert Cates, Lew Hunter. Lone Eagle Publishing Company.

ITVS Production Handbook and Sample Forms Diskette, Independent Television Service, 51 Federal St., Suite 401, San Francisco, CA 94107, e-mail: itvs@itvs.org.

I Wake Up Screening: What To Do Once You've Made That Movie , by John Anderson, Laura Kim. Watson-Guptill.

Litwak's Multimedia Producer's Handbook: A Legal and Distribution Guide, by Mark Litwak. Silman-James Press.

Making Documentary Films and Reality Videos: A Practical Guide to Planning, Filming, and Editing Documentaries of Real Events, by Barry Hampe. Owlet Press.

Making Television Matter: How Documentaries Can Engage and Mobilize Communities, edited by Karen Hirsch. Benton Foundation Free online with hyperlinks, or download PDF, or buy hardcopy.

Making Video: A Practical Guide for Nonprofits, Benton Foundation, 1634 Eye St. NW, Washington DC 20006.

Marketing & Selling Your Film Around the World: A Guide for Independent Filmmakers, John Durie, Annika Pham, Neil Watson. Silman-James Press.

Micro-Budget Hollywood: Budgeting (And Making Feature Films For $50,000 to $500,000), by Gaines and Rhodes. Silman James Press.

The Movie Business Book, third edition, edited by Jason E Squire, Fireside/Simon & Schuster.

Movie Marketing: Opening the Picture and Giving It Legs, by Tiiu Lukk. Silman James Press.

My Passage from India: A Filmmaker's Journey from Bollywood to Hollywood, Ismail Merchant. Viking Press.

The Mind of the Modern Moviemaker: Twenty Conversations with the New Generation of Filmmakers, Joshua Horowitz. Plume.

THE NEXT STEP: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS AND VIDEOS, edited by Morrie Warshawski. AIVF (212) 807-1400. .

New Digital Cinema: Reinventing the Moving Image, Holly Willis. Wallflower Press.

NICEM's Film and Video Finder, Plexus, 143 Old Marlton Pl., Medford, NJ 08055.

Off-Hollywood: The Making and Marketing of American Specialty Films, David Rosen and Peter Hamilton. Grove Press.

The on Production Budget Book, by Robert J. Koster. Focal Press.

The Perfect Pitch: How to Sell Yourself and Your Movie Idea to Hollywood, by Ken Rotcop, et.al. Michael Wiese Productions.

Persistence of Vision: An Impractical Guide to Producing a Feature Film for Under $30,000, by John Gaspard & Dale Newton. Michael Wiese Books, (800) 833-5738.

The Producer's Business Handbook, John J. Lee. Focal Press.

Producer's Guide to Nontheatrical Distribution, Kate Spohr. National Educational Media Network. (510) 465-6885, Fax (510) 465-2835.

Producing, Financing and Distributing Film, Baumgarten, Farber & Fleischer. Limelight Editions, NYC.

Rebel Without a Crew : Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player, by Robert Rodriguez. E.P. Dutton.

Shooting to Kill : How an Independent Producer Blasts Through the Barriers to Make Movies That Matter, by Christine Vachon, David Edelstein. Avon Books.

Short Films 101 : How to Make a Short for Under $50K-and Launch Your Filmmaking Career , by Frederick Levy. Perigree Trade.

Spike Mike Reloaded: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of American Independent Cinema , by John Pierson and Kevin Smith. Miramax Books.

Super 8 in the Video Age, Brodsky & Treadway. (978) 948-7985.

Trailer Mechanics: A Guide to Making Your Fundraising Documentary Trailer, by Fernanda Rossi. Magafilms.

The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Gide, Third Edition, by Chirs Gore. Lone Eagle Publishing.

The Ultimate Filmmaker's Guide to the Short Film: Making it Big in Shorts, by Kim Adelman. Michael Wiese Productions.

The Video Activist Handbook , edited by Thomas Harding. 2nd edition, Pluto Press.

Video for Change : A How-To Guide on Using Video in Advocacy and Activism , Sam Gregory (Editor), Thomas Harding (Editor), Gillian Caldwell (Editor), Ronit Avni (Editor). Pluto Press.

Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos, by Alan Rosenthal. Southern Illinois Univ. Press.