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UC Berkleley Extension instructors Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Taylor have recently published "Cross-Cultural Filmmaking: A Handbook for Making Documentary and Ethnographic Films and Videos" (University of California Press, 1997). The handbook for filmmakers, film students, anthropologists and others was inspired by the distinctive concerns of anthropologists and others who film people in the field. The authors cover the practical, technical and theoretical aspects of filmmaking, from fundraising to exhibition. Mike Leigh, director of "Secrets and Lies," calls the handbook "the definitive A to Z guide of documentary filmmaking." The first section discusses filmmaking styles and assumptions frequently hidden unacknowledged behind them, as well as practical and ethical issues involved in moving from fieldwork to filmmaking. The second section explains technical aspects, including how to select and use equipment, how to shoot film and video, the reasons for choosing one or the other, and how to record sound. The third section outlines the entire process of filmmaking, from preproduction, production and post-production through distribution. The authors are award-winning documentary and ethnographic film- and videomakers, whose works include "In and Out of Africa" (1992). Barbash is currently a lecturer in anthropology, teaching ethnographic film history and theory, as well as video production. Taylor is an anthropology lecturer who is completing his PhD. "The Adventures of a Shakespeare Scholar" is the latest publication by Berkeley resident Marvin Rosenberg, professor emeritus of dramatic art. The new book from University of Delaware Press is a collection of many of the essays and lectures that he delivered and published over the course of his lengthy career. In the new volume, each is prefaced with personal anecdotes about the circumstances under which it was written and/or delivered. Shakespeare's art, according to Rosenberg, consists equally of its poetic text and its theatrical presentation. Through comparisons between different actors' interpretations of key Shakespearean roles, he illustrates the richness of the Bard's characters. Rosenberg has often sought out and attended performances of Shakespeare's plays and has discussed in his work the individual interpretations of various actors and directors. His notes on instances in which he witnessed the entire rehearsal process
for a production are particularly helpful to theater people, historians
and critics. |