Focal Press - Shooting Action Sports by Todd Grossman

The Ultimate Guide to Extreme Filmmaking

Todd Grossman began in the action sports industry as a top-level skateboard competitor before moving onto snowboarding and inline skating, all the while shooting home videos and documentaries. By age 22, he had graduated from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television, competed as a top-ranked professional in the invitation-only X-Games, and started an action sports production company. Since then, he's shot numerous action sports segments, directed the documentary on the Making of "XXX" starring Vin Diesel, and done his own stunts in several commercials and feature films. In his spare time, he teaches and writes about shooting action sports.

Description
This full-color illustrated guide takes you through all aspects of video production, focusing on action sports. From planning and preparation to editing and postproduction, you'll get a solid understanding of the changing technology, camera techniques, and basic to more-advanced shooting principles that can be applied to almost every scenario you encounter. The countless examples of camera tricks and techniques used at major events apply to any kind of shoot.

Equally as important, you're encouraged to go beyond merely recording the scene and learn how to think like a professional cameraman. Predicting and anticipating is perhaps the greatest talent a cameraman can acquire. It means keeping both eyes open and see not only what is happening around your frame, but also what is about to happen in it. Master the techniques and tools of the trade so you can create compelling and creative work.

Includes tips on how to:
• Choose a format
• Develop your own style
• Plan for a successful project, including funding and distribution
• Capture the shot in any environment
• Shooting tips and techniques for skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, surfing, freestyle BMX, and more

Contents
The Tools of Independent Filmmaking; Project Development: What's the Pitch?; Gearing Up to Shoot; Shooting Action Sports; In the Edit Bay; Distribution; Big Set Production: An Overview; The Future of Action Sports Filmmaking; You Read the Book...Now What?