Readers may come away knowing how to talk the talk, as the title promises, but little more.
A quick overview of how movies are made, offering encouragement and generic advice rather than specific information.
Glassbourg, a veteran instructor of film and TV production, breaks the process of creating a movie down into simplified steps—from gathering ideas, creating a script, and learning how to think pictorially with still photography and storyboarding to production management, editing and marketing. Unfortunately, though he drops big names, uses recent and classic films as examples, and gathers comments from working professionals in the industry, the visuals are not stills or shots of actual sets or equipment but retro, graphic-style figures done in a limited range of solid hues that add color but only rarely any useful detail. He presents an almost dizzying array of film-related occupations, but his brief notes on what such arcane folk as location managers, production coordinators, Foley editors, key grips and other specialists do are unlikely to enlighten readers. Moreover, the vague references to CGI (confusingly dubbed “VFX,” which is actually an older, broader term encompassing more than just digital wizardry), electronic press kits, sound design, social media and other topics similarly just skim the surface.
Readers may come away knowing how to talk the talk, as the title promises, but little more. (Nonfiction. 11-13)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-926973-84-5
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013
A stereotype about people with disabilities is shattered by this introduction to a dance company known as Dancing Wheels, a group composed of “sit down” and “stand-up” dancers. The story begins with Mary Fletcher-Verdi, born with spina bifida, a condition that causes weakness in the legs and spine. Mary always wanted to dance, and, encouraged by a family who focused on what she could do rather than what she couldn’t, she studied the art and eventually formed a mixed company, some who dance on their legs, and some who dance in wheelchairs. What she accomplished can be seen in this photo journal of the group’s dance workshop in which beginners and experienced dancers study and rehearse. Along the way, McMahon (One Belfast Boy, 1999, etc.) intersperses the history of the group, some details about the dancers, their families, and the rehearsal process that leads up to the final performance. Three children are featured, Jenny a wheelchair dancer, Devin, her stand-up partner, and Sabatino, the young son of Mary’s partner. The focus on these youngsters gives the reader a sense of their personalities and their lives with their families. Godt’s (Listen for the Bus, not reviewed, etc.) color photographs detail every aspect of the story and show the dancers at home and in rehearsal, interacting with each other, having fun, and finally performaning. They convey the dancer’s sense of joy as well as the commitment to the dance as an art form felt by the adult directors and teachers. An excellent book for helping children and adults expand their understanding about the abilities of the “disabled.” (Nonfiction. 7-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-395-88889-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In a helter-skelter scrapbook format, Cleare, a veteran mountaineer, profiles five of the world’s most renowned mountains—K2, the Eiger, the Matterhorn, Everest and Mount McKinley—and identifies some of the major historical expeditions to their summits. Top-to-bottom views of each peak are provided via single, double or (for Everest) wall-poster-sized triple foldouts. Along with those, dozens of smaller captioned photos, maps, images or realistic reconstructions depict noted climbers of the past, local wildlife, old- and new-style climbing gear, wind and weather patterns, climbers’ camps, glaciers and rugged landscapes. Likewise, each peak receives an introductory passage of dramatic prose (“Mount McKinley is a colossal, icy complex of ridges, spurs, buttresses, and hanging glaciers,” forming “a crucible of particularly evil weather”). This is accompanied by assemblages of captions and commentary in smaller type that detail its challenges and the often-unhappy history of climbers who faced them. The level of detail is specific enough to include views and comparisons of the actual routes up each mountain, and readers are expected to be clear on the difference between a cirque and a serac, or a “technical” and a “nontechnical” climb. Armchair climbers who can weather the random-feeling arrangement of pictures and the overall absence of narrative flow are in for thrills. (Informational browsing item. 11-13)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7534-6573-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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