Shoot Like Spielberg: The Visual Secrets of Action, Wonder and Emotional Adventure

I haven't read the amistad chapters since I haven't seen the film, but I did read all the others. I greatly enjoy books like this because they put into words thoughts I have but cant express, while also exposing me to new ideas and techniques I never mentioned. It's not super long, and shouldn't be seen as gospel, but its nonetheless fascinating all the same, and a great tool for aspiring filmmakers like myself.

I think a lot of Christopher's analyses of Spielberg's masterful shots was subjective. You could basically do the exact same thing by deeply analyzing any short sequence/scene in any movie and break it down according to your opinion of why the director chose this angle/camera movement/etc or that one. Still it's a very nice read and well worth it, but I'm not sure I would take it as gospel. Just his opinion.

Gift for a high school age grandson who plans to be like Spielberg.

A spectacular insight into the technical visual approach Spielberg’s builds and crafts a visual story. The simple and straightforward approach makes understanding these insightful and technical skill sets encouraging to put into practice as an independent filmmaker.

I like how it talks about shooting like Spielberg on a low budget.I also liked how it took big scenes and broke them down.Good information.

A great read it really broke down scenes of Steven Spielberg. It's worth having in you're filmmaking library.

Insightful POVs. I wonder what Spielberg thinks of it, though.

Ok insight into Mr.Spieberg's method

Fun little book, a little basic and short - but contains a few interesting observations. Good primer. :)

GERMAN:Ich empfele dieses Buch jedem, der etwas mit Film und Medien machen will, es bereits tut oder sich einfach nur stark für Filme interessiert.Ich beschreibe hier die englische Fassung und weiß bis dato auch nichts von einer Übersetzung ins Deutsche. Weil aber der Text immer in Verbindung mit Abbildungen aus den behandelten Sequenzen steht, fällt einem das Verstehen relativ leicht. Für mich gab es in jedem Kapitel 1-2 Offenbarungsmomente. Begriffe wie Staging, Framing und Blocking und die Art und Weise wie Spielberg seine Sequenzen strukturiert und die Kamera führt, erscheinen mir tatsächlich viel klarer, nachdem ich dieses Buch gelesen habe. Es ist bestimmt keine schlechte Idee, zuerst die "Master Shots" Serie (vor allem 1 +3) des selben Authors zu lesen. Dadurch wird der Stoff noch einprägsamer.ENGLISH:I recoment this book to everyone attending a carreer any kind of media business, it's even for people just really into films or for any Spielberg Fan in generell.I say so, because it's quick and easy to read and to comprehend. For me it was a lot like finally getting to know, how a stunning magician's trick really works. Once you know it, it seams so easy. Sure though it's not so easy to come up with in the first place. You'll lern a lot about staging, framing, blocking and leading the audience's attention - in other words: visual storytelling. The many Frame Grabs make this book even better. Read the "Master Shots" series (especially 1+3) by the same author first. The information will stick much better.

One of the Rearest book in the market. The contents of the book are really very unique. It deals with The storytelling techniques of Mr. Steven Spielberg. The book is been designed as an onset guide. Though it's a very small book but it's fully packed up with filmmaking style of the 'Master'.

Poor and simplistic. This book reads like one of those grade school library books that introduce 10-12 year olds to a particular subject, not serious students of filmmaking that this is marketed toward. Largely a disappointment.

It is really not only a good reading,but also a novish cinematographer and director can learn a lot of visual story telling.