Book categories

Basics of Stage Combat

Single Sword

by Andrew Ashenden

11/10/2012

The single sword is the most-used weapon on both stage and screen. The techniques used in single sword stage combat are derived from real combative methods used historically, and modified for acting. Basics of Stage Combat: Single Sword, the second in a series, instructs the reader about the foundations of safe, skillful single sword use in theater, film, and television. Actors both wishing to refresh their old skills and those new to stage combat will learn how to parry with a sword, move with a sword, and perfect the various movements required of them to perform a safe and realistic stage combat scene. Basics of Stage Combat: Single Sword will also help drama students who are taking stage combat classes or stage combat exams gain the confidence to embrace the complexities of working wit...

The Legacy of the Wisecrack

Stand-up Comedy as the Great American Literary Form

by Eddie Tafoya

04/08/2009

Despite the claim of many a Borscht Belt comic that he is a practitioner of "the world's second-oldest professsion," stand-up comedy is a young and distinctly American literary form. It was not until the last decades of the nineteenth century when, enabled by unprecedented prosperity and the right to free expression, that monologists began appearing in American vaudeville halls. Yet even though it has since become an entertainment industry mainstay, stand-up comedy has received precious little scholarly attention. The Legacy of the Wisecrack: Stand-up Comedy as the Great American Literary Form looks at the theory of stand-up comedy, its literary dimensions, and its distinctly American qualities as it provides a detailed history of the forces that shaped it. The study concludes with a...

Across the Pacific

From Ancient Asia to Precolombian America

by Christian Lemoy

02/08/2011

In former times, even more than today, climatic changes had major influences on migratory flows, and consequently on ancient agrarian civilizations, leading to deep economic, social, political and religious chaos, history that we should meditate today to decide our future. This original book insists on the importance of the El Niño climatic phenomenon on the trans-Pacific migratory flows which occurred 5000 years ago, and presents comparisons between cultures and civilizations which existed on both sides of the Pacific, in Asia and America, in comparable epochs. Travelers who want to discover pre-Colombian America or ancient Asia, whether they are lovers of archeological sites or passionate about the cultural heirs of old civilizations, will be fascinated by the innovating content of thi...

A Gaffer's Perspective on Independent Filmmaking

Practices, Techniques, and Tricks of the Trade Revealed

by Rick M. Lord

10/07/2011

In today's digital age, thousands and thousands of independent filmmakers are challenging Hollywood's elite, best-of-the-best film producers. <i>A Gaffer's Perspective on Independent Filmmaking</i> examines why so many first-time independent film productions are doomed to failure before the first day of principal photography ever begins. Learning what dooms a production is only half of the process; teaching successful practices and techniques, while revealing many of the tricks of the trade used by the big productions, is the other half. With examples of actual productions gone awry, combined with "should haves," this book is a "must have" for a successful filmmaking experience.

Life, Myth, and the American Family Unreeling

The Spiritual Significance of Movies for the 20th Century

by Jeffry John Stein

05/05/2005

This book is about what movies do for us. It is about how movies exhibit the contradictions, truths, and fantasies surrounding our bedrock American beliefs in things held sacred, including, in this case, our creed of family. It is about why we again and again attend the dark universal tabernacles in which these sermons are offered. The depth of analysis offered here will also bring new insights to those concerned with parenting issues, self understanding, and media consciousness — all increasingly relevant areas of concern in contemporary life. And, for those interested in telling stories that will truly “move” the rest of us, this book will serve as a secret doorway to the inner sanctum of human characters responding to the places and times of their lives. Finally, this book will bring ...

The Mind at Hand: What Drawing Reveals

Stories of Exploration, Discovery and Design

by Michael J. Strauss

01/16/2013

The Mind at Hand explores how artists, scientists, writers, and others - students and professionals alike - see their world, record it, revise it and come to know it. It is about the rough-drawn sketch, diagram, chart, or other graphic representation, and the focus these provide for creative work that follows from them. Such work could involve solving a problem, composing a musical score, proposing a hypothesis, creating a painting, and many other imaginative and inventive tasks. The book is for visual learners of all kinds, for scientists as well as artists, and for anyone who keeps a journal, notebook, or lab book in order to think and create visually. It is also a book for teachers and educational administrators interested in learning about new active learning strategies involving dr...

Networks of Design

Proceedings of the 2008 Annual International Conference of the Design History Society (UK) University College Falmouth, 3-6 September

by Fiona Hackney, Jonathan Glynne, & Viv Minton (eds.)

06/18/2009

Networks of Design maps a new methodological territory in design studies, conceived as a field of interdisciplinary inquiry and practice informed by a range of responses to actor network theory. It brings together a rich body of current work by researchers in the social sciences, technology, material culture, cultural geography, information technology, and systems design, and design theory and history. This collection will be invaluable to students and researchers in many areas of design studies and to design practitioners receptive to new and challenging notions of what constitutes the design process. Over ninety essays are thematically organised to address five aspects of the expanded notions of mediation, agency, and collaboration posited by network theory: Ideas, Things, Technology,...

The Heart of Drawing

Stories and Images from Around the World

by Michael J. Strauss; Mags Phelan Stones; Abrah Griggs

02/20/2023

In this unique new book, The Heart of Drawing, 59 artists from 22 countries exhibit their art and talk about their process of creation to inspire readers and help them find inspiration for their own creative efforts. The book is about what happens during the creation of a drawing, NOT just about the final result. Drawing is described as an act of cognition that can help you develop eye-brain-hand coordination, conceptualize and analyze ideas, think creatively, and express yourself and communicate with others. It’s about Drawing to Learn, which is the main focus of the book. The words and images you see express a journey, and the artists are exploring their internal and external realities with shape, line and value. The book promotes gestural or expressive drawing, not necessarily a perf...

Basics of Stage Combat

Unarmed

by Andrew Ashenden

02/15/2012

This book, the first in a series, is an introduction to the basics of stage combat in the area of unarmed combat. It holds enough information to give students an understanding of the subject, as well as how to perform some of the more simple "tricks of the trade." The importance of the safety involved in performing stage combat is also discussed. Book two, Basics of Stage Combat: Single Sword, instructs the reader about the foundations of safe, skillful single sword use in theater, film, and television. Actors both wishing to refresh their old skills and those new to stage combat will learn how to parry with a sword, move with a sword, and perfect the various movements required of them to perform a safe and realistic stage combat scene. Basics of Stage Combat: Single Sword will also he...

Life in Bright Colors

The Artist's Secrets by Maya Green

by Maya Green

10/06/2010

<i>"Painting is my passion. Painting is as natural for me as breathing. Having been attached to painting since childhood, I felt that the necessity to paint grows bigger year after year. I respond creatively to everything that surrounds me."</i> <p> This collection of original paintings by Maya Green displays her deep passion for color. Key in the works is her use of a palette knife, which allows her to apply pure color, delicate lines and perhaps most importantly, to express energy that no brush is able to capture.