ABOUT THIS BOOK

Written for a broad audience of professional informational and corporate filmmakers, film students, technical writers, and clients, Communicating Ideas with Film, Video, and Multimedia: A Practical Guide to Information Motion-Media is an insider’s perspective on the informational media industry. With over thirty-five years of experience, award-winning filmmaker S. Martin Shelton presents his astute views on the state of the profession and offers sage, constructive advice for the successful design and production of information motion-media.

Forgoing discussions of technology, Shelton instead concentrates on the communication principles that can motivate an audience to achieve a particular goal—a goal that must be realistic, worthwhile, and appropriate. His inventive approach coalesces theory of the media with its philosophy, analysis, history, and application, as well as his own informed personal opinions. This valuable guide examines how to effectively encode information in motion-media by using in-depth communication analysis and pertinent filmic design. Throughout, Shelton emphasizes that kinetic visuals, rather than audio, are the defining elements of the best motion-media communication. Organized into five parts that can be used independently or in sequence, the volume frames key topics in the industry that collectively form a cohesive strategy for motion-media design and production. First, Shelton discusses the essence of the medium as a communication tool. In the second part, he addresses the forms and functions of motion-media. The third part details communication analysis and its application. Next, Shelton delves into script design, distribution, and career growth. Lastly, he offers advice on business aspects of the profession. Told from the vantage point of a seasoned expert, Communicating Ideas with Film, Video, and Multimedia is a “how to do it” book as well as a treatise on “why to do it.” Shelton’s narrative is complemented by twenty-six illustrations (including multimedia flowcharts, sample forms, and photographs of some of the great documentary filmmakers), a variety of script formats, and a listing of the all-time best documentary films.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

S. Martin Shelton has over thirty-five years of experience in all phases of information motion-media planning, production, and management. A regular contributor to professional journals and trade magazines, he is a Fellow of both the Society for Technical Communication and the Information Film Producers of America and has garnered numerous awards in national and international motion-media festivals and competitions. Shelton is also a frequent lecturer, workshop and seminar leader, and speaker for professional organizations. He earned his M.A. in cinema at the University of Southern California.

REVIEWS

“We’re in the communication business. All else is irrelevant. We use film, video, and multimedia as the carriers of our encoded messages. It’s the message and our audience that count.”—S. Martin Shelton, from the Prologue

Awards

Society for Technical Communication - 2004-2005 Southern California Spotlight Competition:

Best of Show Distinguished Technical Communication Award in the Book category

Comments from Judges:

"If I were still teaching I would use this book." "An excellent book, it gets straight to the point." "A great resource for media professionals."

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
List of Illustrations 000
Preface 000
Acknowledgments 000
Part One. Introduction
1. Prologue 000
2. The Message and Motion-Media 000
3. Motion-Media in the Communication Society 000
4. Information, Communication, and Meaning 000
5. Creativity May Not Equal Communication 000
Part Two. Motion-Media
6. Introduction to Multimedia 000
7. Information Motion-Media 000
8. Film and Video 000
9. The False Reality of Motion-Media 000
10. Documentary Film: A Learning Tool 000
Part Three. Communication Analysis
11. Stating Your Objectives, or What's This Show About? 000
12. Who's Our Audience? 000
13. Creating a Communication Analysis and Motion-Media
Communication Plan 000
14. Filmic Design 000
Part Four. Script Design
15. An Information Motion-Media Writer Should Be a Script
Designer 000
16. Scripting for Information Motion-Media 000
17. The Multimedia Flowchart 000
18. Marty's Contrary Principles of Script Design 000
19. Guidelines for Writing Narration and Dialogue 000
20. The Talking Head 000
21. The Sound Track 000
22. Distribution 000
23. Your Career Growth in Our Profession 000
Part Five. The Business of Our Profession
24. Our Client Isn't the Enemy 000
25. Contracting for Information Motion-Media 000
26. Managing an Information Motion-Media Group 000
Appendix 1. Evaluating Information Motion-Media 000
Appendix 2. 101 Classic Documentary Films 000
Appendix 3. Split-Page and Storyboard for The Scarf: The
Perennial Fashion Statement 000
Appendix 4. Information Teleplay Gambling Addiction and the
Family 000
Appendix 5. Split-Page with Voice-Over Narration for Desert
Stewardship 000
Appendix 6. Teleplay and Split-Page Combination for Pacific
Frontier 000
Appendix 7. Shelton's Fundamental Verities of Information
Motion-Media 000
Appendix 8. Exercises 000
Appendix 9. Quotable Quotes 000
Notes 000
Bibliography 000
Index 000

Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Documentary films Production and direction, Documentary television programs Production and direction, Multimedia systems