Live Cinema and Its Techniques: Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola

Hardcover | 14.99 x 2.29 x 21.84 cm | 224 pp

Liveright | 2017 | 9781631493669

This is an indispensable and entertaining guide to a visionary new form of moviemaking that can be appreciated by the avid film buff and general movie lover alike.

So convinced is Francis Ford Coppola that "live cinema" will become a powerful medium within the larger film industry that he has crafted this instructional book, filled with lively anecdotes and invaluable lessons - a boon for cinema addicts, film students and teachers alike. As digital movie-making, like live sports, can now be performed by one director or by a collaborative team working across the Internet, it is only a matter of time before "cinema auteurs" will create "live" films of the highest creative quality that will be sent instantly via satellite to be viewed in faraway theatres.

 Whether recounting his own boyhood obsession with film, tracing the origins of "live cinema" through a history of early film and live 1950s television shows, or presenting state-of-the-art techniques on everything from rehearsals to equipment, Coppola demonstrates that the spontaneity of this genre of "live cinema" will transport movie-making into a new era of creativity previously unimaginable.

‘In this surprising new book - part memoir, part diary, part guide - Francis Ford Coppola reenergises himself and the reader with his search for a new way of storytelling. Live Cinema and Its Techniques blends elements of Coppola's autobiography, his encyclopaedic knowledge of film and television, and his creative process toward a new language of cinema.’ William Friedkin

‘This is a gold mine of a book, intensely personal, and a rocket ride to the potential future of cinema/theatre/television. It is simultaneously an intimate confessional and a magic key to the storehouse of Coppola's hard-won sixty years of wisdom about writing, directing, actors, rehearsals, and groundbreaking technique, and his visionary hopes for the cinematic language.’ Walter Murch

"Invoking intimate details of his childhood, some that he's never shared before, Coppola conjures up the magic world of television in the 1950s. Readers interested in the new technology will find this an eminently user-friendly book, but it is also peppered with brilliant personal observations about the most basic principles and techniques of filmmaking that will also fascinate readers who have no interest in making Live Cinema but simply loved The Godfather.’ Wendy Doniger, author of The Ring of Truth: And Other Myths of Sex and Jewellery

Contents
Preface: Why This Book
Personal Introduction 
Proof-of-Concept Workshops
A Short History of Film and Television
The Actors, Acting, and Rehearsal
Equipment and Technical Specifications 
Scenery and Location
The Shame of Things to Come: Madison, Wisconsin
One from the Heart: Its Lessons
Rip Van Winkle
The Question of Style in the Cinema
The Stumble-Throughs, Technical Rehearsals, and Dress Rehearsals
Marks and Other Smaller Unresolved Problems
Obstacles and Other Thoughts on Live Cinema No Matter What They May Be
Equipment-Now and in the Near Future
Afterword: Why Am I Doing This?
Appendix: Journal Notes During OCCC Live Cinema Production: May/June 2015