The Filmmaker's Book of the Dead: How to Make Your Own Heart-Racing Horror Movie - Softcover

Draven, Danny

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0240812069 ISBN 13: 9780240812069

Publisher: Focal Press, 2009

Synopsis

In The Filmmaker's Necronomicon, or book of the dead, award-winning director Danny Draven unlocks the crypt and shows you how to translate your idea into a successful movie that gives your audience nightmares. Budget need not be a limitation: the real-world advice and experience from the author--plus a host of horror directors, producers, writers, cast, and crew--offer a variety of tips, short-cuts, and ideas for producing a quality movie on the cheap.

It all starts with the story. You'll learn the storytelling elements that make a horror movie truly frightening to the audience, then master the process of making a horror film from concept to completion, avoiding the pitfalls along the way. This full-color, highly illustrated book also shows you the production techniques that add to the chill factor, including camera techniques, properly showcasing your star (the monster), creating atmosphere through music, adding tension through editing, and more.

Distribution and marketing are covered in depth, so you can get your movie out there once you've made it.

The book includes access to over an hour of video. Get inspiration and ideas from:
* A 20 Minute behind-the scenes featurette from Danny Draven's new 2009 award winning film GHOST MONTH, coming soon from Lions Gate Entertainment.
* A 10-minute behind-the-scenes featurette from Danny Draven's film CRYPTZ
* A 10-minute behind-the-scenes featurette from Danny Draven's film DEATHBED
* A 10-minute behind-the-scenes featurette from Danny Draven's film DARKWALKER
* The Danny Draven Trailer Reel -- Trailers for all 6 feature films
* Horror Script Samples (PDF files) -- Ghost Month and Cryptz

* Write, produce, and distribute your own low-budget but high-quality horror film
* Includes an hour of behind-the-scenes video footage and movie trailers!
* Understand the horror genre, its conventions and expectations, so you can make a truly frightening movie

About this title

About the Author

Danny Draven is an award-winning independent producer/director/writer who has directed over six horror features. From slasher movies to supernatural thrillers, his films have gained a cult following worldwide. His movies include Horrorvision, Hell Asylum, Cryptz, Stuart Gordon Presents: Deathbed, Darkwalker, and Ghost Month. His first film, Horrorvision, appeared on the Sci-Fi channel's William Shatner's Full Moon Fright Night. Draven also won the Best Director award at the Chicago Horror Film Festival for his film Ghost Month. Draven is currently a member of the the Producers Guild of America, Horror Writers Association, and Motion Picture Editors Guild.

From the Back Cover

Produce, direct and promote your own chilling horror film with real-world advice from award-winning, independent producer/director Danny Draven! From the history of horror and the technique of the scare to pre-production and distribution, this complete guide to horror filmmaking uncovers all the insider secrets for creating your own successful movie. Sharing his personal filmmaking experience, Draven reveals how to create a spine-tingling horror film from start to finish. You ll not only discover how to craft the story, but also how to master using production techniques, music, lighting and editing to thrill audiences. Straight-from-the-set tips will help you avoid common filmmaking pitfalls, and extensive information on marketing and distribution will show you how to get your film out to the public. Plus, learn from groundbreaking horror legends including: *Lloyd Kaufman, Toxic Avenger *Robert Kurtzman, From Dusk till Dawn *James Wan, Saw *Robert Englund, Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare of Elm Street films *Stuart Gordon, Re-Animator *Tom Savini, Night of the Living Dead *"Godfather of Gore" Herschell Gordon Lewis *Charles Band, Trancers *David DeCoteau, Puppet Master 3 *John D. LeMay, Friday the 13^th: The Series *Debbie Rochon, Tromeo & Juliet *Reggie Bannister, Phantasm *and many more Find even more hands-on horror advice and over an hour of video extras on the companion web site! Featuring: *Behind-the-scenes footage from Ghost Month, Cryptz, Darkwalker and Deathbed *A collection of independent horror film trailers *Sample scripts, schedules and agreements *Classic behind-the-scenes footage from Puppetmaster, Blood Dolls, Dead Hate the Living and more courtesy of Full Moon Features *Listing of horror film festivals and distributors

Edition details

• Publisher: Focal Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0240812069
• ISBN 13: 9780240812069
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 328