By Jay Rose
375 Pages with Audio CD
From Miller Freeman Books ISBN 0-87930-597-5
List $39.95 at bookstores everywhere
or click for discount purchase from Amazon.com
If you got to this page by mistake and you were looking for Jay Rose's online tutorials, click here. But please come back to read about the book when you're done.
About the Book
The Digital Video revolution makes it possible for artists, animators, filmmakers, and ordinary citizens to produce first-class video using nothing more than a desktop computer... and in fact, a lot of what you see on network tv has been assembled in ordinary offices, on Macs and PCs. (I should know. I create the soundtracks for them. My recent projects have included network-identity packages for PBS, documentaries for the A&E and Discovery Networks, and home-video rollout campaigns for Disney/Buena Vista.)
A lot of creative individuals have taught themselves how to produce and edit pictures by playing with these computer systems, and comparing what they do with what's being broadcast on tv.
But you can't teach yourself how to record, edit, and mix sound this way. There are too many interconnected factors. For instance, decisions you make while shooting can influence how effective your music score will be. And trying to improve part of a track by ear -- tweaking a knob until things seem better -- can make them much worse later on.
There's an art to good sound. But there's also a science, and a body of techniques that have been developed by professionals like me, over a large chunk of the past century.
This book teaches the science and technique of creating great soundtracks to go with your visuals. I don't expect you to be a scientist, so I've kept the physics and math to basics you learned in grade school, illustrated with visual analogies. And since I expect you to be primarily interested in results, the book is full of practical tips, how-to examples, and time-savers that have been proven in the field.
-- Jay Rose
User-friendly Features
Producing Great Sound was designed to be useful for the producer, videographer, and editor:
- 13-page FAQ, right in the front, gives you quick tips for dealing with different kinds of garbled dialog, sync problems, and mix issues.
- Organized for easy reference. Separate sections on: Technicalities for the non-technician; Pre-production planning; Production and audio acquisition; and Editing, Processing, and Mixing.
- Lots of bulleted tips and step-by-step instructions.
- Plenty of illustrations that actually demonstrate concepts and techniques.
- Not tied down to a particular software or hardware platform. Will remain a useful reference for years.
- Written in easy-to-understand language by an audio-for-video professional who's spent years working in the field.
- Accompanying audio CD can be played on any stereo or loaded into your NLE. Includes diagnostic tools, examples, sample files for tutorials, and some funny stuff.
Critical comments
Here's what industry experts have had to say about the manuscript:
- Most folks who write about doing sound for moving pictures, on film or on video, focus on the sexy stuff--mostly writing music, sometimes doing foley, often talking technical. Jay Rose doesn't mess around. He digs right into the hardcore side of audio for moving pictures -- recording and editing dialog, sound effects, and music. He debunks common myths, shows the reader how to make do in limited-budget, time-constrained situations, and puts it all in context on a technical level. Producing Great Soundtracks is an invaluable collection of step-by-step how-to information combined with the technical reasons things do or don't work. It's essential reading for anyone serious about making a living doing moving pictures.
-- Dominic Milano, Digital Video Magazine
- The most comprehensive, in-depth resource I've found for audio production in the desktop environment... a must-have resource for professionals involved in video, multimedia or internet production.
-- Randy Cates, Videography Magazine
- Jay Rose brings a wealth of experience to Producing Great Soundtracks... With over 300 pages and many illustrations, the book is replete with facts and useful information.
-- Dennis Berkla, Videomaker Magazine
- Jay Rose's Producing Great Soundtracks is one of those crisp, tight, practical how-to books where production insights and experience just leap off the page at you. All focus, no fluff. If you're trying to do audio for video, this book is a must, just to keep you sane!
-- Dave Moulton, TV Technology Magazine, author Golden Ears ear training course
- The entire book is fascinating: it's absolutely packed with useful information and tips. ... Digital cameras, inexpensive computers offer all kinds of ways to create visual eye candy, but embryonic filmmakers don't always realize that the picture is only half the story. Producing Great Sound for Digital Video explains how the other half works, what to watch out for, and how to achieve professional results.
-- Mike Caputo, Amazon.com
- This book delivers proven solutions to specific problems throughout the entire process of creating engaging audio for digital video. Written by a Clio- and Emmy-winning sound designer, he explains hundreds of real-world techniques you can use from pre-production through mix. You get how-tos, tips and time-savers, plus tutorials on key skills such as dialog and music editing. With an audio CD of sample tracks and diagnostic tools.
-- Wolf Seeberg, Sync Sound and the New Media
- Rose has created an easy-to-approach text that feels like a one-to-one tutorial between a teacher and his student. Rose's effervescent sense of humor permeates every page with relatable anecdotes from his own life and professional career. Throughout, he preserves a notion he singles out on the first page: Good Soundtracks aren't just a question of art. You also have to understand the science.
--Chris Kriofske, Imagine 2000 NewsMagazine
- When an expert who understands what he is talking about -- and Jay Rose is a consummate expert -- writes about audio production, you knew you are onto a winner. Rose knows his subject matter forwards and backwards, and displays a cool, calm air of authority that permeates his writing.
Starting from first principles, Jay leads us through the often-times confusing world of microphones, mixing and recording formats, until even the most neophyte user can fully understand and -- more usefully -- use the hard ware to produce great soundtracks for all forms of video presentations.
Undoubtedly, this is a book that's destined to be THE essential work on sound production for project-video users.
-- Mel Lambert, Media & Marketing (Hollywood) and internationally-respected audio consultant
About the Author
Jay Rose is a Clio and Emmy-winning sound designer, and proprietor of The Digital Playroom -- a creative audio-for-video boutique. Recent Playroom projects have included:
Rose also writes a popular audio tutorial column for DV Magazine, lectures at MacWorld and other conferences, and is a past officer of the Audio Engineering Society.
For Classroom Use
Many colleges are using Producing Great Sound in their film and video programs, as a complete soundtrack course in a single book that students can keep as a reference after graduating.
Instructors are invited to download a comprehensive, 56-page Teacher's Guide in .pdf format from the publisher's website.
How to buy Producing Great Sound
- You can find Producing Great Sound at large local book and computer stores for $39.95.
If your favorite store doesn't stock it, have them contact Publishers Group West and order ISBN 0-87930-597-5.
- Or buy it directly from the publisher for $39.95 plus $7.50 shipping.
Call them at (800) 848-5594, or go to Miller Freeman's web site, or send them e-mail at mfi@rushorder.com.
As an author, here's why I prefer that you buy from the Amazon link:
A book like this obviously has to be a labor of love, since CMP Books pays me only $2.40 royalty per copy sold*.
But if you buy right after clicking on the Amazon link, they give me a commission of $4.20 on top of the publisher's royalty! That's enough for a Big Mac with a salad.
Amazon's commission is much less if you follow my link, but then wander around their site before ordering. So if you're going to wander, please do me a favor. Once you decide to buy the book, come back to my site and click the Amazon link before placing the order.
--Jay
*--That's actually fairly high for a niche book.
November 25, 2000
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