The Motion Picture Image: From Film to Digital - Softcover

"Technical and scientific principles are presented in a concise and straightforward manner, providing readers with a solid foundation of knowledge to help create, control, manipulate and process images in a contemporary environment." - Film & Video, March 2000

"Both students of cinema and practicing cameramen will benefit from this volume. As technical as Barclay's subject matter is, his clear and engaging style makes his complex ideas quite accessible." - American Cinematographer, April 2000

This book takes a radically different approach from existing titles on the subject of motion picture image technology in that the author attempts to merge information on digital video acquisition, compression, electronic image control, film-to-video transfer, and widespread computer related changes now taking place in the industry, and places it into one volume that can be used as a guide during the entire production process. The emphasis is on image acquisition in production, and the manipulation of the image in post-production until it is finally presented.

Motion picture imaging technology has evolved considerably in recent years, with the advent of digital video and electronic processing. This book explores the movie picture itself, how it is created, processed, manipulated, and presented in order to give the image creator greater control over the final product. The book is about the technical reality of producing the moving image, whether it be a chemical reaction (film), an electronic process (video), or a combination of both, which is the stage we have now reached in the gradual amalgamation of imaging technologies. The underlying technical and scientific principles are discussed in a concise, comprehensive manner, quantifying the myriad facets of cinematography so that more control can be exercised over the creation of the motion picture in all its forms.