"Simply put, Harry Mathias has done it again. "The Death & Rebirth of Cinema" solidifies Mathias's standing as THE great translator of film-to-digital imaging technology." The world's cinema has mostly left behind its 100-year tradition of cinematography on film, and begins its search for a new visual foundation. What is next for cinema, is what this book is about. This book discusses the big questions of the future of cinematography, in a cinema that is increasing preoccupied with technology and not with artistic moving images. "Just as he did with "Electronic Cinematography" 30 years ago, Mathias cuts through the web of misinformation and lays out a brilliant method to gain control over new and constantly changing imaging technologies without losing sight of the valuable lessons cinematographers have taught us for over 100 years. Harry Mathias has the professional experience, technological savvy, and artistic integrity to connect the rich, foundational knowledge of past photographic systems to today's rapidly changing "technology of the month" attitude. --William McDonald,UCLA Professor & ChairDepartment of Film, Television and Digital Media, said about this book. This book teaches the vital new cinematography skills that are needed to make great films in a digital cinema world. It covers lighting, lens selection, image control methods, and much more--whether using digital cinema or (photochemical) film with today's technology-driven cinema. Mathias is a very experienced film cinematographer, one who also is a pioneer of digital cinema cinematography. He outlines concrete plans to take the best path forward to a digital imaging future, without leaving behind the photographic skills and lighting arts of films of the past. Exploring the path from our past to the future, this book is not only for cinematographers; it is for anyone who cares about telling dramatic stories visually to film audiences. Film directors, producers, production designers, art directors, editors, colorists, and film critics are all concerned with communicating cinematic images effectively to a theatre audience. Often the issue today is not how can this be done effectively with digital cinema, but how can it be done in spite of all this new technology. In this book, Mathias boldly sets out the plan to reach that cinematography of the future. What is important to cinema is image quality and the art of cinematography--and that is why the major skills required are the same whether a Director of Photography is using film or digital cinema. This book is about making images the right way , regardless of the camera technology being used. Cinema is, after all, technology in the service of art, not the other way around... "Mathias (Electronic Cinematography, 1985) offers perennial strategies for digital filmmaking in this guide. The author, a veteran cinematographer, is alarmed by a transformation in the film industry. It isn't the migration from film to digital recording--Mathias was actually a pioneer in what was once termed "electronic cinematography." Rather, he says, it's the fact that many people in the film industry have abandoned time-honored aesthetics in visual storytelling. Mathias claims that the disposability of digital technology has led to the production of disposable cinema; filmmakers, he says, lack the patience and experience to carefully craft compelling shots. With this book, he seeks to create a guideline for digital-age film artists, including older filmmakers who may be intimidated by digital technology and younger ones who are less schooled in what he sees as the increasingly lost art of cinematography. Mathias covers essential aspects of the process, including image design, exposure, color timing, lens selection, lighting, and postproduction planning. He doesn't include references to specific models of digital cameras, which become obsolete at the pace of technological innovation; rather, his goal was to create a work that would remain relevant for all future models of camera, as the fundamentals of cinematography will remain intact. As Mathias writes in the preface, this is not a how-to book--it's a " 'how NOT to' book. How not to turn a hundred year old visual art form comprised of beautifully lit and emotionally compelling images into an efficient and uncreative digital imaging factory." He's a patient, practical instructor, and his prose is clear and conversational. That said, the book is clearly aimed at readers with some background knowledge of filmmaking, and it dives quickly into industry specifics and jargon. The author's experience and deep love of film is apparent from the beginning, though, and despite all the changes that continue to occur in the world of film production, readers will come away feeling optimistic. The old arts, it turns out, have not yet been lost; they're simply waiting to be rediscovered by a willing generation of artists. A comprehensive, detail-oriented guide to digital cine