ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; INTRODUCTION; CHAPTER ONE - THE BASIC VISUAL COMPONENTS; CHAPTER TWO - CONTRAST & AFFINITY; CHAPTER THREE - SPACE: Part One, SPACE: Part Two; CHAPTER FOUR - LINE & SHAPE; CHAPTER FIVE - TONE ; CHAPTER SIX - COLOR; CHAPTER SEVEN - MOVEMENT; CHAPTER EIGHT - RHYTHM; CHAPTER NINE - STORY & VISUAL STRUCTURES; CHAPTER TEN - PRACTICE, NOT THEORY; APPENDIX; BIBLIOGRAPHY; ILLUSTRATION CREDITS; INDEX
Bruce Block has worked in a creative capacity on dozens of feature films, television shows, commercials, and animated productions. His feature film producing credits include Something’s Gotta Give, What Women Want, America’s Sweethearts, The Parent Trap, and Father of the Bride I and II. He served as a creative consultant on Spanglish, As Good As It Gets, Stuart Little, and many other film and television productions. He is a tenured professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts and holds the Sergei Eisenstein Endowed Chair in Cinematic Design. Mr. Block gives seminars at a variety of studios including Blue Sky Studios, Cartoon Network, Disney Feature and Television Animation, Dreamworks Animation, Industrial Light & Magic, Laika, LucasFilm, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, and a wide range of European and American film schools including AFI and Cal Arts. Mr. Block also conducts seminars for digital game designers and companies including Activision-Blizzard, Blur Studio, Google, Hulu, and Tencent. He is a member of the Director’s Guild of America, the Art Director’s Guild, and co-author of the book 3D Storytelling (Focal Press).
www.bruceblock.com
'Bruce Block masterfully deconstructs visual storytelling. Exposure
to his material is essential for all students of cinema. This book
will make you a better filmmaker.'
American Film Institute'Bruce's class taught me a key lesson on how
to approach filmmaking as a language. Once I understood visual
storytelling through that lens, it fundamentally shifted the way I
experienced and created films. It not only illuminated the
elemental process of adapting words to images, but also guided me
to a deeper awareness of how to construct a story.'
Sam Esmail, creator, producer, writer and director of Mr. Robot and
Homecoming'Bruce Block has a unique knowledge and understanding of
the visual structure of film. The Visual Story is the only book of
its kind. It will literally teach you to become a better
storyteller through the use of visuals.'
Nancy Meyers, producer, writer, director of Something’s Gotta Give,
The Holiday, It’s Complicated, The Intern'Bruce Block is a legend
and a dynamic human being who understands the visual story medium
like no other. After taking his class during my time at USC’s
School of Cinematic Arts Director’s program, I gained invaluable
knowledge on how to clearly articulate my vision for my films, in
my scripts and on set. Bruce’s techniques are 100% applicable to
every scenario I’ve been in during physical production. From the
climactic barn sequence in Burning Sands (which we had to shoot in
less than four hours) to the scary visuals in The First Purge, I
was able to draw on the techniques I learned from Bruce to create a
unique vision for both films. By working in concert with my DP and
my crew, I was able to get the shots I needed efficiently and
effectively. I’m thankful to Bruce for helping me grow as a
filmmaker and I recommend this book to any storyteller who wants to
take their visual storytelling to the next level.'
Gerard McMurray, director The First Purge; producer, writer,
director Burning Sands'I spend much of my time in pre-production
quoting Bruce Block to my cinematographers, production designers,
costume designers and editors. In all my years in the business I’ve
never found a clearer, more useful articulation of film
grammar.'
Jay Roach, producer, director of Bombshell, Trumbo, Meet the
Fockers, Meet the Parents, The Austin Powers films'Bruce Block’s
in-depth understanding of visual structure is inspirational to
those working in animation. This reference source is invaluable and
essential for any artist.'
Walt Disney Television Animation'Bruce Block’s work gives the
visual storyteller a framework for making story-driven decisions,
not just visual choices. It gives the filmmaker tools to create
harmony and counterpoint between the story structure and its visual
realization on the screen.'
Randy Nelson, founding Dean of Pixar University at Pixar Animation
Studios'You hold in your hand a key to understanding the complex
and ever changing world of modern cinema.'Charles Shyer, writer,
director Alfie, Father of the Bride I and II, Baby Boom'No matter
what kind of visual storyteller you are, whether a filmmaker,
photographer, or graphic designer, Bruce Block explains how visual
narrative works in a way that is clear and accessible. '
David Pagani, Creative Director-On Air, DIRECTV
'Bruce Block is legendary in the field of broadcast design. His
profound insight into the art of visual storytelling will forever
change the way you work.'
Dan Pappalardo, Executive Creative Director/Partner, Troika Design
Group
'I think every cinematographer-in-training should read this book.
It will teach them how important collaboration with others in the
crew is by having an overall concept of all that goes into the
creation of the Visual Story.'
Rexford Metz, ASC
'His book is a sort of Elements of Style for filmmakers, and any
screenwriter, director or cinematographer with a point of view will
find a great deal of creative inspiration in The Visual Story's
guide to the fundamentals of the craft. The Visual Story makes the
very convincing argument that all of these media require precise,
motivated visual designs in order to be effective - and that having
a point to make or a story to tell is only half the battle.'
American Cinematographer Magazine
'In a great story - and in a great speech - there is ebb and flow,
there is silence and there may be thunder. In a wonderful book
about the power of the visual in storytelling by Bruce Block, the
author uses these three basics of story - Exposition, Climax,
Resolution - to show the link between visual structure and story
structure.'
Garr Reynolds, author Presentation Zen
'Bruce Block masterfully deconstructs visual storytelling. Exposure
to his material is essential for all students of cinema. This book
will make you a better filmmaker.'
American Film Institute'Bruce's class taught me a key lesson on how
to approach filmmaking as a language. Once I understood visual
storytelling through that lens, it fundamentally shifted the way I
experienced and created films. It not only illuminated the
elemental process of adapting words to images, but also guided me
to a deeper awareness of how to construct a story.'
Sam Esmail, creator, producer, writer and director of Mr. Robot and
Homecoming'Bruce Block has a unique knowledge and understanding of
the visual structure of film. The Visual Story is the only book of
its kind. It will literally teach you to become a better
storyteller through the use of visuals.'
Nancy Meyers, producer, writer, director of Something’s Gotta Give,
The Holiday, It’s Complicated, The Intern'Bruce Block is a legend
and a dynamic human being who understands the visual story medium
like no other. After taking his class during my time at USC’s
School of Cinematic Arts Director’s program, I gained invaluable
knowledge on how to clearly articulate my vision for my films, in
my scripts and on set. Bruce’s techniques are 100% applicable to
every scenario I’ve been in during physical production. From the
climactic barn sequence in Burning Sands (which we had to shoot in
less than four hours) to the scary visuals in The First Purge, I
was able to draw on the techniques I learned from Bruce to create a
unique vision for both films. By working in concert with my DP and
my crew, I was able to get the shots I needed efficiently and
effectively. I’m thankful to Bruce for helping me grow as a
filmmaker and I recommend this book to any storyteller who wants to
take their visual storytelling to the next level.'
Gerard McMurray, director The First Purge; producer, writer,
director Burning Sands'I spend much of my time in pre-production
quoting Bruce Block to my cinematographers, production designers,
costume designers and editors. In all my years in the business I’ve
never found a clearer, more useful articulation of film
grammar.'
Jay Roach, producer, director of Bombshell, Trumbo, Meet the
Fockers, Meet the Parents, The Austin Powers films'Bruce Block’s
in-depth understanding of visual structure is inspirational to
those working in animation. This reference source is invaluable and
essential for any artist.'
Walt Disney Television Animation'Bruce Block’s work gives the
visual storyteller a framework for making story-driven decisions,
not just visual choices. It gives the filmmaker tools to create
harmony and counterpoint between the story structure and its visual
realization on the screen.'
Randy Nelson, founding Dean of Pixar University at Pixar Animation
Studios'You hold in your hand a key to understanding the complex
and ever changing world of modern cinema.'Charles Shyer, writer,
director Alfie, Father of the Bride I and II, Baby Boom'No matter
what kind of visual storyteller you are, whether a filmmaker,
photographer, or graphic designer, Bruce Block explains how visual
narrative works in a way that is clear and accessible. '
David Pagani, Creative Director-On Air, DIRECTV
'Bruce Block is legendary in the field of broadcast design. His
profound insight into the art of visual storytelling will forever
change the way you work.'
Dan Pappalardo, Executive Creative Director/Partner, Troika Design
Group
'I think every cinematographer-in-training should read this book.
It will teach them how important collaboration with others in the
crew is by having an overall concept of all that goes into the
creation of the Visual Story.'
Rexford Metz, ASC
'His book is a sort of Elements of Style for filmmakers, and any
screenwriter, director or cinematographer with a point of view will
find a great deal of creative inspiration in The Visual Story's
guide to the fundamentals of the craft. The Visual Story makes the
very convincing argument that all of these media require precise,
motivated visual designs in order to be effective - and that having
a point to make or a story to tell is only half the battle.'
American Cinematographer Magazine
'In a great story - and in a great speech - there is ebb and flow,
there is silence and there may be thunder. In a wonderful book
about the power of the visual in storytelling by Bruce Block, the
author uses these three basics of story - Exposition, Climax,
Resolution - to show the link between visual structure and story
structure.'
Garr Reynolds, author Presentation Zen
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