Known as one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, Alfred Hitchcock's unique vision in movies like "Psycho" and "The Birds" sent shivers down our spines and shockwaves through the film industry. His innovative camera techniques have been studied for decades and his gift for storytelling cemented his place in history. Many directors make great movies, but the genius of Hitchcock helped make movies great. Learn how a chubby boy from London became the "Master of Suspense."

Growing up in Australia, Liam Hemsworth's youth was focused more on surfing than acting. This entertaining biography describes Liam's rise to fame alongside his two older brothers who are also actors. In fact, Liam lost the leading role in the movie Thor to his big brother, Chris, in 2010. But Liam bounced back landing his first big role, alongside Miley Cyrus, in the movie The Last Song. Now with a leading role in wildly successful The Hunger Games series, his fame just keeps continuing to grow.

This comprehensive and insightful guide provides a theoretical understanding of the forms and functions of short films, from a variety of production contexts in this country and abroad. The guide establishes a conceptual approach to the analysis of short films and builds on this foundation to provide helpful advice for teachers and students who are producing their own short films. In addition to providing a framework for the production process, the guide demonstrates how practical work can be used to engage with key aspects of the Media and Film Studies curriculum. Contents include: Introduction - Assessment contexts, Rationale, Schemes of work; Background - history and development of the short film form; short film production - effective pre-production; production technologies; post-production; and finding an audience for short films - new possibilities in marketing and distribution. As with all the guides in this series, this title is supported by additional student materials on dedicated password accessible web pages.

What is 'black cinema'? Is it a valid category? What can films from as far afield, economically and geographically, as Nigeria and Hollywood possibly have in common? Focusing on films such as "Lethal Weapon," "Bullet Boy" and "Malcolm X," this guide discusses various issues and looks at fresh ways into exploring the key concepts of Media Studies.

A well-organized guide to teaching film language, with examples from Hollywood, independent, British and World cinemas. Designed to be accessible to those who are new to Film or Media Studies, this book will also be very useful to more experienced practitioners. It centers on a concise account of key ideas in film analysis at the "macro" level (narrative, genre, representation) and "micro" level (cinematography, editing sound). The guide explains accessibly how the auditory and visual components of film language can be interpreted as a semiotic process. It does so mostly from an audience perspective, but also relates film language to film production. Contents include:
* Introduction: Assessment contexts; What is film language?; Schemes of work
* Background: Production processes; Macro analysis; genre and narrative; Micro analysis
* Case studies: Macro analysis; Micro analysis; Micro analysis of an action movie extract
* Focus Films: "Spider-Man 2, Donnie Darko, The Magdalene Sisters, High Noon, Die Hard: With a Vengeance"

An exciting and engaging book that will appeal not only to academics but to the film-viewing public, educated lay-persons and students. Not only will the book aid this audience in a greater appreciation of the film 'The Passion of the Christ' but perhaps more importantly it will enable the reader to distinguish between both the contents of the film and the contents of the Gospels and between the contents of the film and what may be historically reconstructed about Jesus. Furthermore the book will aid the reader to appreciate the contributions that the study of the Gospels and the historical study of Jesus can make to the discussion of the film 'The Passion of the Christ'. Jesus and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ is edited by Kathleen E. Corley, Oshkosh Northwestern Distinguished Professor and Professor of New Testament at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and Robert L. Webb, an independent scholar living near Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

"I am so proud to be Jamie's 'dad.' She is not only a talented actress but also a bright, generous, and inspiring young lady." -- James Gandolfini

"Jamie-Lynn Sigler definitely knows how to inspire people....I'm grateful to call her my friend." -- Lance Bass, *N'SYNC

Everyone knows Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano on the HBO hit television series The Sopranos. But there's so much more to her, as her candid, outspoken autobiography proves. In Wise Girl, Jamie-Lynn reveals both the perks and the pressures that have come with fame, and how uncertain, fearful times have made her stronger, more confident, and able to face life's challenges. Writing openly and from the heart, she describes the emotional and physical toll taken when Lyme disease left the healthy 19-year-old paralyzed at the height of The Soprano's popularity; an obsession with her weight that nearly destroyed her career; and the dark side of overnight success. Her story will both surprise and inspire you. For this wise girl, the key to success isn't just what's on the outside -- it's using your brains, going with your gut, and learning from your experiences, including the mistakes, every day.

Born in California, Shailene Woodley almost became an interior designer before landing a starring role in the TV series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. This book follows the intriguing story of her rise to fame, from her breakout movie role in The Descendants to her star-making role in The Fault in Our Stars to her superstar status today as Tris in the Divergent movies.

Scarlett Johansson captivated audiences as Marvel's Black Widow. With compelling images, fun facts, and an Inside Hollywood special feature, this book provides an engaging overview of Johansson's life, acting career, and experience playing Black Widow.

Chris Hemsworth captivated audiences as Marvel's Thor. With compelling images, fun facts, and an Inside Hollywood special feature, this book provides an engaging overview of Hemsworth's life, acting career, and experience playing Thor.

A member of the group Take That, as well as a solo artist, Gary Barlow is one of the biggest names on the music scene today. He is known for his amazing musical talent, his appearance on The X Factor and much more. Find out everything about the man behind the microphone; his inspirations, where he grew up, his interests, his charity work, and even what his first toy was! A fantastic resource for biography based project work!

This book is for teachers of Media Studies and English who are responsible for delivering this exciting and demanding area of the curriculum. Suitable for both new and experienced teachers, it provides a range of approaches from the focused teaching of film in Media Studies to the use of film as support material in English courses. Clear explanations of the key concepts and ideas for film study are accompanied by a series of case studies, providing practical advice and exercises for every classroom environment. It includes: different approaches to using film in the classroom; an introduction to key concepts for studying film; an overview of influential critical and academic perspectives; a survey of historical and industrial contexts for production and consumption of film; and case studies of films within particular genres, Action films, Comic book adaptations and Teen movies. The guide is supported by extensive online resources to help the busy teacher get the most out of their students.

With Authors & Artists for Young Adults teens have a source where they can discover fascinating and entertaining facts about the writers, artists, film directors, graphic novelists, and other creative personalities that most interest them. International in scope, each volume contains 20-25 entries offering personal behind-the-scenes information, portraits, movie stills, bibliographies, a cumulative index and more.

For table of contents or other volume specific information see the entry for the volume.

With Authors & Artists for Young Adults teens have a source where they can discover fascinating and entertaining facts about the writers, artists, film directors, graphic novelists, and other creative personalities that most interest them. International in scope, each volume contains 20-25 entries offering personal behind-the-scenes information, portraits, movie stills, bibliographies, a cumulative index and more.

For table of contents or other volume specific information see the entry for the volume.