The Shut Up and Shoot Freelance Video Guide

The Shut Up and Shoot Freelance Video Guide is an easy-read crash course in the real-world ins and outs and hundred little details of creating video works for hire.

This ultra-friendly visual field guide for freelance videographers picks up where The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide leaves off and gives you more detailed practical production strategies and solutions not found anywhere else on:

  • Marketing Videos
  • Music Videos
  • Wedding Videos
  • Music Performance Videos
  • Live Event Videos
  • Corporate videos…and more!

“Incredibly detailed both technically and on a practical, personal level…Amateurs and would-be professionals can find everything they need to get the job, prep, shoot, edit and complete a project. From highly-detailed technical issues to what could possibly go wrong in any given situation…the amount of common sense advice and crucial technical information is unprecedented.”

~ Harry M. Cheney, Sound Editor
Bram Stoker’s Dracula,  American Pie,  Legends of the Fall

Covering everything from dealing with clients, production strategies and step-by-step guidance on planning, shooting, lighting and recording the most common video-for-hire genres this book sets out to help you rise above the competition and make more money by doing better quality work.

Anthony Q. Artis will instill you with the “down and dirty” mindset that helps you to creatively maximize your limited resources regardless of your budget.

Lavishly illustrated in full-color with real-world step-by-step visuals, The Shut Up and Shoot Freelance Video Guide is like a film school education in the form of a video cookbook.  This book weighs in with a whopping:

  • 400 Full-Color pages

  • 700+ Illustrations

  • Free access to a dynamic bonus website of supporting material

You don’t need loads of money to make professional-looking videos – you need to get down and dirty!

Includes access to a secret bonus Web site with:

  • Video and audio tutorials, useful forms, and case-study video projects from the book.

  • Crazy Phat Bonus Pages with Jump Start Charts, online Resources

  • Plus Releases, Storyboards, Checklists, Equipment Guides and Shooting Procedures

This is second volume in the “Down and Dirty” filmmaking book series.

Here’s Just Some of What’s Inside:

Below are  just some of the hundred plus topics covered in the 400 clear practical fully-illustrated pages of this new freelancer’s video bible.  Click on the red links to read some for yourself:

  • Important Camera Menu Settings – pg. 4
  • Video Camera Buyer’s Guide – pg. 7
  • Why DSLR Cameras are Lame – pg. 20 (read online)
  • Why DSLR Cameras are Da Bomb – pg. 23 (read online)
  • DSLR Workarounds and Fixes – pg.25
  • Digital Media Reference Chart – pg. 29
  • 5 Cool Shutter Speed FX – pg. 44
  • Shooting Time-Lapse Scenes – pg. 48
  • Constructing an Interview Space pg. – 51
  • Applying Powder Makeup in 5 Easy Steps – pg. 58
  • Common Facial Issues and Fixes – pg. 59
  • Practical Tips on Shooting Sports – pg. 61
  • Sound Tools of the Trade – pg. 71
  • Audio Recording Strategy – pg. 74
  • Analog vs. Digital Audio Measurements – pg. 78
  • Wireless Mic Tips – pg. 83
  • Taming Wind Noise – pg. 84
  • Audio Troubleshooting Guide – pg. 87
  • Location Recording Issues and Audio Post Tools – pg. 93
  • Using a Graphic Equalizer to Fix Audio Problems – pg. 96
  • Directing Voice-overs – pg. 98
  • 10 Ways to Practice “Safe Sets” – pg.105 (Download .pdf)
  • Lighting Cookbook 2.0 – pg. 117
  • Conceptualizing a Marketing Video – pg. 132
  • Tools for Creating Storyboards – pg. 139
  • Working with “Real People” – pg. 140
  • Set-Up, Rehearsal and Shooting Procedure Lists – pg. 143 (Download .pdf)
  • Working with Teleprompters – pg. 148
  • Marketing Campaign Case-Study: The “Differenter” Ad Campaign – pg. 151
  • Getting “Broadcast Standard” – pg. 165
  • Shooting Group Interviews – pg. 173
  • Freelance Video Workflow Checklist – pg. 177 (Download .pdf)
  • Preproduction—The Pitch – pg. 186
  • What Goes into a Budget? – pg. 189
  • Sample Music Video Budget – pg. 190
  • Creating a Music Video Treatment – pg.195
  • Scripting: The Shooting Schedule – pg. 202
  • 10 Pro Tips for Shooting Music Videos – pg. 208
  • Managing the Postproduction Process – pg. 214
  • Case Study: A $150 Music Video – pg.234
  • Stealing High-Profile Locations – pg. 240
  • Scouting Wedding Venues – pg. 247
  • Tips for Shooting in Low Light – pg. 251
  • Stealing Cutaways and Reaction Shots – pg. 256
  • Wedding Audio Strategies – pg. 265
  • Capturing Intimacy at Weddings – pg. 269 (Download .pdf)
  • Wedding Video Shotlist – pg. 275
  • 5 Questions to Ask A Live Music Event Venue – pg. 279
  • Live Event Audio Cookbook – pg. 282
  • Live Event Camera Techniques – pg. 291
  • Making Single-Camera Coverage Work – pg. 298
  • Shooting Stage Plays – pg. 307
  • How to Get Paying Clients – pg. 319
  • Crafting a Client Proposal – pg. 323
  • Setting Your Rate – pg. 327
  • Working Remotely With an Editor – pg. 331
  • PLUS MORE!

 Again, this is NOT even the whole table of contents, but just a quick sampling of the 100% purely practical topics for filmmakers to be found inside!


GET ALL 400 PAGES OF PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE FOR 20% OFF THE COVER PRICE: $27.99 + Shipping

*Fill in the box below to have your copy signed by the author

Enter The ‘Shut Up and Shoot!’ Contest

With all that in mind, participate in the ’Shut Up and Shoot’ contest! Simply tweet the following, and you will automatically be entered to win $100 worth of Focal Press books:

I want to Shut Up and Shoot my film/video and @focalpress can help show me how. http://bit.ly/nuJa70 #shutupandshoot

Contest Deadline: December 31, 2011



  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • RSS