Live Cinema and Its Techniques Paperback – July 10, 2018

Francis Coppola is one of great cinematic creators at work not only today but for the past fifty years. Live Cinema, his latest innovation, is clearly and interestingly laid out in this well written book. Coppola shares the context of his idea, what differentiates it from other modes of expression, as well as his first experiments with his ideas in action. Like Marshall McLuhan, Coppola believes in the power of the probe. If you are even remotely interested in innovation in cinema you must read this book.

Honestly, this whole idea seems a little crazy. I love FFC and would read or watch anything he does so for fans like me, the book is acceptable.For those looking for insights into filmmaking in general, I would probably look elsewhere.

A pro talks about his craft. Very good information.

PRETENDS IT'S SOMETHING IT'S NOT -- VERY LITTLE ABOUT NEW CINEMA. SAVE YOUR MONEY

Most informative.

This book is a wonderful look behind the scenes of the filmmaking industry. Equal parts art, business, and psychology, Francis Ford Coppola takes us on a wild and creative ride as he embarks on an ambitious search to invent a new film-television-theater hybrid. I was fortunate enough to have been cast as an actor (Vincenzo) in the first Live Cinema workshop filmed in Oklahoma City and documented meticulously throughout the book. The finished product, Distant Vision, was broadcast via satellite to Los Angeles, New York, and Paris on June 5, 2015. The book includes a tremendous amount of detail on this creative process. Mr. Coppola did an exceptional job juggling multiple responsibilities on set, and it's nice that much of the work and development process is captured here for posterity – and for other filmmakers who may want to pick up the baton. The theater training exercises Mr. Coppola used in rehearsals for the live film shoot were very effective, and he documents them here, as well, in the appendices. Considering his stature and position in the film industry, it's remarkable that Mr. Coppola would tackle a creative project this complex – and even finance the entire venture himself. This book goes into extensive detail – both personal and professional – on his journey to create this new medium, with so many different moving parts. It would make an excellent supplementary text for film studies classes in colleges and universities.Very detailed throughout and highly recommended.

Yes.We learn how he got, say, the actors of the legendary Godfather film together for a meal to get to each other.BTW this filmmaker also made the popular Vietnam War-themed film Apocalypse Now. When you watch that film (again?) --please realize that Ho Chi Minh committed a brutal mass-murder on North Vietnamese landowners in 1956. He had to be stopped from taking South Vietnam and killing brutally there as well. See book "Vietnam" by also legendary filmmaker Ken Burns (book alos hetre at amazon) for more on the mass-murders of Ho Chi Minh.

I studied under Hallmark Hall of Fame producer-director George Schaefer at UCLA, did a TV directing internship under Hallmark's Glenn Jordan, and learned 3-camera TV with Ivan Cury at UCLA, saw The Comedian on a Golden Age of Television DVD set, so can say with confidence that Francis Ford Coppola is on to something, once again ahead of his time, as he was with Video Assist (well, he did get it from Jerry Lewis)...Live TV has shown its potential with Metropolitan Opera HD broadcasts and other special events, and Francis Ford Coppola combines this experience with his own memories of growing up watching live television drama in the 1950s, plus his movie-making genius, to posit a future for theatrical "Live Cinema." Which he wants to make...with a kitchen-sink melodrama about his family in the Bronx (homage to Marty?). Bottom line... a visionary's diary, notebooks, technical specifications, and philosophical musings that may lead the way forward to a renaissance of quality television shown in movie theaters (or my guess is eventually in homes with corporate sponsorship). Required reading for anyone in the film, television, IT or other communication industries...

Disappointed. I love FFC's films but this book could have been condensed into a 20 page pamphlet. I'm not sure I see 'live cinema' - in the sense of this book - catching on, even with the enthusiasm of directing legends like FFC behind it.