The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and Digital Media

If you can't make it to one of Bruce Block's legendary visual storytelling seminars, then you need his book! Now in full color for the first time, this best-seller offers a clear view of the relationship between the story/script structure and the visual structure of a film, video, animated piece, or video game. You'll learn how to structure your visuals as carefully as a writer structures a story or a composer structures music. Understanding visual structure allows you to communicate moods and emotions, and most importantly, reveals the critical relationship between story structure and visual structure. The concepts in this book will benefit writers, directors, photographers, production designers, art directors, and editors who are always confronted by the same visual problems that have faced every picture maker in the past, present, and future.

Table of Contents:
The Visual Components; Contrast & Affinity; Space Part One; Space Part Two; Line & Shape; Tone; Color; Movement; Rhythm; Story & Visual Structure; Practice, Not Theory; Appendix; Bibliography;

About the Author :
Bruce Block has worked in a creative capacity on dozens of feature films, television shows commercials and animated films. 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 & II. He served as creative consultant on Spanglish, As Good As It Gets, Stuart Little and many other feature films and television productions. He is an adjunct Professor at the USC School of Cinema & Television and teaches classes in visual structure at the American Film Institute, PIXAR Studios, Walt Disney Feature and Television Animation, Dreamworks Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Industrial Light & Magic and a variety of film schools in Europe. Mr. Block also consults with video game designers and software companies creating new interactive media. He can be reached at www.bruceblock.com.

Review :
"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 teach you to become a better storyteller through the use of visuals." - Nancy Meyers, Director of "Something's Gotta Give" and "The Holiday" "Bruce Block masterfully deconstructs visual storytelling. Exposure to this material is essential for all students of cinema. This book will make you a better filmmaker." --American Film Institute "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, Dean of Pixar University, Pixar Animation Studios "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 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, director of Austin Powers, Meet the Parents, and Meet the Fockers "You hold in your hand a key to understanding the complex and ever changing world of modern cinema." --Charles Shyver, director of Alfie, Father of the Bride I & II, and Baby Boom "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