Joseph V. Mascelli (1917–1981)

This is a classic book (1965) about camera rules in cinematography. You can learn in this book all about axis and 180-degree rule. A lot of photos makes easy to understand all. But this is not a book about direction techniques. If you are interested in camera techniques, you must read this book, but also you must read other books about direction, montage, script etc. This is indispensable but not enough.

These books are very interesting about direction: "Film Directing Fundamentals" by Nicholas Proferes, "Cinematic Storytelling" by Jennifer Van Sijll and "Hichcock" by Francois Truffaut (an absolute classic). About Script I recommend: "The Writer's Journey" by Christopher Vogler, "The Art Of Dramatic Writing" by Lajos Egri, "The Anatomy Of Story" by John Truby and "Writing your screenplay" by Cynthia Whitcomb.… (more)

Amazon: The 5 C's of Cinematography cover camera angles, continuity, cutting, close-ups and composition. This book is an technical power-house that is clear, descriptive and easily understood to one who frequently watches movies and has a visual mind. It explains the psychology of the eye and how we are trained and used to watching movement and cuts. It promotes off the cuff method of filming as well as standard composition to not confuse and distract the audience. Mascelli provides the best explanation of the axis line I've ever read and his diagrams are simple, yet very helpful. This is a guy who clearly wanted to share his knowledge. the single most helpful book on filmmaking I came across (John Alton's "Painting with Light" is great also, on cinematography). This is the grammar book of the language of classical cinematic style. It sets out the rules used by generations of directors, cinematographers and editors for expressing drama, feelings and ideas.… (more)