It does have some great info on how a light bulb is created and the various parts but is not very fulfilling. this book is not what I thought it would be like and
the reviews from others are misleading.

It goes over various lighting setups, any photography book covers this and skims over ratios. It explains color meters in short detail but it would be great to have more "meat" to hang on to then the author's bad grammar and old sayings. He suggests that you learn by doing. enough about his experiences, show me something I don't know how to do!

If you want to learn lighting for video, this is not the book to buy. If you want to learn about light bulbs and color tempatures of tungsten lights then this book delivers.

I give it a 2 stars because it does have some merit but not in the area of lighting technique. For a really thin book, its not worth the price even if you get a discount.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:


No Technique - thin on using shadows for anything  Apr 04, 2007 By Louis Mauriello
Reviewer Joel (CA United States) is 100% correct: This book's description and all of the other reviews are completely misleading. The book is thin on content at this price range and doesn't even truly cover the subject of "Placing Shadows", and, other then building off of a foundation of the standard 3 point lighting system, it doesn't provide any techniques to do anything with shadows at all.

What it does provide is a good easily understood explanation of color and the measurable aspect of temperature along with definitions of the various existing light bulbs, their properties and color temperatures. But if you are at the stage where you're looking to buy a book to help you with using shadows then you should already know everything this book has to offer on this subject. And if not this isn't the book to get it from.

This book is not what I thought it would be as I was expecting some advanced knowledge on creatively using lights to create shadows that would enhance my productions. What I got was a rehash of the basics of illuminating a subject, with illumination as the key word.

If you want to learn lighting for video go get one of the lesser costing setup books that have page after page of diagrams of different sets and the various positions of where the lights should go.

This is not the book to help you learn about using shadow techniques to enhance your production as it is more a book about light bulbs and their color temperatures.

Oh, yeah, the second edition's cover is completely different and looks like a cheeply produced self published paperback book.

Now I have only one question: Where do I get a refund?

19 of 26 found the following review helpful:


"Must" reading for aspiring video producers & videographers.  Jun 04, 2000 By Midwest Book Review
Now in a completely updated and expanded second edition, Placing Shadows: Lighting Techniques For Video Production continues to be the best one-volume "how to" guide and reference on the practical fundamentals of studio and on-site location video production lighting techniques. Producer, director, videographer, Chuck Gloman collaborates with independent lighting designer Tom Letourneau to provide a superlative guide that covers every aspect of video lighting from meters and scopes to lamps and reflectors. Placing Shadows is "must" reading for all aspiring video producers and videographers.

5 of 6 found the following review helpful:


Great introduction to "Art" of lighting.  Nov 10, 2001
As a beginning Videographer I found this book a great introduction to the many different lights and techniques used in obtaining good video. The book is also very current on what is available today. I feel it could have been a little more in-depth, but for the price and length I found it well worth buying and reading. The authors write in a very "readable" style that educates you but doesn't bore you. Highly recommended.

3 of 4 found the following review helpful:


Placing Shadows  Dec 21, 2005 By Grisha
Placing Shadows in an appropriate title for this book. Shadows are the 3rd dimension of lighting ignored by many video professionals. The book explains in depth, the spectrums and characteristics of different types of light. Most books don't go into these explanations except 400 level college video classes. By doing so, it gives a basis to go on to discussing the many assorted manufactures lights and their practical use. Not just hypothetical lighting situations, but actual sets, from office settings to exercise videos. Also acknowledging, every set is completely different and must be lit by what is necessary to create the look you need.

Additionally this book, described how to set up your monitor by using different color bars and using waveform monitors and vector scopes, something that many college graduates were never taught how to do, like ME! If a student learns and retains everything in this book you will be ahead of all you peers and will understand what is being done on a set when they're in the real world of video.

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