Candle-power videos

Press, 23 January 1988, Page 25

Candle-power videos

The Video Maker’s Handbook. By Roland Lewis. Pan, 1987. 224 pp. $35. (Reviewed by David Clarkson). Roland Lewis’s "Handbook” is packed with enough information to turn a household into a minor television studio. His well-considered, well-illustrated book has detailed advice for using the camcorder at every level, from home movies, to recording weddings, births, video letters, pop videos, business videos, minor dramas, and tapes with a political message. It ranges from simple home movie making, to productions with a film crew of six. Lewis’s enthusiasm for this electronic marvel shines through in the pages, where he describes video as “the family album come to life.” His

handbook, he says "teaches the basics of visual literacy." He has been involved in writing, editing, direction, and camera work for video productions, and teaches video, film and television at the Polytechnic of Central London. Apart from his own career ideas about how to make videos, he uses a series of salient quotations from famous film makers.

There is even a section on the techniques — camerawork that is — for producing home erotica. It contains a suggestion that banks of candles placed out of shot will give a romantic glow to the scene, but it warns sternly: “When lighting in this way, beware of fire hazards.” That seems to have all the makings of an excellent comedy.