# Film books

> A reading list on filmmaking: Bordwell & Thompson, Tarkovsky, Kieslowski, Chion on sound and the practical craft of directing and editing.

- Page: https://www.elasticspace.com/2002/09/film/
- Author: Timo Arnall (https://www.elasticspace.com/)
- Section: Notes (https://www.elasticspace.com/notes/)
- Published: 2002-09-23
- Updated: 2026-07-05
- Tags: Books, Film, Television
- Site map for agents: https://www.elasticspace.com/llms.txt

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This is one of a series of reading lists I put together between 2002 and 2004 when I was starting out in interaction and experience design, building out a personal canon from books I was buying, borrowing from libraries, or lending to students. The lists are grouped by topic. Film has always been a neighbouring discipline, and this list is about the craft: directing, editing, sound, screenwriting, the architecture of the frame.

Bordwell & Thompson’s Film Art is the textbook every interaction designer should also read: how scenes work, how cuts work, how attention works. Tarkovsky’s Sculpting In Time and Kieslowski on Kieslowski are the directors’ own accounts of their thinking. Michel Chion’s Audio Vision is the essential book on sound-image relationships; I keep returning to it. Lumet’s Making Movies is the working director’s how-to.

The Amazon links below are what I had at the time, most will be dead now, but the ISBNs will find you a copy.

### Film Art

David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson. Classic textbook, required reading.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071182306/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0072415924/elasticspace-20)

### Sculpting In Time

Andrey Tarkovsky.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0292776241/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0292776241/elasticspace-20)

### Time Within Time

Andrey Tarkovsky.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0571167179/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0571167179/elasticspace-20)

### Kieslowski on Kieslowski

Danusia Stok, Krzysztof Kieslowski. A thorough insight into Kieslowski’s process, thinking and ideology. Wonderful.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0571173284/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0571173284/elasticspace-20)

### The Art and Science of Screenwriting

Philip Parker. Essential reading for screenwriting, not just the usual Hollywood basics.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1841500003/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1841500003/elasticspace-20)

### Film Architecture

Dietrich Neumann.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/3791321633/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3791321633/elasticspace-20)

### Audio Vision

Michel Chion. Essential for anyone thinking about the interaction between audible and visible.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0231078986/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0231078986/elasticspace-20)

### Directing: (Screencraft Series)

Mike Goodridge.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0240804988/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0240804988/elasticspace-20)

### First Cut: Conversations with Film Editors

Gabriella Oldham.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520075889/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520075889/elasticspace-20)

### The Director’s Journey: The Creative Collaboration

Mark Travis.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0941188590/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0941188590/elasticspace-20)

### Making Movies

Sidney Lumet.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0747527679/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679756604/elasticspace-20)

### Film Directing: Shot By Shot

Steven Katz.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0941188108/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0941188108/elasticspace-20)

### Directing the Film

Eric Sherman.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316785415/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316785415/elasticspace-20)

### Making Movies Work: Thinking Like a Filmmaker

Jon Boorstin.
[amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1879505274/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1879505274/elasticspace-20)