Use these reference books to provide an overview of your topic, define
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Provides thorough coverage of films and filmmakers, including legendary films, actors and actresses, directors, writers and other production artists. Entries include a detailed essay written by an expert; biographies; filmographies; comprehensive credits; major awards; and updated bibliographies, as well as photographs
Online biographical reference database in the fields of literature, science, business, entertainment, politics, sports, history, current events and the arts.Biographical information on over one million people throughout history, around the world.
270 screenplays and eBooks and updated annually, Screen Studies includes content by leading screenwriters and award-winning directors; cult and classic films and critical and contextual writing on film history, theory and practice, from the beginnings of cinema to the present day. It also includes practical instruction on screenwriting, TV, animation and filmmaking technique.
A comprehensive survey of current publications related to film scholarship alongside detailed and expansive filmographies. This collection includes the specialist index FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Database and the detailed and complementary filmographies created by the American Film Institute and the British Film Institute; AFI Catalog and Film Index International. To search the AFI and Film Index International go to the BASIC SEARCH
Online collection of dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographical sources, quotations, bilingual dictionaries, and measurement conversions covering topics from the arts to the sciences.
Biographies of influential deceased Americans, including many filmmakers. Entries often include valuable information on key published resources and the locations of specific archives.
The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources.
Oxford Bibliographies presents constantly updated articles that contain citations (with annotations) and commentaries for sources across the disciplines. Users can search topics and gather relevant journal article and book citations, online resources, data sources, and more.
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
Available in the Reference room on the 1st floor of Bobst.
Dictionary of technical terms concerning both video and film production. This source is particularly useful, as it differentiates between terms used when working with one or the other format.
TR847 .B76 1992
Volumes 1-4 in this series each deal with a separate subject: Films, Directors/ Filmmakers, Actors & Actresses, Writers & Production Artists; volume 5 is the title index to the set. Entries include biographical or production data, complete filmographies (for individuals), signed critical articles and, most importantly, exhaustive bibliographies for further research.
online via Gale Virtual Reference Library and HathiTrust
Best one-volume encyclopedia on cinema. Scope is international, with an emphasis on North American and European filmmakers. Provides mainly biographical information on directors, actors, composers, cinematographers, designers, etc., with some entries for technical terms, production companies, and national film histories.
PN1993.45 .K34 2008 and avail. online via HathiTrust
his encyclopedia is organized by film title. Each citation gives complete production credits, release dates, and synopsis of U.S. films and select foreign titles.
Main Collection Offsite PN1993 .M4334 and via HathiTrust
Consisting of chronologically organized articles concerning film from the New York Times, this source covers the years 1896-1979. Contains a cumulative index. 13 vols. PN1993.45 .N4 1984
This dictionary includes brief historical essays on the cinema in almost every country in the world, focusing on the production companies, studios, and distributors within each film industry.
PN1993.45 .S57 1989 and via HathiTrust
Contains useful biographical/critical articles on approx. 400 directors, with brief filmographies and bibliographies appended to each. Volume 1 treats filmmakers born before 1920, and volume 2 covers more recent figures.
PN1998.2 .W67 1987 and online via HathiTrust
Offers bibliographic essays arranged under 11 broad topics (eg., History of Film, Film Criticism by Genre, Film and Society, etc.); an appendix provides information on North American research collections. Extensively indexed.
PN1993.45 .A75 and online via HathiTrust
Valuable ready-reference guide with wide range of information, including production and advertising, societies, festivals, trade publications, statistics, and much more. Note the table of contents and alphabetical subject index.
PN1993.3 .I5 and online via HathiTrust
In progress. Volumes published so far cover feature films produced in the United States between the years 1911-20, 1921-30, 1931-1940 (3 vols.,) and 1961-70. Entries arranged alphabetically by title, with cast, credits, and plot summaries for each. Subject and name access in separate volume. ACLS Humanities Project
This selective filmography is a useful introduction to Japanese cinema and its major filmmakers. Contains a bibliography, film and video resource directory, and a chronology of Japanese historic periods. PN1993.5.J3 B78 1990 and online via HathiTrust
These two volumes provide a complete German filmography from 1945-1990. Contains a selective bibliography. PN1993.5.G3 H435 1987 and online via HathiTrust
Organized by country, this source provides a history of each country's film industry, biographical sketches of important people, and a chronologically-arranged filmography. PN1993.5.R9 H28 1992 and online via HathiTrust
Provides indexing to the NewsBank microfiche set located at MF 399 in the Microform Center on Lower Level 2. Covers over 400 U.S. newspapers, and so is valuable for its regional emphasis. Main Collection Offsite Z5784.M9 R4
Indexes over 30 film journals, as well as a number of more general periodicals. Access is gained by a detailed table of contents and an author index. Z5784.M9 M29 1975 and online via HathiTrust
Volume 1 (Film as Art) is the classic text; volumes 2 and 3 (Film as Industry & Film in Society) complete the original WPA project. Combined, these volumes contain over 20,000 entries from English-language books and periodicals relating to the cinema's first forty years of development. Main Collection Offsite (Z5784.M9 W75 and online via HathiTrust).
Americans for the Arts is the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.
