Subjects

Rock & Cinema explores–from Elvis Presley’s rock and roll to the present day–the successful encounters between music and cinema that have given rise to works that have become milestones of contemporary culture.

Much has been written about the mutual influence between rock and the big screen, but little attention has been paid to the impact that certain films and their soundtracks have had on the world of music and on the artists themselves.

There are numerous cases of films that have become true symbols for entire movements or subcultures. Cinema has represented a natural step for many rock stars, and has also become a precious opportunity for underground bands to experiment with new expressive languages.

The main aim of this book is to observe the relationship between rock and cinema from a new perspective: the musical one. It is a journey that traces the history of rock on the big screen, in a passionate project curated down to the smallest detail.

A thin red line connects the present to the past in the world of music and record labels: independence.

Even though many indie labels have over time been absorbed by the majors, the “indie” label has become a recognizable style, loved and followed by fans of all ages and backgrounds; more than a musical genre, it has become a symbol of creative freedom.

This History of Indie explores this evolution, focusing on the 1980s–a period marked by the era of Thatcher and Reagan–during which, between the United States and England, a new generation of labels (SST, Homestead, Matador, Sub Pop, and others) and artists such as Nirvana and R.E.M. emerged, establishing themselves as symbols of artistic independence.

Nice to Rock You is a book that recounts the fortunate (and often fortuitous) meeting of great protagonists of rock history without whom the music world would have experienced different events.

Would Elvis Presley have become the King of rock’n’roll without Colonel Parker? Who would John and Paul have been without George Martin? Would Joni Mitchell have been a painter if David Crosby had not discovered her? And what would the music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers have been like without Rick Rubin’s insights?

"Life, man, is the art of encounter," said Vinicius de Moraes. And the history of twentieth-century music has offered us a wide range of propitious moments in which the destiny of two or more characters has intertwined, giving rise to new, unexpected scenarios that have helped to give a precise direction to the unstoppable and changing flow of history.

The book, divided into 5 sections, recounts 6 special encounters in different fields, covering curious and often little-known moments, places and circumstances. It is a unique volume in the national and international panorama, embellished by a rich iconographic apparatus and tracks that can be listened to via QR code, almost a soundtrack to the stories themselves.

From blues to jazz, from soul to funky, from R&B to rap, the history of Afro-American music and song described through the social and political aspects that have influenced its extraordinary adventure.

In the history of Black music, blues and gospel represent the origin of everything, they emerged as a way to process the existence of the individual but also as a collective reaction to the drama of slavery. Over time, these music genres have evolved into others and others more. But what were the social situations that determined their origin and diffusion? What is the common trait that describes the journey towards awareness of Afro-Americans and their rebellion?

This book intends to investigate among the folds of these historical moments and explore the ethical, social and religious reasons that gave rise to all the kinds of music that developed from seminal blues and gospel to reach, through jazz, soul, funky, reggae and rap, and trap music, the most recent important form of musical expression invented by the Black community.

This is the first book, in Italy, to address Black music from a historical, musical and socio-political viewpoint, without neglecting society.

The richest, most updated and comprehensive guide to discover (or rediscover) a legendary period in the history of music, art and culture: the fabulous 1960s.

On 5 October 1962, the first single by the Beatles (Love Me Do) and the first James Bond movie (Dr. No) were simultaneously released. Since that day, global pop culture has never been the same: it was the day on which the “fabulous 1960s” began, the most creative and stimulating decade of the 20th century.

Drawing on that coincidence, this book (enriched by captivating graphics in the style of the period and by historical pictures) retraces the legend of a season that entirely shook up the world of music, cinema, arts, fashion and society. Not by chance, in those days Diana Vreeland, editor-in-chief of Vogue, called London “Swinging”, i.e. trendy, or better: “the most swinging city in the world”.

From the primordial soup of the 1950s until the “end of the dream” in 1970, the book focuses on a journey where music was the catalyst that inspired and received inspiration from other forms of artistic expression, thus creating a revolutionary movement and a counterculture that was able to take over the world.

With its critical and yet informative approach, accessible to both expert readers and cinema lovers at their first movies, this book examines the most significant artistic, historic, technological and social stages that have marked the history of cinema.

From cave paintings to magic lanterns, through to the invention of cinematograph by the Lumière brothers, followed by contextualising events in mainly chronological, but also digressive sequence, from the first “legendary” projection of Arrival of a train at La Ciotat, to the astonishment still felt by the audience on viewing the stunning landscapes in Avatar 2. Silent movies and the golden age of Hollywood; the genres and auteur movies; movements, schools, waves: neorealism, the “vagues”, the New Hollywood, post-modern cinema, the crisis of theatres and the relaunch of cinecomics, sagas and reboots, arriving at the challenges of new languages in the age of on-demand platforms.

A thoroughly reasoned journey, with a wealth of images and specific text boxes, whose aim is to provide information about the origins, but which especially tries to create a connection with the present time, and ventures to think about the future.

How do you make an effective video? How do you choose the right frame? How do you put a creative idea into writing? This is an enlightening journey behind the scenes of video making, from idea to execution.

The book is a guide to the world of videomaking aimed at professionals as well as first-timers. It is packed with inspiring hints, tips and practical suggestions that are easy to understand; it also provides an organic description of the fundamental themes of video creation, like you have never seen before in just one book.

The book is entirely colour-printed and features a number of explanatory graphs summarising themes and images from famous films used to analyse the various shooting techniques. It is designed in particular for students of directing, videomaking and photography, as well as for youtubers, instagrammers, influencers and anyone who wants to master the creative and technical processes behind the creation and execution of an audiovisual film. The book also features suggestions sourced from the author’s own experience in the industry.

The second edition of the number one photography manual is ideal for every kind of photographer – from passionate amateurs to seasoned professionals. It deals with the techniques and the language of photography and provides the groundwork to create a perfect portfolio.