Small Gauge / Amateur Film Bibliography
The Small Gauge and Amateur Film Bibliography, compiled by Margaret A. Compton, Katie Trainor, Karan Sheldon, Dwight Swanson, and William O’Farrell with the help of other small gauge luminaries, is a project launched in 2000 by the Small Gauge Task Force. Intended as a growing document, it was last revised in 2005 by editor Margie Compton. The entire document may be downloaded for printing, Small Gauge and Amateur Film Bibliography, 2005 (.pdf) -- or may be browsed by section:

History & Criticism
Filmmaking Manuals/Guides
Periodicals
Technology
Miscellaneous

FILMMAKING MANUALS / GUIDES

8mm/16mm Movie-making, Henry Provisor. Chilton Book Co. [1970]

8mm Film Guide for Amateur & Professional Filmmakers/ Film Collectors
Box 122 Highett, Melbourne VIC Australia 3190

The ACL Movie Book: A Guide To Making Better Movies, Amateur Cinema League, Various editions: 1936, 1940, etc.

All-in-one movie book, Paul Petzold. Amphoto, 1972.

Amateur Movie Making, Herbert C. McKay, ARPS. Falk Publishing Co., 1928. New York Institute of Photography.

Amateur Movies and How to Make Them, Alex Strasser, How to Do it Series No.14, The Studio Publications, London & New York, 1937, revised 1949.

Better Home Movie Making for Amateur Moviemakers, publisher Rudolf Maschke. Photo Topics Inc, 1962. Vol 3, #4 & #6.

Better Super 8 movie making, Myron A. Matzlin. Amphoto, 1967.
ISBN 0-8174-0162-8

The Book of Movie Photography : The Complete Guide to Better Moviemaking, David Cheshire. Knopf, c 1979.

Children as Film Makers, John Lidstone and Don McIntosh. Van Nostrand Reinhold [1969, c1970]

Cine Craft, J. David Beal, Focal Press, 1974.

Cinematography for Amateurs; a Handbook for Beginners in
Motion-Photography, Leonard Donaldson. Hazell, Watson & Viney [1916]

Cine-Photography for Amateurs, J.H. Reyner. American Photographic Publishing Co., August 1931.

Color Movies for the Beginner, Harris B. Tuttle, ARPS. Ziff Davis Publishing, 1941.

The Complete Book of 8mm--Super-8, Single-8, Standard 8--Movie Making, Jerry Yulsman. Barnes and Noble Books, 1972.

The Complete 9.5 Cinematographer, Harold B. Abbott. Published by the Amateur Photographer. A green hard-back followup to Motion Pictures with the Baby Cine, but containing info for home processing (B&W).

The Definitive International Guide, Movie Cameras, 16mm, 9.5mm, 8mm, single 8, Super 8, by Jurgen Lossau. Atoll Medien, Hamburg, 2000.
ISBN 3-9807235-1-8

Earning Money with Your 8/16mm Movie Camera, Karl A. Barleben. Chilton Co. Philadelphia, 1960. Modern Camera Guide Series.
LCCN 60-15425

Electric Eye Movie Manual, Ira B. Current. AMPHOTO, 1961.
LCCN 61-6414

Filming for Amateurs, Paul Burnford. Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, 1940.

Film-Play Production for Amateurs, George H. Sewell, Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, 1932.

Handbook of Super 8 Production, Mark Mikolas and Gunther Hoos. United Buisness Publications, 1978.
ISBN 0-915616-07-6

How to Make Exciting Home Movies & Stop Boring Your Friends and Relatives, Ed and Dodi Schultz. Doubleday, 1972.

How to Make Good Movies, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester.
"A non-technical handbook for those considering the ownership of an amateur movie camera and for those already actively engaged in movie making who want to improve the interest and quality of their personal film records." The standard text used by amateur filmmakers throughout the 1935-65 era. Numerous editions.

How to Make Movies: A Practical Guide to Group Film-Making, Robert Ferguson. Viking Press [1969]

How to Shoot Home Movies, Uwe Ney. Translated from German by Jacqueline Wiltshire. John Bartholomew & Sons, 1978
ISBN 0-517-53390-1

How to Title Home Movies, George Cushman. Ver Halen Publications, 1940.

How to Use 9.5, D.M. Neale. Focal Press, 1951, second edition, 1955.

How to Write a Movie, Arthur L. Gale (Editor of Movie Makers), published by Edmund Byrne Hackett, The Brick Row Book Shop, Inc. 1936.
"A handbook on movie planning, continuity and scenario writing, silent and sound, for amateur and non-theatrical movie makers."

Ideas for Short Films, Simple Scripts for Amateurs, Alex Strasser, A.R.P.S. Translated by P. C. Smethurst. Link House Publications, ltd. [1937]

Independent Film Making, "A complete guide to 8mm, Super8-Single8 and 16mm Moviemaking", Lenny Lipton with an introduction by Stan Brakhage. 1972. Straight Arrow Books, San Francisco, CA
ISBN 0-87932-010-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 0-87932-017-6 (paper)

Manual of Narrow-Gauge Cinematography, ed. Arthur Pereira,. The Fountain Press, 1952.

Motion Picture Photography For The Amateur, Herbert C. McKay. Falk Publishing, 1924. Used as a supplementary text in the New York Institute of Photography Company, Inc. 220 pages plus about 20 pages after endplate.

Motion Pictures w/ the Baby Cine, Harold B. Abbott. 2nd edition, 1929, 3rd edition approx. 1934. Issued by the Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer Handbook of 9mm cinematography

Movie Making for the Beginner, Herbert C. McKay, Little Technical Library, Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., 1939.
Other books in the series include:
Add Sound to Your Movies, Ormal I. Sprungman, 1948.

Personal Filmmaking, James Piper. Reston Pub. Co., [1975]

Scenarios for Amateur Movie Makers, edited by Margaret Mayorga. Samuel French, 1938.

The Super 8 Book, Lenny Lipton. 1975, Lenny Lipton. Straight Arrow Press, SF.
ISBN 0-87932-091-5

Super 8 In The Video Age, Brodsky & Treadway. now OP. 125pp. illustrated. Third edition, August 1988. Paperback. Third ed. approx, 8,500 in print to 1999. First edition, March 1982, out of print. Second edition, 1983, OP.

El Super 8 En La Era Del Video Spanish edition. September 1983. 1,000 dist. Paperback. Publication made possible by grant from The Ford Foundation.

This is an initial bibliography for those interested in learning more about small gauge and amateur film. These categories are not definitive: History and Criticism, Filmmaking Manuals/Guides, Periodicals, Technology, Miscellaneous. A listing may well fit into more than one category. A majority of these listings are still available at libraries and archives. This bibliography is an ongoing project; additions are welcome. Please send suggestions to Katie Trainor, trainorkatie@hotmail.com.

© 2003 The Association of Moving Image Archivists