Do you have a unique or "classic" book?

I don't shoot any video at all these days. years ago though I took some video classes at a local community college. I learned a lot and wish that I had dome more with it after I finished with those classes. One thing that stuck with me, beyond anything technical was the importance on following, or at least being aware of certain aesthetic rules. There are certain ways to shoot and edit (the editing part is maybe even more important!) that just make a piece flow... They make the action happening understandable and mean that it isn't a chore to watch. I think that this kind of aesthetic stuff is even more important than anything that's purely technical.

When I was taking those courses a friend of mine told me that learning that stuff was a waste of time and that anyone could pick up a video camera and figure out the same kind of stuff. he reasoned that since we're all consumers of film and video that so much of it, at least as far as the aesthetic part was kind of ingrained in us. He was really proud of a video that he made, but I found jarring, difficult to follow and pretty much a chore to watch. I think that the point for me was as much as we might think that we know what goes into telling a story with video, most folks unless they really learn the theory of why certain things are shot certain ways, they're going to miss important stuff that's really necessary to create something that someone might want to watch.

So... yes, books, even old ones can be useful, for photography or vide as they show aesthetic theory kind of stuff and that really never changes.