Hi Mitchel and welcome!

There is a book somewhere by Ole Nordstrom (i am not sure about the spelling) that many referred as a good resource. Also search this forum for "books" - there is a topic somewhere with the list of books to read.

There is a wall prep article under "Albuquerque Fresco" in this topic. There is a 1-5 day fresco workshop that you can attend this coming January (16th-20th). If you take five-day class you will paint 4 buon frescoes. This is the best way to understand plaster and panel/wall prep not to mention painting itself.

go to http://frescoschool.com

We posted some close up images from our workshops that may be helpful at http://truefresco.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=545&thumb=1

I have Dimitrov's video, Kimberly Adams have sent me one years ago. You surely can use it as a starting point although, as you pointed out, it just opens the door. You will need to pay more attention to plaster for starters.