“I decided to be a filmmaker between my sophomore and junior years at Morehouse. Before I left for the summer of 1977, my advisor told me I really had to declare a major when I came back, because I'd used all my electives in my first two years. I went back to New York and I couldn't find a job. There were none to be had. And that previous Christmas someone gave me a Super-8 camera, so I just started to shoot stuff.” YearsFirstsTwoJobsUsedLeftStuffNew YorkSummerMajorsDecidedCamerasFilmmakerTwo YearsJuniorsAdvisorsSophomoreJunior Year Author:Spike Lee
“The motion picture is like journalism in that, more than any of the other arts, it confers celebrity. Not just on people - on acts, and objects, and places, and ways of life. The camera brings a kind of stardom to them all. I therefore doubt that film can ever argue effectively against its own material: that a genuine antiwar film, say, can be made on the basis of even the ugliest battle scenes ... No matter what filmmakers intend, film always argues yes.” PeopleWayKindArtMadeMatterFilmDoubtObjectsMaterialsSceneBattleBasesCamerasNo Matter WhatArguingGenuineJournalismFilmmakerMovieAntiwarMotion PicturesStardom Author:Renata Adler
“Technology has already opened the door a bit wider for filmmakers, with smaller digital cameras making production less cumbersome. Social media is allowing self-distribution, and girl groups like Spark Summit are leading the way in calling for fewer Photoshop image alterations of girls in print media.” WaySelfGirlSocialBitsTechnologyDoorsGroupsMediaCallingCamerasProductionsSocial MediaFilmmakerDigitalPrintAllowingSparksFewerDistributionSummitAlterationsPhotoshopDigital CamerasLeading The WayGirl GroupsPrint Media Author:Sharon Lawrence
“The nature of the video camera really makes you focus on the present. Since I have always been a diarist filmmaker, not one who stages scenes with actors, it has always been about the present moment.” MomentsActorsFocusStageSceneCamerasVideoFilmmakerPresent MomentVideo Cameras Author:Jonas Mekas
“You have to remain strong. That's the kind of filmmaker I want to encourage. Orson Welles was the one who said, you know, you can learn anything you need to know about filmmaking- that's camera, sound, celluloid, video at this point- in four hours. It has nothing to do with anything. It has nothing to do with it... It has to do with what you want to say. If you feel you have something to say, you'll find that way to get it said, on film, and not let anyone or anything chip away at that or tarnish it, because it's something special and precious.” IfsKnowsWayWantNeedsFeelsKindSaidFilmStrongSoundHoursFourSpecialCamerasWhat You WantVideoFilmmakerFilmmakingChipsSomething SpecialCelluloid Author:Martin Scorsese
“I love making films, and as long as I love the subject, I just have a crazy amount of passion and energy for the project. The project that influenced me the most is this cooking show I do online. I film it all myself, and I think making so many of those gave me the confidence that all I need is a camera, and I could go and do an interview. The freedom to be a filmmaker - you just need a camera.” ThinkingNeedsLongShowsFilmPassionEnergyCrazySubjectsAmountProjectsCamerasCookingFilmmakerInterviewsOnlineLove MakingCooking Shows Author:Tamra Davis
“Gerry Fialka's annual PXL THIS is a reliably surprising and seductive round-up of recent work achieved with the PXL 2000 camera. This humble outdated “toy” continues to bring out the visionary child in filmmakers and viewers alike, and no one has kept the PXL flame burning longer or brighter than Gerry.” ChildrenCamerasRoundsHumbleBurningFlamesFilmmakerSurprisingToysViewersBrighterVisionariesSeductiveAnnualsOutdated Author:Michael Almereyda
“Now there's a whole generation of filmmakers who grew up making their own films with video cameras, and have dined entirely on a diet of popular culture. It's been reflected in a lot of their work. It's self-reflective, it's quite knowing, but it's very literate.” SelfWholeFilmCultureKnowingGenerationsGrewGrew UpCamerasVideoDietsFilmmakerWorking ItPopular CultureVideo Cameras Author:Simon Pegg
“It has a lot to do with just sort of trust in the relationship that builds between the filmmaker and the subject. There are some people who will never be relaxed in front of a camera, and in some ways that's my failing as a filmmaker to not put them at ease. It's also a function of time, and if you have that type of time.” PeopleIfsWayFailingSubjectsFrontsTypeFunctionCamerasEaseFilmmakerRelaxed Author:Liz Garbus
“Right now is a very interesting time because of the digital cameras, and the fact that you can edit anywhere. It's a great time to be a filmmaker, is a great time to be starting off.” FactsInterestingCamerasStartingFilmmakerDigitalVery InterestingEditsGreat TimesDigital CamerasInteresting Times Author:Michael Pitt
“I have an Honors Degree in Drama from the University of Alberta, but when it was done I knew a life in modern theatre was not for me. While figuring out what the hell I might do instead of theatre, I spent a couple of days on a horror film doing stunt work. I'd never been behind the camera before, and I loved everything about it. I joined the local film co-op - The Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta - because you could trade skills for experience. These indie filmmakers were making their own stuff their own way, all the time. Instant education.” WayArtDoneMightFilmStuffBehindsHellModernCoupleHonorDramaHorrorSkillsDegreesCamerasTradeUniversityTheatreLocalsVideoFilmmakerInstantHorror FilmAlberta Author:Karen Walton
“It's a very different experience shooting in 3-D because the camera rigs are so large. Everything we've become accustomed to in the last ten years as filmmakers, which is cameras getting smaller and smaller and you can just throw them on your shoulder and stick them in a car and do whatever you want, you can't do any of that now. You're forced to put things on dollies and track and cranes.” WantYearsDifferentLastsCarTenCamerasSticksTrackShouldersShootingFilmmakerAccustomedDo Whatever You WantDifferent ExperiencesCranesRigs Author:Paul W. S. Anderson
“I have received the digital camera as a blessing. It has really changed my life as a filmmaker, because I don't use my camera anymore as a camera. I don't feel it as a camera. I feel it as a friend, as something that doesn't make an impression on people, that doesn't make them feel uncomfortable, and that is completely forgotten in my way of approaching life and people and film.” PeopleWayFeelsUseFilmChangedBlessingCamerasForgottenImpressionMy WayUncomfortableFilmmakerDigitalChanged My LifeDigital CamerasApproaching Life Author:Abbas Kiarostami
“Initially, it connected with me when I was a kid, seeing a lot of movies while growing up in Los Angeles. And Sam's [Fuller] pictures are an expression of such a distinct voice that he was one of those filmmakers who made me aware that there was, in fact, a real presence behind the camera that was telling the story, as opposed to actors just presenting it.” MadeRealFactsStoriesKidsActorsVoiceBehindsGrowing UpGrowingSeeingExpressionCamerasConnectedFilmmakerLos AngelesPresenting Author:Curtis Hanson
“A good filmmaker is someone who can look at a piece and go, "This camera's really going to be a character. I want people to feel like they're being punched."” PeopleWantFeelsLooksCharacterPiecesCamerasFilmmaker Author:Bill Paxton
“I'm a visual filmmaker so the camera is a big part of my storytelling tool and it's something that I really rely on to tell a scene or create the suspense that I need and create the emotion of a scene or a sequence.” NeedsBigsEmotionSceneToolsCamerasStorytellingSuspenseFilmmakerRelyVisualsSequence Author:James Wan
“Perhaps it sounds ridiculous, but the best thing that young filmmakers should do is to get hold of a camera and some film and make a movie of any kind at all.” ShouldKindFilmYoungSoundCamerasRidiculousBest ThingsFilmmaker Author:Stanley Kubrick
“Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you're a director. Everything after that you're just negotiating your budget and your fee.” InspirationalMatterMotivationalNamesStarsFriendsDirectorsPicksCamerasBudgetsFilmmakerFilmmakingFeesCheesyNegotiatingFilm SchoolMovie DirectorFilm Students Book:James Cameron: Interviews Source: James Cameron: Interviews