Filmmaking quotes can provide us with a quick burst of wisdom or encouragement. In fact, a good piece of advice can stick with us for months or even years.
Getting advice from someone you admire creates hope, energy, and action. So if you are an aspiring director, producer or screenwriter then check out some of the quotes below. We have advice from some top filmmakers like James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino, George Lucas, and Werner Herzog.
Film Directors
The job of a director is especially tough and takes a lot of strength. You learn the job by doing it, even on small projects. Directors find ideas not just by watching movies but also by reading and studying other topics.
“I would travel down to hell and wrestle a film away from the devil if it was necessary.”
Werner Herzog
“When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, ‘no, I went to films.”
Quentin Tarantino
“But having a really good understanding of history, literature, psychology, sciences – is very, very important to actually being able to make movies.”
George Lucas
“When you’re doing films, just with friends, with no money, on a shoestring. You have to be able to do all the jobs… And it’s a wonderful way to learn everything.”
Christopher Nolan
Film Producers
As a producer, you learn by doing but also need to fight for your project. Being a producer is about proving to people why they should fund your film and work for you. You need to believe in yourself whilst making the best film possible.
“People call me a perfectionist, but I’m not. I’m a rightist. I do something until it’s right, and then I move on to the next thing.”
James Cameron
“The business of horror movies goes up and down, and people are always like, ‘It’s working,’ ‘It’s not working,’ but generally, I think if you make a good movie that’s scary, people will come.”
Jason Blum
“I always feel that the best kind of producing – and frankly, it has to do with what I like to do – is you’re the big-picture person.”
Kathleen Kennedy
“I’ve got to be out doing a million things. That’s how I find stories. That’s how I get the relationships and get the projects that I get with the writers, the directors.”
Dana Brunetti
Screenwriters
The process of writing a script requires structure and discipline. As a screenwriter, you must spend time creating your story, characters, and the world they live in.
“First scenes are super-important to me. I’ll spend months and months pacing and climbing the walls trying to come up with the first scene. I drive for hours on the freeway.”
Aaron Sorkin
“Scripts are what matter. If you get the foundations right and then you get the right ingredients on top, you stand a shot… but if you get those foundations wrong, then you absolutely don’t stand a shot. It’s very rare–almost never–that a good film gets made from a bad screenplay.”
Tim Bevan
“If you’re writing a novel, you can afford to see where the spirit takes you, but in terms of structure and engineering with a screenplay, you have to be quite pragmatic; otherwise, it will run away from you.”
Jane Goldman
Film Editors
The editing process is where the film takes shape. The film editor has a lot of control over the film and how the audience watches the story. To be a great editor, you need an eye for detail and excellent time management to complete the project on time.
“There’s a great deal of mystery in film editing, and that’s because you’re not supposed to see a lot of it. You’re supposed to feel that a film has pace and rhythm and drama, but you’re not necessarily supposed to be worried about how that was accomplished.”
Thelma Schoonmaker
“The director and editor always explores how we can propel a scene, and that’s including dialogue, without doing match cuts. Because the audience is really willing to accept a lot of chaos.”
Sally Menke
“Editing is where movies are made or broken. Many a film has been saved and many a film has been ruined in the editing room. “
Joe Dante
Actors
The art of acting is not just about reading lines but immersing yourself in the character’s world. The job role is highly creative and takes a lot of self-confidence.
“Acting is not about being someone different. It’s finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there.”
Meryl Streep
“Acting is playing pretend, playing a children’s game at an adult level, but with children’s rules. It’s fun to play bad guys. I’ve never been in a fight in my life, so it’s fun to play something that’s different.”
Ray Liotta
“Acting is something different to everybody. I just know that if you watch an actor or actress getting better and better, I think that’s them just understanding themselves better and better.”
Cameron Diaz
Director of Photography
The DOP is responsible for all cameras and lighting on a film set. It’s both a creative and technical role that requires a lot of teamwork.
“The biggest challenge of any DOP is making the imagery fit together of a piece: that the whole film has a unity to it, and actually, that a shot doesn’t stand out”.
Roger Deakins
“I think people just see the job as being about photography shots and beautiful lighting. We all want our movies to look great visually, but I think that what really makes a great DOP is one who loves story.”
Seamus McGarvey
“My job is vast in its possibilities… much more so than music or language.”
Conrad Hall
We hope you enjoyed this post! If you love a quote, write it down and leave it next to your workspace. That way, you can feel the benefit of a quote throughout your day.