When you do not know what you are doing and what you are doing is the best - that is inspiration.
Robert BressonRead
Two types of films: those that employ the resources of the theater (actors, direction, etc...) and use the camera in order to reproduce; those that employ the resources of cinematography and use the camera to create
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote distinguishes between traditional theatrical filmmaking and innovative cinematographic techniques.
Robert Bresson's quote reflects his belief in two different approaches to film: one that relies on conventional theatrical elements to reproduce performances and narratives, and another that utilizes the unique capabilities of cinematography to create new experiences and narratives. This perspective emphasizes the importance of the camera as a creative tool that can transcend mere reproduction, encouraging filmmakers to explore the medium's potential to generate meaning and emotion.
Themes
FilmCinematographyTheaterCreationArtistic Expression
In practice
Example use cases
During a film studies lecture, this quote can be used to discuss different filmmaking techniques.
More from Robert Bresson
All quotes →In the NUDE, all that is not beautiful is obscene.
Robert BressonRead
Cinema, radio, television, magazines are a school of inattention: people look without seeing, listen in without hearing.
Robert BressonRead
Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.
Robert BressonRead
The most ordinary word, when put into place, suddenly acquires brilliance. That is the brilliance with which your images must shine.
Robert BressonRead
For me, film-making is combining images and sounds of real things in an order that makes them effective. What I disapprove of is photographing things that are not real. Sets and actors are not real.
Robert BressonRead
Similar quotes
There are beautiful sounds in rock. Very lazy, dreamlike noises. You can forget about the lyrics in most songs. Just dig the noise, and you've got your sound...We're musical primitives.
Andy WarholRead
Now sexual obsessions are the basis of artistic creation. Accumulated frustration leads to what Freud calls the process of sublimation. Anything that does not take place erotically sublimates itself in the work of art
Salvador DaliRead
To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about. If someone vomits while watching one of my films, it's like getting a standing ovation. But one must remember that there is such a thing as good bad taste and bad bad taste.
John WatersRead
Sometimes female characters start out as the wife or girlfriend, but then I realize, 'No, she's the book,' and she becomes a main character. I surrender the book to her.
Elmore LeonardRead
I write stories that are already in the air, and I think it's important to have the correct listening device to tune in to that frequency.
James McbrideRead
Favorite poems are like favorite children. We definitely have them but we never tell as the others would have their feelings hurt.
Nikki GiovanniRead