Debbie Allen Quotes

29 quotes in 427 categories

• But out of limitations comes creativity.
• The first thing that goes into shooting a scene is understanding whats on the page.
• There are some scenes that work beautifully in a moving, sweeping master, which is how I like to work.
• In places in the world where we don't speak the same language, or even understand that we pray to the same God, we dance to…
• As far as pacing the shoot is concerned, I know when I've got it. I don't think there's any reason to take ten takes unless…
• I use something that is a real staple in the directing world. It's called a dance floor. You lay it down so that it's so…
• I didn't need the insurance. I do it again if my DP tells me it didn't look good in the camera or if the actors…
• Time management is a big part of the director's job.
• I'm always moving forward.
• Be true. Be beautiful. Be free. In the midst of segregation and racism Mamma raised us to be independent and free. We saw ourselves as…
• The radio for these women is like television is for us today, which is really like looking at the radio.
• It goes back to a style of moviemaking I remember seeing as a child, in movies like The Man With The Golden Arm, which I…
• Michael Ralph brilliantly plays the street prophet, a West Indian who foreshadows the Harlem riot.
• The clothes back in those days were made so much better than clothes are today. They actually took time to make clothes to fit a…
• You have to examine a scene on the page first. Then you get into the basics of acting: Who are you? Who are you talking…
• I design my shots. I walk the rehearsal as the camera and say 'this is where I want to be... I want this look.
• It's kind of dangerous to cut in the camera, but that's the only way I know how to direct.
• That's the only way I can control my movie. If you shoot everything, then everything is liable to end up in the movie. If you…
• Self-checkout is negative because more and more retailers are losing the personal touch. People want to do business where people know their name and communicate…
• The biggest challenge was that we had to shoot so quickly and with such a limited budget.

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