--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are days when either filmmaking…" description: "\"There are days when either filmmaking feels like an insurmountable practice - here's a lot of obstacles in the way to make it happen - or you think, \"W..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/debra-granik-4495_add_there-are-days-when-either-filmmaking-fe_2334895.jpg" --- # There are days when either filmmaking feels like an… ![“There are days when either filmmaking feels like an insurmountable practice - here's a lot of obstacles in the way to make it happen - or you think, "What does this all add up to?" You don't know what to do with the footage, and you've asked a lot of people for their time and a lot of people to be…” quote by Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/debra-granik-4495_add_there-are-days-when-either-filmmaking-fe_2334895.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/debra-granik-4495_add_there-are-days-when-either-filmmaking-fe_2334895.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/debra-granik-4495_add_there-are-days-when-either-filmmaking-fe_2334895.jpg) > “There are days when either filmmaking feels like an insurmountable practice - here's a lot of obstacles in the way to make it happen - or you think, "What does this all add up to?" You don't know what to do with the footage, and you've asked a lot of people for their time and a lot of people to be patient with you. And then you lose faith that you can actually make a worthwhile story out of this.” [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes the overwhelming obstacles and self‑doubt filmmakers face when projects stall, leading to loss of confidence in their story’s value. **In simple terms:** Filmmakers feel stuck and doubt their work. Key Takeaway Persist, seek clarity, and refocus on story purpose. Themes creativity perseverance self‑doubt Mood frustrated hopeful Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - script revision - storyboarding - feedback sessions - budget reassessment Key Concepts Narrative purpose project management collaboration Questions to Reflect On - What core story element can you salvage? - How can you restructure the process to regain momentum? A Different Perspective Even with obstacles, external validation may not resolve internal uncertainty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Add](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/add/) [Be patient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-patient/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Days Filmmaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days-filmmaking-5630226/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Filmmaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filmmaking/) [Filmmaking Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filmmaking-feels-2864118/) [Footage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/footage/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Insurmountable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insurmountable/) [Insurmountable Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insurmountable-practice-5630227/) [Know Footage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-footage-5630228/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Loses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loses/) [Make it happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-it-happen/) [Obstacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacles/) [Patient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patient/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Up to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up-to-you/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Worthwhile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthwhile/) ## Related quotes > [At times doc filmmaking feels more rewarding creatively. 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I got bitches in the club all over me ma take it e-asy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jadakiss/i-got-footage-in-the-game-press-replay-i-got-bitches-in-the-club-all/) [Jadakiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jadakiss/) > [“Do you remember that piece of footage on the local news, just as the first tower comes down, woman runs in off the street…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/do-you-remember-that-piece-of-footage-on-the-local-news-just-as-the/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [The very first television ad targeted to women was produced by the Eisenhower-Nixon campaign in 1956. It includes footage of a woman supervising her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/the-very-first-television-ad-targeted-to-women-was-produced-by-the/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [Footage of people camped out at Best Buy or elsewhere is not remotely a celebration. 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It's always a big slog to find the footage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/with-every-project-i-start-out-on-there-s-no-footage-it-s-always-a/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [We have over an hour of footage with Ken Marino. Same with Kevin Smith. Because you never know, when you let people who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-miller/we-have-over-an-hour-of-footage-with-ken-marino-same-with-kevin-smith/) [Lauren Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-miller/) > [I organize all my footage by the date it was shot, and then arrange everything in a timeline once I begin a project. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilson/i-organize-all-my-footage-by-the-date-it-was-shot-and-then-arrange/) [John Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilson/) ## More by Debra Granik > [I have, obviously, a very complex relationship with the more industrial side of filmmaking and the machinery that can take an actor or an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-have-obviously-a-very-complex-relationship-with-the-more-industrial/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [I feel like reality TV has thrown a difficult wrench in the system - on the programming and making side, and on the curating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-feel-like-reality-tv-has-thrown-a-difficult-wrench-in-the-system-on/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [I'm someone who's always looking for hope - if there's a ray of hope, a shrapnel, shred, a flake of hope - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-m-someone-who-s-always-looking-for-hope-if-there-s-a-ray-of-hope-a/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [In documentary, mostly, people are going to say untoward things; people are going to have gnarly beliefs. People aren't perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/in-documentary-mostly-people-are-going-to-say-untoward-things-people/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [For documentaries, I think streaming plays an amazing role, but it's a problem when the one service you initially relied on to have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/for-documentaries-i-think-streaming-plays-an-amazing-role-but-it-s-a/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [In documentary, you are sometimes burdened, or you feel very responsible for dealing with - I want to say - more complicated themes. Fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/in-documentary-you-are-sometimes-burdened-or-you-feel-very/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [#TimesUp is you can't hold it in anymore: Time's up! The doors have to give way. It can't be that every 27-year-old born into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/timesup-is-you-can-t-hold-it-in-anymore-time-s-up-the-doors-have-to/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [My first narrative films developed out of a documentary process - finding someone who was willing to be filmed, watching, listening, taking copious notes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/my-first-narrative-films-developed-out-of-a-documentary-process/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [It's funny: your happiness is contingent on a bigger picture besides just yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/it-s-funny-your-happiness-is-contingent-on-a-bigger-picture-besides/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [You gotta call it out first; it always has to be called out when we need social change, but this is how social change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/you-gotta-call-it-out-first-it-always-has-to-be-called-out-when-we/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [There has to be a continuation of the communal experience of filmgoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/there-has-to-be-a-continuation-of-the-communal-experience-of-filmgoing/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [I'm always searching to learn more about our large and diverse country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-m-always-searching-to-learn-more-about-our-large-and-diverse-country/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [The struggle to have a living wage doesn't come easy. You're ready to work, you want it, you seek it... but it's not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/the-struggle-to-have-a-living-wage-doesn-t-come-easy-you-re-ready-to/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [It's been a pleasure to see female comedians be prominent and flourish - like Kate McKinnon's Rudy Giuliani impressions, which are uncanny in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/it-s-been-a-pleasure-to-see-female-comedians-be-prominent-and/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [I swing with a lot of torque from non-fiction to fiction, and I really like that place in between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-swing-with-a-lot-of-torque-from-non-fiction-to-fiction-and-i-really/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) [Explore all 110 Debra Granik quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) ## More Add quotes > [Most marriages don't add two people together. 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