--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Documentary filmmaking ruins you for real…" description: "\"Documentary filmmaking ruins you for real life, because you learn to be extremely attentive.\" — Frederick Wiseman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/frederick-wiseman-18565_attentive_documentary-filmmaking-ruins-you-for-rea_2857705.jpg" --- # Documentary filmmaking ruins you for real life, because… ![“Documentary filmmaking ruins you for real life, because you learn to be extremely attentive.” quote by Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/frederick-wiseman-18565_attentive_documentary-filmmaking-ruins-you-for-rea_2857705.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/frederick-wiseman-18565_attentive_documentary-filmmaking-ruins-you-for-rea_2857705.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/frederick-wiseman-18565_attentive_documentary-filmmaking-ruins-you-for-rea_2857705.jpg) > “Documentary filmmaking ruins you for real life, because you learn to be extremely attentive.” [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observing reality sharpens everyday perception and attentiveness **In simple terms:** Documentary filmmaking heightens real‑life attentiveness Key Takeaway Apply documentary focus to daily interactions Themes attention observation reality Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - journalism - personal relationships - learning new skills Key Concepts cognitive sharpening mindful presence Questions to Reflect On - How does heightened observation affect emotional balance? - Can you balance attentiveness with relaxation? A Different Perspective May over‑analysis hinder spontaneity ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Documentaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) [Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary/) [Filmmaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filmmaking/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) ## Related quotes > [Investigative journalism has been relegated to a very, very tiny space in America. We don't really have much investigative journalism left. And the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/investigative-journalism-has-been-relegated-to-a-very-very-tiny-space/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [I think documentary filmmaking is a braver way to make films because it's real, and you're really there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bell/i-think-documentary-filmmaking-is-a-braver-way-to-make-films-because/) [Jamie Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bell/) > [Especially when you talk about the power of documentary filmmaking, you can't really have a slant; financially, you can't have a slant on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-j-berg/especially-when-you-talk-about-the-power-of-documentary-filmmaking/) [Amy J. Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-j-berg/) > [Thhe essence of documentary filmmaking is how you manipulate the material to create an emotional impact, as opposed to just delivering information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ray-perez/thhe-essence-of-documentary-filmmaking-is-how-you-manipulate-the/) Richard Ray Perez > [That's what I love about documentary filmmaking, we never know where the story is going, we don't know what is going to happen next,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-quinn/that-s-what-i-love-about-documentary-filmmaking-we-never-know-where/) [Gordon Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-quinn/) > [I'm doing a lot of research right now on what's happening in Arizona. That's where I'm at with more conventional documentary filmmaking. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lourdes-portillo/i-m-doing-a-lot-of-research-right-now-on-what-s-happening-in-arizona/) [Lourdes Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lourdes-portillo/) > [Most people look at a feature film and say, "It's just a movie." For me there is no border or wall between fiction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mano-khalil/most-people-look-at-a-feature-film-and-say-it-s-just-a-movie-for-me/) [Mano Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mano-khalil/) > [I'm a curious guy. I can't turn away from an investigative story, when it comes to the forensic analysis. I've done 33 dives, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cameron/i-m-a-curious-guy-i-can-t-turn-away-from-an-investigative-story-when/) [James Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cameron/) > [With portable cameras and affordable data and non-linear digital editing, I think this is a golden age of documentary filmmaking. These new technologies mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-walker/with-portable-cameras-and-affordable-data-and-non-linear-digital/) [Lucy Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-walker/) > [I'm very influenced by documentary filmmaking and independent filmmaking, by a lot of noir and films from the '40s. Those are my favorite. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-adlon/i-m-very-influenced-by-documentary-filmmaking-and-independent/) [Pamela Adlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-adlon/) > [None of our films look alike, we are very dialectical in our approach to each one, and 'Hoop Dreams' was no exception. That's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-quinn/none-of-our-films-look-alike-we-are-very-dialectical-in-our-approach/) [Gordon Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-quinn/) > [News makes things black and white. Documentary filmmaking should do the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/news-makes-things-black-and-white-documentary-filmmaking-should-do/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Celebrate your victories and mark your defeats. Ultimately documentary filmmaking is not a job, it's a calling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-yates/celebrate-your-victories-and-mark-your-defeats-ultimately-documentary/) [Pamela Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-yates/) > [As the world of independent feature filmmaking became increasingly commercialized by the mid-1990s, there was also a parallel, much more positive development: a resurgence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-quart/as-the-world-of-independent-feature-filmmaking-became-increasingly/) [Alissa Quart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-quart/) > [Documentary filmmaking has all the challenges and hardships of narrative filmmaking without any of the infrastructure or support. That's both a blessing and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-lindstrom/documentary-filmmaking-has-all-the-challenges-and-hardships-of/) [Brian Lindstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-lindstrom/) ## More by Frederick Wiseman > [I hope that not only my documentaries, but everybody's documentaries, last. It will really confuse historians in the next century, because they'll have, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/i-hope-that-not-only-my-documentaries-but-everybody-s-documentaries/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [I do not think that my films or films by any other filmmaker represent "THE TRUTH." I do not feel the need to categorize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/i-do-not-think-that-my-films-or-films-by-any-other-filmmaker/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [You have to edit the material. That assumes that some kind of a mind is operating in relation to the material. Not all minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/you-have-to-edit-the-material-that-assumes-that-some-kind-of-a-mind/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [I'm too busy to be nostalgic, which is one of the reasons to keep busy. I'm not a very sentimental person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/i-m-too-busy-to-be-nostalgic-which-is-one-of-the-reasons-to-keep-busy/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [It is always a problem to know what an image means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/it-is-always-a-problem-to-know-what-an-image-means/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [Unfortunately, I never played an instrument. I can't blame my parents, but I wish I had had music lessons. It's odd because I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/unfortunately-i-never-played-an-instrument-i-can-t-blame-my-parents/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [I think I've learned a lot about how to make movies, and particularly about how to edit movies by thinking about how similar problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/i-think-i-ve-learned-a-lot-about-how-to-make-movies-and-particularly/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [My goal is to make as many films as possible about different aspects of American life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/my-goal-is-to-make-as-many-films-as-possible-about-different-aspects/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [I don't really know what I want, other than good sequences, whatever that means. What I find is always a matter of chance, judgment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/i-don-t-really-know-what-i-want-other-than-good-sequences-whatever/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [Of course there's conscious manipulation! Everything about a movie is manipulation ... If you like it, it's an interpretation. If you don't like it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/of-course-there-s-conscious-manipulation-everything-about-a-movie-is/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [I think my movies aren't sentimental. I think my movies are funny and sad and realistic. Not realistic in the sense that they're documentaries,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/i-think-my-movies-aren-t-sentimental-i-think-my-movies-are-funny-and/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [Making movies is an effort is an attempt to leave a trace of your existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/making-movies-is-an-effort-is-an-attempt-to-leave-a-trace-of-your/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [Everything about a movie is manipulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/everything-about-a-movie-is-manipulation/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [One's relationship to time is complicated, and sometimes a day will drag on forever and sometimes it'll be over in a flash. When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/one-s-relationship-to-time-is-complicated-and-sometimes-a-day-will/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) > [Anybody whose mind is functioning at all can't be content with the way the world works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/anybody-whose-mind-is-functioning-at-all-can-t-be-content-with-the/) [Frederick Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) [Explore all 34 Frederick Wiseman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/) ## More Attentive quotes > [Not knowing how to feed the spirit, we try to muffle its demands in distraction...What matters is that one be for a time inwardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/not-knowing-how-to-feed-the-spirit-we-try-to-muffle-its-demands-in/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Most songs come from being attentive. Attentive to life, attentive to scripture, attentive to your heart. Pay attention!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-redman/most-songs-come-from-being-attentive-attentive-to-life-attentive-to/) [Matt Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-redman/) > [Be attentive when talking. Don't roll your eyes or slouch when your partner is talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mazher/be-attentive-when-talking-don-t-roll-your-eyes-or-slouch-when-your/) [Mazher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mazher/) > [So if you aspire to be a good conversationali st, be an attentive listener. To be interesting, be interested. Ask questions that other persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/so-if-you-aspire-to-be-a-good-conversationali-st-be-an-attentive/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [“The process of attentive listening makes the other person feel important, valued, and heard. For Nick, listening was, and still is, love. I've never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/the-process-of-attentive-listening-makes-the-other-person-feel/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [Meditation is a state of mind which looks at everything with complete attention, totally, not just parts of it. And no one can teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/meditation-is-a-state-of-mind-which-looks-at-everything-with-complete/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Sometimes it is good to hear criticism because you are more attentive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred/sometimes-it-is-good-to-hear-criticism-because-you-are-more-attentive/) [Fred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred/) > [“Pay attention to your goals and never let the euphoria of the early success convince you to brag about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/pay-attention-to-your-goals-and-never-let-the-euphoria-of-the-early/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“To Become an Attentive Listener . . . • Observe a person’s physical presence to see how their body language aligns with their message.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/to-become-an-attentive-listener-observe-a-person-s-physical-presence/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [I am hyper attentive to detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorit-kemsley/i-am-hyper-attentive-to-detail/) [Dorit Kemsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorit-kemsley/) > [I am so attracted to ambition and drive and talent. If a man loves something and can put his heart into it, I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meaghan-rath/i-am-so-attracted-to-ambition-and-drive-and-talent-if-a-man-loves/) [Meaghan Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meaghan-rath/) > [I think that one of the things I'd learned from being so attentive to the careers of the people I've admired is the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-giacchino/i-think-that-one-of-the-things-i-d-learned-from-being-so-attentive-to/) [Michael Giacchino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-giacchino/) > [Attentive listening to others is important regardless of their stations and positions. Wise people consider the deep meaning and true values of all suggestions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chungliang-al-huang/attentive-listening-to-others-is-important-regardless-of-their/) [Chungliang Al Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chungliang-al-huang/) > [I have a house full of dead succulents but I was very attentive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-levine/i-have-a-house-full-of-dead-succulents-but-i-was-very-attentive/) [Alice Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-levine/) > [“Always be attentive of your ego.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anupama-garg/always-be-attentive-of-your-ego/) [Anupama Garg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anupama-garg/) Browse all 89 Attentive quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Documentary filmmaking ruins you for real life, because you learn to be extremely attentive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frederick Wiseman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/documentary-filmmaking-ruins-you-for-real-life-because-you-learn-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attentive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/documentary-filmmaking-ruins-you-for-real-life-because-you-learn-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/frederick-wiseman-18565_attentive_documentary-filmmaking-ruins-you-for-rea_2857705.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/frederick-wiseman-18565_attentive_documentary-filmmaking-ruins-you-for-rea_2857705.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/frederick-wiseman-18565_attentive_documentary-filmmaking-ruins-you-for-rea_2857705.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Documentary filmmaking ruins you for real life, because you learn to be extremely attentive.” — Frederick Wiseman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frederick Wiseman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-wiseman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Documentary filmmaking ruins you for real...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/documentary-filmmaking-ruins-you-for-real-life-because-you-learn-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-wiseman/documentary-filmmaking-ruins-you-for-real-life-because-you-learn-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```