--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anybody can direct a picture once they…" description: "\"Anybody can direct a picture once they know the fundamentals. Directing is not a mystery, it's not an art. The main thing about directing is: photograp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5a/john-ford-14442_art_anybody-can-direct-a-picture-once-they-k_1993.jpg" --- # Anybody can direct a picture once they know the… ![“Anybody can direct a picture once they know the fundamentals. Directing is not a mystery, it's not an art. The main thing about directing is: photograph the people's eyes.” quote by John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5a/john-ford-14442_art_anybody-can-direct-a-picture-once-they-k_1993.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5a/john-ford-14442_art_anybody-can-direct-a-picture-once-they-k_1993.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5a/john-ford-14442_art_anybody-can-direct-a-picture-once-they-k_1993.jpg) > “Anybody can direct a picture once they know the fundamentals. Directing is not a mystery, it's not an art. The main thing about directing is: photograph the people's eyes.” [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Directing is a skill learned through fundamentals, focusing on capturing eyes rather than mystique. **In simple terms:** Directing is learned, not mysterious. Key Takeaway Learn fundamentals, focus on eyes. Themes film directing technique visual storytelling Mood practical instructional Type Art:1 Direct:1 Directing:1 Film:1 Fundamentals:1 Mystery:0 People:0 Photograph:0 Directing Photograph:0 Fundamentals Directing:0 Thing Directing:0 Directing Mystery:0 When to use this quote - film set - director training - visual analysis Key Concepts eye contact composition visual language Questions to Reflect On - What fundamentals are you missing? - How does eye contact convey story? A Different Perspective Skill alone doesn't guarantee artistic vision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [The main thing about directing is: photograph the people's eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/the-main-thing-about-directing-is-photograph-the-people-s-eyes/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [I would have to say the most challenging thing about directing is the sheer stamina because... as a director, you're always doing something. Someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-urie/i-would-have-to-say-the-most-challenging-thing-about-directing-is-the/) [Michael Urie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-urie/) > [I think directing and writing are very different jobs. Obviously, directing is a more social and managerial job. The other thing about directing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/i-think-directing-and-writing-are-very-different-jobs-obviously/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [The good thing about directing a screenplay that you've written is that you see the film in your head as you're writing it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-whannell/the-good-thing-about-directing-a-screenplay-that-you-ve-written-is/) [Leigh Whannell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-whannell/) > [The strange thing about directing, for me, was that opportunities arose; I'd had some nice roles as an actor, but it just never happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-mathias/the-strange-thing-about-directing-for-me-was-that-opportunities-arose/) [Sean Mathias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-mathias/) > [The cool thing about directing is, whatever cool thing works in the scene, it's still making the episode be a great story, and everyone's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-gregg/the-cool-thing-about-directing-is-whatever-cool-thing-works-in-the/) [Clark Gregg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-gregg/) > [It's a very stressful thing, directing a movie. You have the budget, you have the schedule, you are in certain confines, and you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-de-niro/it-s-a-very-stressful-thing-directing-a-movie-you-have-the-budget-you/) [Robert De Niro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-de-niro/) > [The great, rewarding thing about directing is that you're overseeing the whole thing. When you're an actor, you're just one department.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-dillon/the-great-rewarding-thing-about-directing-is-that-you-re-overseeing/) [Matt Dillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-dillon/) > [The good thing about directing yourself is that you get over yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-slattery/the-good-thing-about-directing-yourself-is-that-you-get-over-yourself/) [John Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-slattery/) > [For me the dream is the freedom to make all the crazy ideas I have in my head into movies. I truly love directing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-ozeki/for-me-the-dream-is-the-freedom-to-make-all-the-crazy-ideas-i-have-in/) [Nicholas Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-ozeki/) > [When I see my movies on the editing table, I do think I could have done them a certain way. The satisfaction is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sajid-nadiadwala/when-i-see-my-movies-on-the-editing-table-i-do-think-i-could-have/) [Sajid Nadiadwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sajid-nadiadwala/) > [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. He put his dog in a certain position and made him eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/steven-spielberg-seems-to-have-wanted-to-be-a-director-from-13-he-put/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [I took on the role of CEO, which involves directing the Management Team and overall day-to-day operations of 500.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-tsai/i-took-on-the-role-of-ceo-which-involves-directing-the-management/) [Christine Tsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-tsai/) > [That's what I learned most about directing on my own - you've got to build a family, a filmmaking family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-lance-black/that-s-what-i-learned-most-about-directing-on-my-own-you-ve-got-to/) [Dustin Lance Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-lance-black/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) ## More by John Ford > [Physicians are the cobblers, rather the botchers, of men's bodies; as the one patches our tattered clothes, so the other solders our diseased flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/physicians-are-the-cobblers-rather-the-botchers-of-men-s-bodies-as/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [The main thing about directing is: photograph the people's eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/the-main-thing-about-directing-is-photograph-the-people-s-eyes/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [Why, I hold fate Clasped in my fist, and could command the course Of time's eternal motion, hadst thou been One thought more steady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/why-i-hold-fate-clasped-in-my-fist-and-could-command-the-course-of/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [Sister, look ye, How, by a new creation of my tailor's I've shook off old mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/sister-look-ye-how-by-a-new-creation-of-my-tailor-s-i-ve-shook-off/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [It is easier to get an actor to be a cowboy than to get a cowboy to be an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/it-is-easier-to-get-an-actor-to-be-a-cowboy-than-to-get-a-cowboy-to/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [Delay in vengeance delivers a heavier blow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/delay-in-vengeance-delivers-a-heavier-blow/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [What is done, is done: Spend not the time in tears, but seek for justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/what-is-done-is-done-spend-not-the-time-in-tears-but-seek-for-justice/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [Tis as manlike to bear extremities as godlike to forgive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/tis-as-manlike-to-bear-extremities-as-godlike-to-forgive/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [Love is dead; let lovers' eyes, Locked in endless dreams, The extremes of all extremes, Ope no more, for now Love dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/love-is-dead-let-lovers-eyes-locked-in-endless-dreams-the-extremes-of/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [They are the silent griefs which cut the heart-strings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/they-are-the-silent-griefs-which-cut-the-heart-strings/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/you-can-speak-well-if-your-tongue-can-deliver-the-message-of-your/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [Melancholy Is not, as you conceive, indisposition Of body, but the mind's disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/melancholy-is-not-as-you-conceive-indisposition-of-body-but-the-mind/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [I like, as a director and a spectator, simple, direct, frank films. Nothing disgusts me more than snobbism, mannerism, technical gratuity... and, most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/i-like-as-a-director-and-a-spectator-simple-direct-frank-films/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [“Lost, I am Lost! My fates have doomed my death. The more I strive, I love; the more I love, The less I hope.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/lost-i-am-lost-my-fates-have-doomed-my-death-the-more-i-strive-i-love/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [Revenge proves itself to be its own executioner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/revenge-proves-itself-to-be-its-own-executioner/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) [Explore all 45 John Ford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anybody can direct a picture once they know the fundamentals. 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