--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The nature of the video camera really…" description: "\"The nature of the video camera really makes you focus on the present. Since I have always been a diarist filmmaker, not one who stages scenes with acto..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dc/jonas-mekas-12648_about_the-nature-of-the-video-camera-really-ma_177271.png" --- # The nature of the video camera really makes you focus on… ![“The nature of the video camera really makes you focus on the present. Since I have always been a diarist filmmaker, not one who stages scenes with actors, it has always been about the present moment.” quote by Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dc/jonas-mekas-12648_about_the-nature-of-the-video-camera-really-ma_177271.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dc/jonas-mekas-12648_about_the-nature-of-the-video-camera-really-ma_177271.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dc/jonas-mekas-12648_about_the-nature-of-the-video-camera-really-ma_177271.png) > “The nature of the video camera really makes you focus on the present. Since I have always been a diarist filmmaker, not one who stages scenes with actors, it has always been about the present moment.” [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The camera’s immediacy forces attention on what is happening now, emphasizing unfiltered reality over scripted scenes. **In simple terms:** A camera makes you notice the present. Key Takeaway Embrace the moment when recording. Themes presence authenticity observation creativity Mood contemplative focused Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - documentary filmmaking - daily vlogging - live performance - journalistic reporting Key Concepts mindfulness visual storytelling spontaneity Questions to Reflect On - How does focusing on now affect your storytelling? - What might be lost without planning? A Different Perspective It may miss deeper context that editing can provide. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Filmmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filmmaker/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Focus On The Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus-on-the-present/) [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Present moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-moment/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Video](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/video/) [Video cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/video-cameras/) ## Related quotes > [I try to focus on the present, what I'm doing now. I feel like the best design I can have is an awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-moore/i-try-to-focus-on-the-present-what-i-m-doing-now-i-feel-like-the-best/) [Demi Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-moore/) > [Focus on the present and the past will take care of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/focus-on-the-present-and-the-past-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Now why would you want to bring up the past? Makes no damn sense. Focus on the present. Leave the past behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-why-would-you-want-to-bring-up-the-past-makes-no-damn-sense-focus/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I focus on the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-shastri/i-focus-on-the-present/) [Ravi Shastri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-shastri/) > [It's just always wonderful to have a director who encourages you so much to focus on the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-plummer/it-s-just-always-wonderful-to-have-a-director-who-encourages-you-so/) [Charlie Plummer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-plummer/) > [Take each day as it comes and focus on the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-lynn/take-each-day-as-it-comes-and-focus-on-the-present-moment/) [Vera Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-lynn/) > [“Focus on the present. Embrace YOLN = You Only Live Now”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-christian-trejo/focus-on-the-present-embrace-yoln-you-only-live-now/) E. Christian Trejo > [When I first had a video camera to document a performance, it was in Sweden and I remember it was really crucial for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/when-i-first-had-a-video-camera-to-document-a-performance-it-was-in/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [If you're into writing and making people laugh, or just want to video blog something, you should get a simple digital video camera. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-cruikshank/if-you-re-into-writing-and-making-people-laugh-or-just-want-to-video/) [Lucas Cruikshank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-cruikshank/) > [The video camera dominates art. It's a bore, it makes everything look a bit the same. 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I need help just to plug in my video camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/im-a-techno-moron-i-need-help-just-to-plug-in-my-video-camera/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [I'm not so much in the future as always in the present. The future always takes care of itself. What I do now with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-not-so-much-in-the-future-as-always-in-the-present-the-future/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) ## More by Jonas Mekas > [I live, therefore I make films. I make film, therefore I live. Life. Movement. I make home movies, therefore I live. I live, therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-live-therefore-i-make-films-i-make-film-therefore-i-live-life/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I'm not so much in the future as always in the present. The future always takes care of itself. What I do now with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-not-so-much-in-the-future-as-always-in-the-present-the-future/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [“pasidaryt mažesniam reikia daug laiko.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/pasidaryt-ma-esniam-reikia-daug-laiko/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [To me, cinema is cinema. Cinema is one big tree with many branches. The same as literature. In literature, you don't just say, 'Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/to-me-cinema-is-cinema-cinema-is-one-big-tree-with-many-branches-the/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [In narrative cinema, a certain terminology has already been established: 'film noir,' 'Western,' even 'Spaghetti Western.' 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In other words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-working-in-a-form-of-cinema-that-can-be-described-and-has-been/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I'm a filmmaker, but my working procedures are different. All my basic structuring is done during the filming. You know, how long I keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-a-filmmaker-but-my-working-procedures-are-different-all-my-basic/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [When I came to New York in 1949, there was already an entire fresh avant-garde film movement blooming in New York and California. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/when-i-came-to-new-york-in-1949-there-was-already-an-entire-fresh/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I make home movies-therefore I live. 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