--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started making little films with a 16…" description: "\"I started making little films with a 16 mm camera as an undergraduate at Yale. My first job out of college was 'assistant editor' on a forgettable low ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/leslie-cockburn-24332_assistant_i-started-making-little-films-with-a-16_2750704.jpg" --- # I started making little films with a 16 mm camera as an… ![“I started making little films with a 16 mm camera as an undergraduate at Yale. My first job out of college was 'assistant editor' on a forgettable low budget feature.” quote by Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/leslie-cockburn-24332_assistant_i-started-making-little-films-with-a-16_2750704.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/leslie-cockburn-24332_assistant_i-started-making-little-films-with-a-16_2750704.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/leslie-cockburn-24332_assistant_i-started-making-little-films-with-a-16_2750704.jpg) > “I started making little films with a 16 mm camera as an undergraduate at Yale. My first job out of college was 'assistant editor' on a forgettable low budget feature.” [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Started making short films at Yale; first post‑college job was a low‑budget assistant editor. **In simple terms:** Early career began with modest film work. Key Takeaway Value each step in creative growth. Themes career film learning humility growth Mood reflective inspired Type career motivational When to use this quote - student projects - assistant editing - budget constraints Key Concepts industry entry skill development Questions to Reflect On - What lessons did early jobs teach? - How to leverage modest beginnings? A Different Perspective Early roles may limit creative input. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assistant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assistant/) [Budget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/budget/) [Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) [Camera Undergraduate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera-undergraduate-3097646/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Editor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editor/) [Feature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feature/) [Films](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/films/) [Films 16](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/films-16-1819340/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [First job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-job/) [Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job/) [Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little/) [Little Films](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-films-1002953/) [Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/low/) [Low Budget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/low-budget-236496/) [Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making/) [Making Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-little-617535/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Undergraduate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undergraduate/) [Yale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yale/) ## Related quotes > [I completed 25 films in 16 years and I feel very happy about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nithiin/i-completed-25-films-in-16-years-and-i-feel-very-happy-about-it/) [Nithiin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nithiin/) > [I make films for the 16-year-old in myself sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adkins/i-make-films-for-the-16-year-old-in-myself-sometimes/) [Scott Adkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adkins/) > [Making little videos that you know are going to be on tiny windows is a whole different thing. I don't know what it's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/making-little-videos-that-you-know-are-going-to-be-on-tiny-windows-is/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [Arts and crafts, or getting to be in a play with people, or making a little short film, that's pure sugar, because the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/arts-and-crafts-or-getting-to-be-in-a-play-with-people-or-making-a/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [And we had the perhaps unfair advantage of not having to worry about what an audience was gonna think. We were in a vacuum.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moranis/and-we-had-the-perhaps-unfair-advantage-of-not-having-to-worry-about/) [Rick Moranis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moranis/) > [“We grow by making little great changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/we-grow-by-making-little-great-changes/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [In New York, working at the foundry, I was making these little figures. I desperately would like to make big figures, but I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/in-new-york-working-at-the-foundry-i-was-making-these-little-figures/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [As long as people have been making little people, they've wanted to know how not to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/as-long-as-people-have-been-making-little-people-they-ve-wanted-to/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [I was an art house guy, making little, not-much-happening films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-isaac-chung/i-was-an-art-house-guy-making-little-not-much-happening-films/) [Lee Isaac Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-isaac-chung/) > [When you make a business you're making a little world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/when-you-make-a-business-you-re-making-a-little-world/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [I feel at times that I'm making up these little people and I've lost my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-chute/i-feel-at-times-that-i-m-making-up-these-little-people-and-i-ve-lost/) [Carolyn Chute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-chute/) > [Whatever little films I did, I got to work with big names like Aditya Chopra, Mohit Suri and Mahesh Bhatt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shamita-shetty/whatever-little-films-i-did-i-got-to-work-with-big-names-like-aditya/) [Shamita Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shamita-shetty/) > [I would've loved to be offered good quality work. It is one of the reasons why I ended up doing such little films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shamita-shetty/i-would-ve-loved-to-be-offered-good-quality-work-it-is-one-of-the/) [Shamita Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shamita-shetty/) > [There have been a few little films I'd done like that that the studio just decided not to do much with, films like Anywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/there-have-been-a-few-little-films-i-d-done-like-that-that-the-studio/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [I think music is like little films, and it's nice to listen to music and really escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-sandoval/i-think-music-is-like-little-films-and-it-s-nice-to-listen-to-music/) [Hope Sandoval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-sandoval/) ## More by Leslie Cockburn > [“Are you a journalist?” “I’m a doctor.” “Good. We need doctors, Wallahi .” Sadoon scowled. “Journalists only tell lies and smuggle carpets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/are-you-a-journalist-i-m-a-doctor-good-we-need-doctors-wallahi-sadoon/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [“But there are times, I would argue, when fiction delivers the greater truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/but-there-are-times-i-would-argue-when-fiction-delivers-the-greater/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [When you do a piece of journalism, you may have to cut away 95 percent of what you are experiencing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/when-you-do-a-piece-of-journalism-you-may-have-to-cut-away-95-percent/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [When I was in London at NBC, I was the lowest man on the totem pole. I would go to diplomatic receptions to meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/when-i-was-in-london-at-nbc-i-was-the-lowest-man-on-the-totem-pole-i/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [After reading Graham Greene and Joseph Conrad when I was a student at Yale, I wanted to live in the world they captured in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/after-reading-graham-greene-and-joseph-conrad-when-i-was-a-student-at/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [When I was at graduate school in London, I began working at NBC News, which had a thriving documentary unit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/when-i-was-at-graduate-school-in-london-i-began-working-at-nbc-news/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [When you have a situation that's destructive, when there's tremendous inhumanity everywhere, you see how humanity survives in all of its different permutations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/when-you-have-a-situation-that-s-destructive-when-there-s-tremendous/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [“There are a lot of people missing in Iraq. Just the other day I heard of somebody asking $250,000 ransom for an Egyptian. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/there-are-a-lot-of-people-missing-in-iraq-just-the-other-day-i-heard/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [“Death was sweetened for the martyrs by the promise of 72 virgins waiting in paradise. She had researched the 72 virgins. The number wasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/death-was-sweetened-for-the-martyrs-by-the-promise-of-72-virgins/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [I think the greatest thing about making a documentary is your ability to just follow the story and the subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/i-think-the-greatest-thing-about-making-a-documentary-is-your-ability/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [In documentary films, the most difficult thing to achieve is to make something complex appear simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/in-documentary-films-the-most-difficult-thing-to-achieve-is-to-make/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [“You can take me to Petra, and sing for me in the ruins.” “Insha’Allah.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/you-can-take-me-to-petra-and-sing-for-me-in-the-ruins-insha-allah/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [I covered the first Gulf War in Saudi Arabia and Israel for ABC News.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/i-covered-the-first-gulf-war-in-saudi-arabia-and-israel-for-abc-news/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [Journalism, for me, has always been a calling. There are things that must be exposed to the light, truths that must be uncovered, stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/journalism-for-me-has-always-been-a-calling-there-are-things-that/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [“She had done her residency at LA County Hospital, where the CT machines were so old she had to mark off the body parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/she-had-done-her-residency-at-la-county-hospital-where-the-ct/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) [Explore all 24 Leslie Cockburn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) ## More Assistant quotes > [I'm a good assistant. That's why I don't have an assistant, because I'm so on it that no one can be as on it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-dunst/i-m-a-good-assistant-that-s-why-i-don-t-have-an-assistant-because-i-m/) [Kirsten Dunst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-dunst/) > [I was studying to be a dental hygienist and working as a dental assistant. I met a photographer and decided to put my job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-ziering/i-was-studying-to-be-a-dental-hygienist-and-working-as-a-dental/) [Nikki Ziering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-ziering/) > [I don't know how it is now but the assistant stage manager had to understudy several parts. You had to be ready to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ford/i-don-t-know-how-it-is-now-but-the-assistant-stage-manager-had-to/) [Glenn Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ford/) > [To this day, I've never had an assistant. I really insist on doing everything myself because I value the role of the artist's hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dario-robleto/to-this-day-i-ve-never-had-an-assistant-i-really-insist-on-doing/) [Dario Robleto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dario-robleto/) > [Protecting the rights of service members was an important part of my work as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perez/protecting-the-rights-of-service-members-was-an-important-part-of-my/) [Thomas Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perez/) > [It was a privilege to serve as the assistant attorney general for civil rights, a role that allowed me to enforce the Civil Rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perez/it-was-a-privilege-to-serve-as-the-assistant-attorney-general-for/) [Thomas Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perez/) > [“See the healer, Sage. We have a big week ahead of us, and I can’t afford you falling dead on me.” “I don’t think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-nicole-maehrer/see-the-healer-sage-we-have-a-big-week-ahead-of-us-and-i-can-t-afford/) [Hannah Nicole Maehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-nicole-maehrer/) > [As an assistant, when you wake up in the morning, you're opening your laptop and watching film. Then the game starts, and you're watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nurse/as-an-assistant-when-you-wake-up-in-the-morning-you-re-opening-your/) [Nick Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nurse/) > [As a young guy, you talk to the assistant coach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wiggins/as-a-young-guy-you-talk-to-the-assistant-coach/) [Andrew Wiggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wiggins/) > [I'm fortunate to have a team of people who help me. I've got an assistant, an office manager, a nanny - she's not full-time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-gay-harden/i-m-fortunate-to-have-a-team-of-people-who-help-me-i-ve-got-an/) [Marcia Gay Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-gay-harden/) > [When I became the assistant, I was intelligent and helpful. I had patience. As the head coach I was completely the opposite. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-van-basten/when-i-became-the-assistant-i-was-intelligent-and-helpful-i-had/) [Marco van Basten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-van-basten/) > [Back in the 1980s, when I was a lowly editorial assistant by day and trying to be a novelist by night, no god reigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hanff-korelitz/back-in-the-1980s-when-i-was-a-lowly-editorial-assistant-by-day-and/) [Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hanff-korelitz/) > [The war project at Stanford was essentially completed, and I accepted an offer of an Assistant Professorship at the University of Minnesota, which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-d-boyer/the-war-project-at-stanford-was-essentially-completed-and-i-accepted/) [Paul D. Boyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-d-boyer/) > [Later in that administration, I was asked to take a job which I had to turn down as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-cutler/later-in-that-administration-i-was-asked-to-take-a-job-which-i-had-to/) [Lloyd Cutler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-cutler/) > [I used to play Donna Karan. I used my dad's home office, and Kim was my assistant. Then one of our friends would play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kourtney-kardashian/i-used-to-play-donna-karan-i-used-my-dad-s-home-office-and-kim-was-my/) [Kourtney Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kourtney-kardashian/) [Browse all 162 Assistant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assistant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I started making little films with a 16 mm camera as an undergraduate at Yale. 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