--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think as a filmmaker you try not to…" description: "\"I think as a filmmaker you try not to have any expectations other than that the film have a fairly substantial beginning, middle and end.\" — Mark Boal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4a/mark-boal-27861_beginning-middle-and_i-think-as-a-filmmaker-you-try-not-to-ha_1215743.png" --- # I think as a filmmaker you try not to have any… ![“I think as a filmmaker you try not to have any expectations other than that the film have a fairly substantial beginning, middle and end.” quote by Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4a/mark-boal-27861_beginning-middle-and_i-think-as-a-filmmaker-you-try-not-to-ha_1215743.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4a/mark-boal-27861_beginning-middle-and_i-think-as-a-filmmaker-you-try-not-to-ha_1215743.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4a/mark-boal-27861_beginning-middle-and_i-think-as-a-filmmaker-you-try-not-to-ha_1215743.png) > “I think as a filmmaker you try not to have any expectations other than that the film have a fairly substantial beginning, middle and end.” [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Filmmakers should aim for a clear three‑act structure to give the story shape. **In simple terms:** Structure helps storytelling. Key Takeaway Focus on beginning, middle, end. Themes storytelling structure film clarity Mood reflective analytical Type instructional philosophical When to use this quote - scriptwriting - directing - editing - audience engagement Key Concepts narrative arc three‑act model Questions to Reflect On - How does a strict structure affect creativity? - Can a film succeed without a clear three‑act form? A Different Perspective Rigid structures can stifle spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginning middle and end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-middle-and-end/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Filmmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filmmaker/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Horror films are art, it's all make believe. It's great if a filmmaker can try to push boundaries and see how much an audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-six/horror-films-are-art-it-s-all-make-believe-it-s-great-if-a-filmmaker/) [Tom Six](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-six/) > [I got a film fairly quickly and felt like I was on a roll. I would walk into auditions sounding like Crocodile Dundee, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hemsworth/i-got-a-film-fairly-quickly-and-felt-like-i-was-on-a-roll-i-would/) [Chris Hemsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hemsworth/) > [It's always good to have no expectations when you see a film. Then you can be pleasantly disappointed or surprised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-paxton/it-s-always-good-to-have-no-expectations-when-you-see-a-film-then-you/) [Bill Paxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-paxton/) > [I think of myself more as a filmmaker or as a film person than as strictly just a writer. I don't come out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gould/i-think-of-myself-more-as-a-filmmaker-or-as-a-film-person-than-as/) [Peter Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gould/) > [I think, as a filmmaker, it's important to be honest with yourself at all times in terms of what's working and what's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-wingard/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-it-s-important-to-be-honest-with-yourself-at/) [Adam Wingard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-wingard/) > [I think every filmmaker wants... I don't know about every filmmaker. I certainly want my films to just exist. I want them to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jody-hill/i-think-every-filmmaker-wants-i-don-t-know-about-every-filmmaker-i/) [Jody Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jody-hill/) > [I think as a filmmaker one should make all kinds of films. It is not that one should make only one kind of film.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madhur-bhandarkar/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-one-should-make-all-kinds-of-films-it-is-not/) [Madhur Bhandarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madhur-bhandarkar/) > [I don't think of myself as a director or writer. I think of myself as a filmmaker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-hall/i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-a-director-or-writer-i-think-of-myself-as/) [Conrad Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-hall/) > [I think any filmmaker will tell you when they wandered from theater to theater to watch their prints, it was disheartening to see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/i-think-any-filmmaker-will-tell-you-when-they-wandered-from-theater-2/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [I think as a filmmaker my first contribution would just be to make a good movie that people would love to see and leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-my-first-contribution-would-just-be-to-make-a/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [Me, as a moviegoer, before being a filmmaker, I try to think about what movie I would like to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-aja/me-as-a-moviegoer-before-being-a-filmmaker-i-try-to-think-about-what/) [Alexandre Aja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-aja/) > [As a documentary filmmaker, I try to be sensitive to my subjects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-try-to-be-sensitive-to-my-subjects/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [As a filmmaker, I always try not to concern myself with the outcome of things. I make the movie, and I do that as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-bier/as-a-filmmaker-i-always-try-not-to-concern-myself-with-the-outcome-of/) [Susanne Bier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-bier/) > [If a film has good content with its rawness and filmmaker try to make it glamourous for commercial aspects then it can create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjay-mishra/if-a-film-has-good-content-with-its-rawness-and-filmmaker-try-to-make/) [Sanjay Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjay-mishra/) > [I've always tried to do camera moves that I felt were immersive. So I think, as a filmmaker, my style of filmmaking is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-w-s-anderson/i-ve-always-tried-to-do-camera-moves-that-i-felt-were-immersive-so-i/) [Paul W. S. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-w-s-anderson/) ## More by Mark Boal > [Ever since 9/11, I found myself interested in chronicling the war and the war on terror and the way that this giant machinery was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/ever-since-9-11-i-found-myself-interested-in-chronicling-the-war-and/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [I've always been a fan of books that create an interesting blend of fact and fiction - whether it's Norman Mailer, or 'The Short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/i-ve-always-been-a-fan-of-books-that-create-an-interesting-blend-of/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [Film-makers are always going to be interested in making movies that plug into society around them. That's what a vibrant, artistically alert community should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/film-makers-are-always-going-to-be-interested-in-making-movies-that/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [“ZERO DARK THIRTY by Mark Boal”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/zero-dark-thirty-by-mark-boal/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [I suck at titles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/i-suck-at-titles/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [I write on a computer, on a laptop or whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/i-write-on-a-computer-on-a-laptop-or-whatever/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [For better or worse, most of my writing life has been about people that work behind the scenes. I'm interested in finding extraordinary moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/for-better-or-worse-most-of-my-writing-life-has-been-about-people/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [Passage of time can be mind-numbing to figure out in a screenplay. It's the easiest thing to do in prose, not just by writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/passage-of-time-can-be-mind-numbing-to-figure-out-in-a-screenplay-it/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [You're trying to dramatize events to tell a story most effectively. That doesn't mean the events aren't true, it just means you're making them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/you-re-trying-to-dramatize-events-to-tell-a-story-most-effectively/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [One big, glaring difference I can think of between Iraq and Vietnam is the news coverage. During the Vietnam War era, you had TV…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/one-big-glaring-difference-i-can-think-of-between-iraq-and-vietnam-is/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [For weeks after 9/11 you could smell the dust and pulverised concrete in New York, and the National Guard came in, so there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/for-weeks-after-9-11-you-could-smell-the-dust-and-pulverised-concrete/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [“This is the guy that’s KSM’s nephew? What’s his issue? DANIEL He’s being a dick. BRADLEY If he’s trying to outsmart you, tell him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/this-is-the-guy-that-s-ksm-s-nephew-what-s-his-issue-daniel-he-s/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [I mean, journalism is very detailed... you try to get down in the weeds and sort out exactly what happened. And I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/i-mean-journalism-is-very-detailed-you-try-to-get-down-in-the-weeds/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [So to be standing here, this was really, truly, honestly never part of anything we even imagined in our wildest dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/so-to-be-standing-here-this-was-really-truly-honestly-never-part-of/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [9/11, the wars and terrorism have affected all of us in different ways: people who lost family on 9/11, the people who lost family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/9-11-the-wars-and-terrorism-have-affected-all-of-us-in-different-ways/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) [Explore all 20 Mark Boal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) ## More Beginning middle and end quotes > [With no other privilege than that of sympathy and sincere good wishes, I would address an affectionate exhortation to the youthful literati, grounded on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/with-no-other-privilege-than-that-of-sympathy-and-sincere-good-wishes/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [The end of life is to be like unto God; and the soul following God, will be like unto Him; He being the beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-end-of-life-is-to-be-like-unto-god-and-the-soul-following-god/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I love the finality of film. When you make a movie, you know the beginning, middle, and end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-banks/i-love-the-finality-of-film-when-you-make-a-movie-you-know-the/) [Elizabeth Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-banks/) > [Now there cannot be first principles for men, unless the Divinity has revealed them; all the rest--beginning, middle, and end--isnothing but dreams and smoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/now-there-cannot-be-first-principles-for-men-unless-the-divinity-has/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Everything is illusory. You cannot label something and feel that that is the beginning, middle, and end of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/everything-is-illusory-you-cannot-label-something-and-feel-that-that/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [I feel confident that we will have a beginning, middle and end, in this season, and it was wise of NBC to then call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remi-aubuchon/i-feel-confident-that-we-will-have-a-beginning-middle-and-end-in-this/) [Remi Aubuchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remi-aubuchon/) > [The land is not old. It only changes, becoming one thing and the next. We are the ones who ascribe age, the brevity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-childs/the-land-is-not-old-it-only-changes-becoming-one-thing-and-the-next/) [Craig Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-childs/) > [The beginning, middle, and end of the birth, growth, and perfection of whatever we behold is from contraries, by contraries, and to contraries; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giordano-bruno/the-beginning-middle-and-end-of-the-birth-growth-and-perfection-of/) [Giordano Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giordano-bruno/) > [I think, often times, it's the audience that suffers when a show isn't given the opportunity to have a beginning, middle and end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khandi-alexander/i-think-often-times-it-s-the-audience-that-suffers-when-a-show-isn-t/) [Khandi Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khandi-alexander/) > [Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/great-is-the-art-of-beginning-but-greater-is-the-art-of-ending/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Someone did us all a grave injustice by implying that mourning has a distinct beginning, middle, and end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-edelman/someone-did-us-all-a-grave-injustice-by-implying-that-mourning-has-a/) [Hope Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-edelman/) > [The wonderful thing about film is that you have something that has a beginning, middle, and end, and you have a concrete amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-liu/the-wonderful-thing-about-film-is-that-you-have-something-that-has-a/) [Lucy Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-liu/) > [I think our goal and intention is to make sure that, when you watch each episode, you don't have to make that choice, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kurtzman/i-think-our-goal-and-intention-is-to-make-sure-that-when-you-watch/) [Alex Kurtzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kurtzman/) > [Film is cool because it's an hour and a half to two hours. It's a great ride. It's typically three acts - beginning, middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pratt/film-is-cool-because-it-s-an-hour-and-a-half-to-two-hours-it-s-a/) [Chris Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pratt/) > [Songwriters are expanding time rather than compressing time. My short stories tend to be old fashioned, with a beginning, middle and end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-earle/songwriters-are-expanding-time-rather-than-compressing-time-my-short/) [Steve Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-earle/) [Browse all 39 Beginning middle and end quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-middle-and-end/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think as a filmmaker you try not to have any expectations other than that the film have a fairly substantial beginning, middle and end.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Boal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-you-try-not-to-have-any-expectations-other/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beginning middle and end" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-you-try-not-to-have-any-expectations-other/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4a/mark-boal-27861_beginning-middle-and_i-think-as-a-filmmaker-you-try-not-to-ha_1215743.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4a/mark-boal-27861_beginning-middle-and_i-think-as-a-filmmaker-you-try-not-to-ha_1215743.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4a/mark-boal-27861_beginning-middle-and_i-think-as-a-filmmaker-you-try-not-to-ha_1215743.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think as a filmmaker you try not to have any expectations other than that the film have a fairly…” — Mark Boal", "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": "Mark Boal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think as a filmmaker you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-you-try-not-to-have-any-expectations-other/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-you-try-not-to-have-any-expectations-other/#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 } } ] } ```