--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I make a documentary I shoot very…" description: "\"When I make a documentary I shoot very little but I hang around with my camera for a long time. I look at the people for a long time through the loop a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/pirjo-honkasalo-26918_cameras_when-i-make-a-documentary-i-shoot-very-l_142409.jpg" --- # When I make a documentary I shoot very little but I hang… ![“When I make a documentary I shoot very little but I hang around with my camera for a long time. I look at the people for a long time through the loop and then when I see something interested then I shoot. I think that I have become very sensitive to these things.” quote by Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/pirjo-honkasalo-26918_cameras_when-i-make-a-documentary-i-shoot-very-l_142409.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/pirjo-honkasalo-26918_cameras_when-i-make-a-documentary-i-shoot-very-l_142409.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/pirjo-honkasalo-26918_cameras_when-i-make-a-documentary-i-shoot-very-l_142409.jpg) > “When I make a documentary I shoot very little but I hang around with my camera for a long time. I look at the people for a long time through the loop and then when I see something interested then I shoot. I think that I have become very sensitive to these things.” [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Patience in documentary work leads to deeper insight and sensitivity. **In simple terms:** Patience reveals deeper stories. Key Takeaway Observe before acting to capture truth. Themes creativity observation patience Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - documentary projects - field research - editing Key Concepts visual storytelling empathetic filming Questions to Reflect On - How does patience affect creativity? - What moments reveal truth? A Different Perspective Time constraints may limit depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Documentaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) [Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When you're making a real documentary, you shoot it and the movie happens. You don't make - this sounds corny - you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/when-you-re-making-a-real-documentary-you-shoot-it-and-the-movie/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [In everything I do, the aesthetics are driven by the emotion. 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I figured it out as I went along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-neville/there-was-no-model-how-to-make-a-documentary-production-company-work/) [Morgan Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-neville/) > [“If everyone knows so much about it, why do they need to make a documentary?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-pasulka/if-everyone-knows-so-much-about-it-why-do-they-need-to-make-a/) [Brigid Pasulka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-pasulka/) > [I learned how to make a documentary by having a good team around me. My editors (and co-writers)Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Frédéric Tcheng were very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-immordino-vreeland/i-learned-how-to-make-a-documentary-by-having-a-good-team-around-me/) [Lisa Immordino Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-immordino-vreeland/) > [When I did Taming of the Shrew, I was very tired, and I decided to have a holiday and make a documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-cilento/when-i-did-taming-of-the-shrew-i-was-very-tired-and-i-decided-to-have/) [Diane Cilento](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-cilento/) > [Cinema is not truth. Even when you make documentary films, you can choose to show this shot and not the other shot - this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/cinema-is-not-truth-even-when-you-make-documentary-films-you-can/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [When you make a documentary, you have to adapt to what reality imposes upon you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/when-you-make-a-documentary-you-have-to-adapt-to-what-reality-imposes/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [If I wanted to make something that actually made a difference roughly in this industry, I would make a documentary. 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I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-aronofsky/right-after-i-did-the-fountain-i-wanted-to-go-make-a-documentary-or/) [Darren Aronofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-aronofsky/) > [I would love to make a documentary on my father, Mahesh Bhatt. What is interesting about Bhatt sahab is that he became more interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pooja-bhatt/i-would-love-to-make-a-documentary-on-my-father-mahesh-bhatt-what-is/) [Pooja Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pooja-bhatt/) ## More by Pirjo Honkasalo > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [I had worked in fiction a lot before I started making documentaries, but when I was around 32 or 33-years-old I suddenly got so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/i-had-worked-in-fiction-a-lot-before-i-started-making-documentaries/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [I went to England when I was 13-years=old and then I went again when I was 14. When I went for the second time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/i-went-to-england-when-i-was-13-years-old-and-then-i-went-again-when/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [In all my documentaries I did all the camera work, but in fiction I didn't want to do it myself. 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It's a total lie to say there are objective documentaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/every-documentary-is-subjective-it-s-a-total-lie-to-say-there-are/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [I think that too often we, film directors, think that a big epic novel and feature film are the same. It's a lie. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/i-think-that-too-often-we-film-directors-think-that-a-big-epic-novel/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [This is going to sound crazy, especially in America where there is a total inflation of the word "love," but in a sense you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/this-is-going-to-sound-crazy-especially-in-america-where-there-is-a/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [I went to film school when I was 17, and of course when you are very young you think that there is nothing else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/i-went-to-film-school-when-i-was-17-and-of-course-when-you-are-very/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [We exaggerate the difference between documentary and fiction. I think that on some level a fiction film is also a documentary on the actors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/we-exaggerate-the-difference-between-documentary-and-fiction-i-think/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [If you take a big epic novel and you shoot it, when you get to the editing room you notice that it has 2…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/if-you-take-a-big-epic-novel-and-you-shoot-it-when-you-get-to-the/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [There is one thing where people are always right. It is when they are describing what they have been feeling when watching your film.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/there-is-one-thing-where-people-are-always-right-it-is-when-they-are/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [You give your film away to the audience once it's done. I never look at my films after the premier. 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