--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every time you are getting ready to make…" description: "\"Every time you are getting ready to make a shot in a documentary film, you are asking yourself questions about your cinematographic approach. You are a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/rithy-panh-11040_cinema_every-time-you-are-getting-ready-to-make_204442.jpg" --- # Every time you are getting ready to make a shot in a… ![“Every time you are getting ready to make a shot in a documentary film, you are asking yourself questions about your cinematographic approach. You are approaching the truth, but the image is never the truth itself.” quote by Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/rithy-panh-11040_cinema_every-time-you-are-getting-ready-to-make_204442.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/rithy-panh-11040_cinema_every-time-you-are-getting-ready-to-make_204442.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/rithy-panh-11040_cinema_every-time-you-are-getting-ready-to-make_204442.jpg) > “Every time you are getting ready to make a shot in a documentary film, you are asking yourself questions about your cinematographic approach. You are approaching the truth, but the image is never the truth itself.” [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Preparing a shot involves questioning artistic choices, acknowledging that the captured image is an interpretation, not absolute truth. **In simple terms:** Filmmakers must recognize the gap between representation and reality. Key Takeaway Question your visual assumptions. Themes film philosophy truth Mood reflective thoughtful Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - documentary interviews - creative planning - critical analysis Key Concepts representation subjectivity visual storytelling Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you bring to each shot? - How can you convey authenticity while acknowledging subjectivity? A Different Perspective The “truth” can be manipulated by editing and framing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [With documentary-film projects, you hope you highlight an area of concern people haven't thought about before. A lot of times, I'm asking myself -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allen/with-documentary-film-projects-you-hope-you-highlight-an-area-of/) [Paul Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allen/) > [Documentary film without nuanced journalistic sourcing risks being sensational, tendentious or broad-brushed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/documentary-film-without-nuanced-journalistic-sourcing-risks-being/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [I got five kids, and my oldest is a documentary film maker and camera man, and still photographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-bridges/i-got-five-kids-and-my-oldest-is-a-documentary-film-maker-and-camera/) [Beau Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-bridges/) > [But one of the amazing things about documentary is that you can remake it every time you make one. There is no rule about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/but-one-of-the-amazing-things-about-documentary-is-that-you-can/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [It's a funny thing with documentary films - you want them to feel as entertaining and as gripping as a fictional film. With a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-demme/it-s-a-funny-thing-with-documentary-films-you-want-them-to-feel-as/) [Jonathan Demme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-demme/) > [Immediately after film school, I got an opportunity to work as a freelance cameraperson. I used to shoot a documentary film for the Discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-khan/immediately-after-film-school-i-got-an-opportunity-to-work-as-a/) [Kabir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-khan/) > [When I started my filmmaking journey 17 years ago, I honestly didn't know what a documentary film was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kaye/when-i-started-my-filmmaking-journey-17-years-ago-i-honestly-didn-t/) [Tony Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kaye/) > [Making an independent documentary film is so hard that usually, the usual model is that your film becomes a model for advocacy, so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-hetherington/making-an-independent-documentary-film-is-so-hard-that-usually-the/) [Tim Hetherington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-hetherington/) > [Michael Moore announced that his next documentary film will attack the health care industry in America. He's not out to get the pharmaceutical companies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/argus-hamilton/michael-moore-announced-that-his-next-documentary-film-will-attack/) [Argus Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/argus-hamilton/) > [“Idea For A Short Documentary Film Representatives of different food products manufacturers try to open their own packaging.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/idea-for-a-short-documentary-film-representatives-of-different-food/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [When you make a documentary film, after many years the only thing you remember is what you put into the film, not what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-yates/when-you-make-a-documentary-film-after-many-years-the-only-thing-you/) [Pamela Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-yates/) > [I am particularly pleased to see that there are so many women working in documentary film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hegedus/i-am-particularly-pleased-to-see-that-there-are-so-many-women-working/) [Chris Hegedus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hegedus/) > [A documentary film is a great way of helping people understand because, somehow, when one is able to see the people involved, it lends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-wright/a-documentary-film-is-a-great-way-of-helping-people-understand/) [Lawrence Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-wright/) > [Documentary film is the one place that our people can speak for themselves. I feel that the documentaries that I've been working on have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alanis-obomsawin/documentary-film-is-the-one-place-that-our-people-can-speak-for/) [Alanis Obomsawin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alanis-obomsawin/) > [There's a documentary film-maker called Werner Herzog, who's a German film-maker. I really dig his stuff, I'd love to chat with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finn-jones/there-s-a-documentary-film-maker-called-werner-herzog-who-s-a-german/) [Finn Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finn-jones/) ## More by Rithy Panh > [What I like to do with every film is to bring a form, like a cinematographic proposal. If you watch 'S21,' it's a form;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/what-i-like-to-do-with-every-film-is-to-bring-a-form-like-a/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [We need creativity. We need more poetry after Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/we-need-creativity-we-need-more-poetry-after-auschwitz/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [It's better to live a world where you can hear different languages and sensibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/it-s-better-to-live-a-world-where-you-can-hear-different-languages/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [Sometimes if you can tell one personal story with a lot of sincerity, it can become a universal story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/sometimes-if-you-can-tell-one-personal-story-with-a-lot-of-sincerity/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [I didn't survive because I was stronger than others. I survived because my family and friends helped me to survive. They took my place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/i-didn-t-survive-because-i-was-stronger-than-others-i-survived/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [We must be capable of writing our own history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/we-must-be-capable-of-writing-our-own-history/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [In this era of digital special effects, I think it's good to work with our hands and our hearts, to use water and clay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/in-this-era-of-digital-special-effects-i-think-it-s-good-to-work-with/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [If you can keep something very personal, like a song, like a color, like a story, deep in your heart, then nobody can destroy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/if-you-can-keep-something-very-personal-like-a-song-like-a-color-like/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [The most beautiful thing in Cambodia isn't the country - it's the Cambodian people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/the-most-beautiful-thing-in-cambodia-isn-t-the-country-it-s-the/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [Evil has always been there; it's always a part of us. Evil is no big surprise. But what about the people who gave freely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/evil-has-always-been-there-it-s-always-a-part-of-us-evil-is-no-big/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [As children, we did not have toys. We invented characters and animals; we invented stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/as-children-we-did-not-have-toys-we-invented-characters-and-animals/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [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/) > [“But I’ve never seen a free exchange. A gift is something else. I lived for four years in a society without currency, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/but-i-ve-never-seen-a-free-exchange-a-gift-is-something-else-i-lived/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [I have never been political in a partisan sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/i-have-never-been-political-in-a-partisan-sense/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [In all of my films, there is a desire to testify, to interrogate the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/in-all-of-my-films-there-is-a-desire-to-testify-to-interrogate-the/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) [Explore all 62 Rithy Panh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) ## More Cinema quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [You have to have a great director to make a great movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/you-have-to-have-a-great-director-to-make-a-great-movie/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radha-ravi/there-was-a-time-in-the-1980s-when-i-worked-in-22-films-a-year/) [Radha Ravi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radha-ravi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [I love film people and actors and I am in the right world because I am one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-love-film-people-and-actors-and-i-am-in-the-right-world-because-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [I'd love to work in the States; I'd love to work anywhere where you get a good script and a good part to play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/i-d-love-to-work-in-the-states-i-d-love-to-work-anywhere-where-you/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > ['Rear Window' isn't really a horror film, but it is a psychological drama, which I love. It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [I am not interested in churning out a certain number of films every year. For me, it's about the quality of work. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-am-not-interested-in-churning-out-a-certain-number-of-films-every/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) [Browse all 23,940 Cinema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every time you are getting ready to make a shot in a documentary film, you are asking yourself questions about your cinematographic approach. You are approaching the truth, but the image is never the truth itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rithy Panh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/every-time-you-are-getting-ready-to-make-a-shot-in-a-documentary-film/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cinema" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/every-time-you-are-getting-ready-to-make-a-shot-in-a-documentary-film/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/rithy-panh-11040_cinema_every-time-you-are-getting-ready-to-make_204442.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/rithy-panh-11040_cinema_every-time-you-are-getting-ready-to-make_204442.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/rithy-panh-11040_cinema_every-time-you-are-getting-ready-to-make_204442.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every time you are getting ready to make a shot in a documentary film, you are asking yourself questions…” — Rithy Panh", "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": "Rithy Panh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every time you are getting ready...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/every-time-you-are-getting-ready-to-make-a-shot-in-a-documentary-film/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/every-time-you-are-getting-ready-to-make-a-shot-in-a-documentary-film/#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 } } ] } ```