--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We had this idea, and I think a lot of…" description: "\"We had this idea, and I think a lot of people did going in, that you can make some short film and it's going to get industry attention and that's going..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bf/ross-duffer-10611_attention_we-had-this-idea-and-i-think-a-lot-of-pe_245807.jpg" --- # We had this idea, and I think a lot of people did going… ![“We had this idea, and I think a lot of people did going in, that you can make some short film and it's going to get industry attention and that's going to be your thing. And it was only later on at school that we realized that's very rare that a short film is going to capture the attention of…” quote by Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bf/ross-duffer-10611_attention_we-had-this-idea-and-i-think-a-lot-of-pe_245807.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bf/ross-duffer-10611_attention_we-had-this-idea-and-i-think-a-lot-of-pe_245807.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bf/ross-duffer-10611_attention_we-had-this-idea-and-i-think-a-lot-of-pe_245807.jpg) > “We had this idea, and I think a lot of people did going in, that you can make some short film and it's going to get industry attention and that's going to be your thing. And it was only later on at school that we realized that's very rare that a short film is going to capture the attention of anyone.” [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many aspiring creators believe a short film will quickly attract industry interest, but reality shows such breakthroughs are rare and require more than just a brief project. **In simple terms:** Short films rarely guarantee industry notice. Key Takeaway Focus on building a portfolio and network beyond a single short film. Themes creativity industry expectations Mood realistic reflective Type advice observational When to use this quote - film school projects - festival submissions - pitch meetings - networking events Key Concepts film production career strategy Questions to Reflect On - What alternative steps can you take to gain industry visibility? - How can you leverage a short film as part of a larger strategy? A Different Perspective Success often depends on timing, connections, and sustained effort, not just the short film itself. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Short film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-film/) ## Related quotes > [It is very tough to make a short film. It's like writing a short story, which is tougher than writing a novel. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naseeruddin-shah/it-is-very-tough-to-make-a-short-film-it-s-like-writing-a-short-story/) [Naseeruddin Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naseeruddin-shah/) > [You can do a short film in three to four days, and then you can show it. Look at the careers you seen go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-polson/you-can-do-a-short-film-in-three-to-four-days-and-then-you-can-show/) [John Polson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-polson/) > [I want to release another CD this year, finish writing a screenplay, and make another short film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-barry/i-want-to-release-another-cd-this-year-finish-writing-a-screenplay/) [Todd Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-barry/) > [I'd love to make short film videos pushing the conventional standards of what a country music video can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sturgill-simpson/i-d-love-to-make-short-film-videos-pushing-the-conventional-standards/) [Sturgill Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sturgill-simpson/) > [I went back to Dallas for a little while to finish my short film 'Rusty Forkblade.' It was not the instant success I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-daugherty/i-went-back-to-dallas-for-a-little-while-to-finish-my-short-film/) [Evan Daugherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-daugherty/) > [Since I was 20, I wanted to make a short film and send it to international short film festivals. It never happened. I became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-haasan/since-i-was-20-i-wanted-to-make-a-short-film-and-send-it-to/) [Kamal Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-haasan/) > [I grew up fascinated with comedy and with people who could capture someone's attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendi-mclendon-covey/i-grew-up-fascinated-with-comedy-and-with-people-who-could-capture/) [Wendi McLendon-Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendi-mclendon-covey/) > [It's very difficult to put your finger on why a certain actor or actress will capture your attention, and you'll think they're right for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gray/it-s-very-difficult-to-put-your-finger-on-why-a-certain-actor-or/) [James Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gray/) > [BEAUTY can capture one's attention. But CHARACTER can capture one's heart..!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/beauty-can-capture-one-s-attention-but-character-can-capture-one-s/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [A pretty face can capture my attention but only a beautiful mind can hold it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/a-pretty-face-can-capture-my-attention-but-only-a-beautiful-mind-can/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [You lose power to the people and circumstances you judge. They capture your attention in the same way that a movie does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/you-lose-power-to-the-people-and-circumstances-you-judge-they-capture/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [Commercials capture your attention, that's all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-klein/commercials-capture-your-attention-that-s-all/) [Calvin Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-klein/) > [Perhaps the most demanding trick in all of art is to know ways that are going to capture the attention of an audience right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/perhaps-the-most-demanding-trick-in-all-of-art-is-to-know-ways-that/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [I look for the entrepreneur to capture my attention. If you don’t come out with a great presentation, you’re dead. That’s a big red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-herjavec/i-look-for-the-entrepreneur-to-capture-my-attention-if-you-don-t-come/) [Robert Herjavec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-herjavec/) > [I started missing acting when I was in school, and I realized after being in the business after however many years that I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/i-started-missing-acting-when-i-was-in-school-and-i-realized-after/) [Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/) ## More by Ross Duffer > [I love the early days of seasons, because you are filled with all of these possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/i-love-the-early-days-of-seasons-because-you-are-filled-with-all-of/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [Jaws' was a big one. It's a classic. The shark not working while making that movie made it much better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/jaws-was-a-big-one-it-s-a-classic-the-shark-not-working-while-making/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [We're from North Carolina originally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/we-re-from-north-carolina-originally/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [Some of our favorite movies, like 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' and 'Breaking Away,' were set in Indiana.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/some-of-our-favorite-movies-like-close-encounters-of-the-third-kind/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [At the end of the day, 'Hidden' was a great experience. Because we know what it's like to fail. And we know it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/at-the-end-of-the-day-hidden-was-a-great-experience-because-we-know/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [We wanted it to have a simplicity to it, so that if you're a 12-year-old and you're watching the show and you get inspired,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/we-wanted-it-to-have-a-simplicity-to-it-so-that-if-you-re-a-12-year/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [In college, even, we shot on film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/in-college-even-we-shot-on-film/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [If you look back at a lot of these Spielberg movies and Stephen King books, even though there's a lot of fun and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/if-you-look-back-at-a-lot-of-these-spielberg-movies-and-stephen-king/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [Tim Burton - he's not exactly a subtle filmmaker. I mean that in a good way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/tim-burton-he-s-not-exactly-a-subtle-filmmaker-i-mean-that-in-a-good/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [When you look at it and see, 'Oh,they made their first movie at 27,' you feel like a jerk saying it felt like forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/when-you-look-at-it-and-see-oh-they-made-their-first-movie-at-27-you/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [We started making movies when we were really young, in the fourth grade... if you can call them movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/we-started-making-movies-when-we-were-really-young-in-the-fourth/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [At the end of the day, what really matters in 'Poltergeist' is that Carol Anne is missing and they have to go through a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/at-the-end-of-the-day-what-really-matters-in-poltergeist-is-that/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [We hung out with a group of nerdy friends playing games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/we-hung-out-with-a-group-of-nerdy-friends-playing-games/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [It was Tim Burton's 'Batman' in, what, '89, I think? What we could see was there was someone behind the curtain controlling all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/it-was-tim-burton-s-batman-in-what-89-i-think-what-we-could-see-was/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [The minute you start calculating and trying to figure out what a huge audience is going to think, you're going to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/the-minute-you-start-calculating-and-trying-to-figure-out-what-a-huge/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) [Explore all 64 Ross Duffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We had this idea, and I think a lot of people did going in, that you can make some short film and it's going to get industry attention and that's going to be your thing. 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