Dream Quote by Steven Sebring
![“At the beginning I didn't even really think about making a movie [Dream of Life]. I was just thinking of documenting somebody.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2d5/steven-sebring-14700_dream_at-the-beginning-i-didn-t-even-really-th_30900.jpg)
“At the beginning I didn't even really think about making a movie [Dream of Life]. I was just thinking of documenting somebody.”
About This Quote
The speaker initially intended to capture a real person's story rather than craft a fictional narrative, emphasizing documentary intent over cinematic ambition.
In simple terms: Documentary focus over fiction
Key Takeaway
Original intent was documentation
Themes
documentary
intent
authenticity
creative process
filmmaking
Mood
reflective
introspective
Type
statement
process
When to use this quote
- biographical film planning
- personal narrative capture
- archival project
Key Concepts
storytelling
realism
authorial intent
Practical Applications
- documentary filmmaking
- personal history preservation
Questions to Reflect On
- How does a documentary mindset shape storytelling?
- What challenges arise when shifting from documentation to narrative?
![“I think those moments in Patti's [Smith] bedroom really helped the film [Dream of Life] out, and those moments existed because of the trust between us. There isn't any real self-consciousness in the film because we all like each other.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9dc/steven-sebring-14700_bedroom_i-think-those-moments-in-patti-s-smith-b_3055270.jpg)
![“There are a lot of layers in the film [Dream of Life]. And during editing we would try to tame all the layers, try to make things a little bit more understood. We would move scenes around. We'd try all these things.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ce1/steven-sebring-14700_bits_there-are-a-lot-of-layers-in-the-film-dr_2750128.jpg)
![“Ultimately, the film [Dream of Life] is inspirational.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a10/steven-sebring-14700_dream_ultimately-the-film-dream-of-life-is-ins_2649164.jpg)
![“For me to see the film [Dream of Life] on a big screen - it's pretty extraordinary.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/adc/steven-sebring-14700_big-screen_for-me-to-see-the-film-dream-of-life-on_2278914.jpg)
![“Over time it just got more and more intense as far as the trust factor. For example, when we started editing the film [Dream of Life], I thought, man, I need to make sense of all the footage I have; I need to ground the film. And one day I was hanging out in Patti's [Smith] bedroom, which is where…” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c24/steven-sebring-14700_bedroom_over-time-it-just-got-more-and-more-inte_3200079.jpg)
![“The film [Dream of Life] came together when we started editing; it was organic, it became nonlinear and it was its own animal. And I didn't want to tame it, either. I wanted it to be different. It's not your typical documentary.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/421/steven-sebring-14700_animal_the-film-dream-of-life-came-together-whe_1512115.jpg)
![“The editing process was a free-for-all, and since I hadn't gone to film [Dream of Life] school or anything like that, I just said, "We'll do this. We'll do that." It was a really great experience that way.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ce7/steven-sebring-14700_dream_the-editing-process-was-a-free-for-all-a_1036321.jpg)
![“That was an amazing experience [making Dream of Life]. It's hard to imagine that we were editing every day for a year. And it was pretty extraordinary; it also went by super fast. But every day was an experiment.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/316/steven-sebring-14700_amazing-experience_that-was-an-amazing-experience-making-dr_102805.jpg)
![“I came up with more money, took all the footage, got a great editor and made this film [Dream of Life]. But I really didn't go into it with the intention of making a movie.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/323/steven-sebring-14700_cinema_i-came-up-with-more-money-took-all-the-f_2288043.jpg)
![“We just grew to trust each other [with Patti Smith] more and more over the years. Most of the time I didn't even have a movie camera.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e21/steven-sebring-14700_cameras_we-just-grew-to-trust-each-other-with-pa_49044.jpg)
![“We had a hodgepodge of footage. We didn't film [in Dream of Life ]all the time - we would just film periodically, so nothing was synced and nothing was slated.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/325/steven-sebring-14700_dream_we-had-a-hodgepodge-of-footage-we-didn-t_238597.jpg)
![“I thought about how to film something, how to take pictures of it and how to mix it all together. And I was getting that through Patti [Smith] - because she takes pictures, performs, writes; she does so many things, and that was a big inspiration to me. It helped me realized that I'm not just a…” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/08f/steven-sebring-14700_art_i-thought-about-how-to-film-something-ho_292986.jpg)
![“I would bring Patti [Smith ] in to the editing room [working on the Dream of Life] and say, "This is a great moment for a voiceover, or a poem," and then we'd bring in some sound design.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/142/steven-sebring-14700_design_i-would-bring-patti-smith-in-to-the-edit_322546.jpg)
![“Because the filming process was so organic and there was no script, the film [Dream of Life] was literally telling us what it wanted to be in the editing room.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0b7/steven-sebring-14700_cinema_because-the-filming-process-was-so-organ_338933.jpg)
![“She let me in during her tour, in London. Her band members - especially Lenny Kaye - were shocked at the fact that I was filming Patti [Smith].” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a72/steven-sebring-14700_band_she-let-me-in-during-her-tour-in-london_416754.jpg)
![“I took pictures of the objects and artifacts that Patti [Smith] would show to her friends because I wanted to document them.” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b31/steven-sebring-14700_artifacts_i-took-pictures-of-the-objects-and-artif_435299.jpg)
![“I shot [Dream of Life] all on 16-millimeter, and I just wanted to learn about Patti [Smith].” quote by Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f0e/steven-sebring-14700_dream_i-shot-dream-of-life-all-on-16-millimete_583938.jpg)
