--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Right before 'American Dreams,' I started…" description: "\"Right before 'American Dreams,' I started to pursue these avenues, like short films and getting into a couple night courses to really study photography..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/tom-verica-32640_american_right-before-american-dreams-i-started-t_3034703.jpg" --- # Right before 'American Dreams,' I started to pursue these… ![“Right before 'American Dreams,' I started to pursue these avenues, like short films and getting into a couple night courses to really study photography and cinematography, and the language of visual storytelling.” quote by Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/tom-verica-32640_american_right-before-american-dreams-i-started-t_3034703.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/tom-verica-32640_american_right-before-american-dreams-i-started-t_3034703.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/tom-verica-32640_american_right-before-american-dreams-i-started-t_3034703.jpg) > “Right before 'American Dreams,' I started to pursue these avenues, like short films and getting into a couple night courses to really study photography and cinematography, and the language of visual storytelling.” [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He pursued short films and courses to study photography and cinematography. **In simple terms:** He studied film and photography to tell stories. Key Takeaway Invest in visual storytelling education. Themes film photography education Mood creative enthusiastic Type artistic educational When to use this quote - workshops - film projects - portfolio building Key Concepts visual narrative technical skill Questions to Reflect On - What story do you want to tell visually? - Which medium best suits your narrative? A Different Perspective Time constraints may limit depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [American dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-dream/) [American Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-dreams-808059/) [Avenues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avenues/) [Before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Cinematography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinematography/) [Couple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couple/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Courses Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses-really-3116889/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Dreams Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-started-675996/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Films](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/films/) [Getting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Pursue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursue/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) [Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short/) [Short films](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-films/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Study Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study-photography-1708177/) [Visual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visual/) [Visual storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visual-storytelling/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I am definitely most proud of 'American Dreams.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/i-am-definitely-most-proud-of-american-dreams/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [I remember seeing this picture my mother had of Dick Clark. It didn't inspire me to be an actor or anything, but when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/i-remember-seeing-this-picture-my-mother-had-of-dick-clark-it-didn-t/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [I chose philosophy because it sounded like something I ought to be interested in. I didn't know anything about it, I didn't even know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-anderson/i-chose-philosophy-because-it-sounded-like-something-i-ought-to-be/) [Wes Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-anderson/) > [Some people swear by writing courses, but whether it really helps American poetry, I have doubts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/some-people-swear-by-writing-courses-but-whether-it-really-helps/) [Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/) > [I don't enjoy having any more or less road courses. I really don't care where we go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-elliott/i-don-t-enjoy-having-any-more-or-less-road-courses-i-really-don-t/) [Chase Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chase-elliott/) > [I was 19 when I wrote 'Dreams,' and that would have been when it started to happen. The band got signed, and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolores-o-riordan/i-was-19-when-i-wrote-dreams-and-that-would-have-been-when-it-started/) [Dolores O'Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolores-o-riordan/) > [Dreams get you started; discipline keeps you going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/dreams-get-you-started-discipline-keeps-you-going/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Vision gets the dreams started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmitt-smith/vision-gets-the-dreams-started/) [Emmitt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmitt-smith/) > [I've known both misery and happiness, lived in so many different skins it is impossible for one skin to claim me. And I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/i-ve-known-both-misery-and-happiness-lived-in-so-many-different-skins/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [“I sit on the curb and think about Duncan and Peter, and how none of us got to live out the dreams we’d started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-e-whitten/i-sit-on-the-curb-and-think-about-duncan-and-peter-and-how-none-of-us/) [Zoe E. Whitten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-e-whitten/) > [Reading dreams. That's what started her walking down the road. Every day she'd walk a little further: a mile, and come home. Two miles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/reading-dreams-that-s-what-started-her-walking-down-the-road-every/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [Actually, I didn't study photography at first. I went to school for painting my first year, poetry my second year, graphic design my third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-mcginley/actually-i-didn-t-study-photography-at-first-i-went-to-school-for/) [Ryan McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-mcginley/) > [I'd love to go off to college to study photography, art history, humanities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-wasikowska/i-d-love-to-go-off-to-college-to-study-photography-art-history/) [Mia Wasikowska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-wasikowska/) > [I worked a little as a messenger on a bicycle and then decided to study photography and film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ori-gersht/i-worked-a-little-as-a-messenger-on-a-bicycle-and-then-decided-to/) [Ori Gersht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ori-gersht/) > [Vision gets the dreams started. Dreaming employs your God-given imagination to reinforce the vision. Both are part of something I believe is absolutely necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmitt-smith/vision-gets-the-dreams-started-dreaming-employs-your-god-given/) [Emmitt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmitt-smith/) ## More by Tom Verica > [I played in 'From the Earth to the Moon,' working with Tom Hanks. He is a great guy, very smart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/i-played-in-from-the-earth-to-the-moon-working-with-tom-hanks-he-is-a/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [I can put on my resume: 'Can play dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/i-can-put-on-my-resume-can-play-dead/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [I guess that is a good compliment for an actor for people to hate you wherever you go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/i-guess-that-is-a-good-compliment-for-an-actor-for-people-to-hate-you/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [I started my career as an actor, but I've been a director for 15 years now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/i-started-my-career-as-an-actor-but-i-ve-been-a-director-for-15-years/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [Most of my work had been in theater, and I was jumping not just into television but 'L.A. Law,' which had all these megastars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/most-of-my-work-had-been-in-theater-and-i-was-jumping-not-just-into/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [There are days when I am just dead on the floor, and I'm there in my makeup, and that's getting a little tiring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/there-are-days-when-i-am-just-dead-on-the-floor-and-i-m-there-in-my/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [Most shows are normally 40 or 50 pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/most-shows-are-normally-40-or-50-pages/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [My family is very close. I can't say that about many people I meet in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/my-family-is-very-close-i-can-t-say-that-about-many-people-i-meet-in/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [If we had a perfect world, we can do 'Scandal' during the day and 'Murder' at night - that's the optimal thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/if-we-had-a-perfect-world-we-can-do-scandal-during-the-day-and-murder/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [Having spent a lot of time on sets, I was really interested in the overall storytelling aspect of shows and projects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/having-spent-a-lot-of-time-on-sets-i-was-really-interested-in-the/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [I remember seeing this picture my mother had of Dick Clark. It didn't inspire me to be an actor or anything, but when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/i-remember-seeing-this-picture-my-mother-had-of-dick-clark-it-didn-t/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [I am definitely most proud of 'American Dreams.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/i-am-definitely-most-proud-of-american-dreams/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [Audiences have become so much more sophisticated, and they're looking for different eyes and different ways to tell a story. And 'Scandal' certainly gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/audiences-have-become-so-much-more-sophisticated-and-they-re-looking/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [Myself, I happen to be married to an African-American woman, and we're together 17 years. We took a few trips to the South 15…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/myself-i-happen-to-be-married-to-an-african-american-woman-and-we-re/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) [Explore all 15 Tom Verica quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) ## More American quotes > [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/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) [Browse all 7,717 American quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Right before 'American Dreams,' I started to pursue these avenues, like short films and getting into a couple night courses to really study photography and cinematography, and the language of visual storytelling.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Verica" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/right-before-american-dreams-i-started-to-pursue-these-avenues-like/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/right-before-american-dreams-i-started-to-pursue-these-avenues-like/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/tom-verica-32640_american_right-before-american-dreams-i-started-t_3034703.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/tom-verica-32640_american_right-before-american-dreams-i-started-t_3034703.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/tom-verica-32640_american_right-before-american-dreams-i-started-t_3034703.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Right before 'American Dreams,' I started to pursue these avenues, like short films and getting into a…” — Tom Verica", "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": "Tom Verica", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Right before 'American Dreams,' I started...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/right-before-american-dreams-i-started-to-pursue-these-avenues-like/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/right-before-american-dreams-i-started-to-pursue-these-avenues-like/#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 } } ] } ```