Paul Schrader Quotes

I don't think you can figure this stuff out. If you could figure all this stuff out, then all the great filmmakers would come out of Yale and Harvard. It's not an intellectual process.

I didn't really know how to make a film when I made 'Control'. I had to create my own language, just as I did when I started taking photographs. I never studied either one.

You never know what you do that could be totally out of left field, which actually might work and give something fresh to the whole scene, to the character, whatever. If you have that with a director who then knows how to shape it, either in the direction, in the moment, or in the editing, then that's good.

I think it's important as a filmmaker, as any person working in the arts, that you've got to try new stuff and challenge yourself and take chances.

I didn't think; I experimented.

I look at graphic design as communication, meaning that the work has to have a vibe to connect to the viewer or perceiver. I make a black and white drawing and then add color digitally, bringing in a contemporary pattern to the composition to create a vibrance.

I never tried to revolutionise photography; I just do what I do and keep my fingers crossed that people will like it.

From the very beginning, I've always just wanted to do something I've never done before. I'm still just trying to be on that path. It's all about working with filmmakers that you believe in.

I really like to experiment. That's the only way I can work. It's instinctive.

I honestly can't characterize my style in words. It seems that whatever comes to me naturally, I play.

There are no rules and regulations for perfect composition. If there were we would be able to put all the information into a computer and would come out with a masterpiece. We know that's impossible. You have to compose by the seat of your pants.

I want to put everything I think I've learned about filmmaking and storytelling and put it to the test in other areas.

Sometimes I think that I understand my movies after I make them. Really. I go very often off of instinct.

When I am shooting a film I never think of how I want to shoot something; I simply shoot it.

I'm trained to look for certain things... I shoot, I shoot, I shoot, and then I go find it in the ether.

Sometimes things just fall out of your head on the paper, and if you're smart, you learn not to touch them.

Which is probably the reason why I work exclusively in black and white... to highlight that contrast.

The movie business is not something that can come from the brain. It really comes from the soul and the heart.

It's impossible to explain creativity. It's like asking a bird, 'How do you fly?' You just do.

A true artist, in my mind, is willing to fail sometimes, because if you're not brave enough to say yes and follow your gut, it's never going to be good.

It is through science that we prove, but through intuition that we discover.

A true artist, in my mind, is willing to fail sometimes, because if you're not brave enough to say yes and follow your gut, it's never going to be good.

The artist need not know very much; best of all let him work instinctively and paint as naturally as he breathes or walks.

A great architect is not made by way of a brain nearly so much as he is made by way of a cultivated, enriched heart.

We don't always know what we're doing. We often just get excited, put something down, and say, 'Oh, neat'.