Theater is where you go to find out something new that you don't know. It goes through somebody's brain and comes out in a comprehensible way that is beautiful, that's really interesting. D. A. Pennebaker beautifulbraincomprehensible Change image and share on social
Filming is a witnessing process. You don't try to control it, even though sometimes you wish you could because it can go really, really wrong for you. D. A. Pennebaker controlfilmprocess Change image and share on social
Before the camera, you only had secondhand takes - someone had to tell you what they saw or draw a picture of it or sing a song. Because of the camera, sometimes to our horror, we now know everything that happens in the world - things that before we were sheltered from. D. A. Pennebaker cameradrawhorror share on social
The very first thing I ever did, I was doing some work for the French Cultural Center. They wanted a little recording set up. And I got wire. A wire recorder. The wire came off spools, and to cut and edit, you tied it together in little square knots. Can you imagine? D. A. Pennebaker centerculturalcut share on social
When the fearsome foursome of rock music, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis, decided to show up in Toronto for a rock and roll festival, I knew we had to go there to try to get them all on film. D. A. Pennebaker berrychuckdecide share on social
It was interesting to shoot history as it happens, without anyone demanding a huge story. D. A. Pennebaker demandhistoryhuge Change image and share on social
Well, it is curious what lasts and what doesn't. Publishing empires and whatnot would pay anything to figure it out. But they can't figure it out. D. A. Pennebaker curiousempirefigure Change image and share on social
Albert Grossman called my office and spoke with my partner Richard Leacock and asked if we'd be interested in making a film with his client, Bob Dylan. D. A. Pennebaker albertaskbob Change image and share on social
I think the process is one of using the camera and sound in the way a detective uses a magnifying glass: to find the clues. They're discovery devices, not performance devices - you're watching things the way a cat does. You're not judging. You're there to witness something. D. A. Pennebaker cameracatclue share on social