I shoot people in a way that makes the audience feel equal to them. And it’s hard to express and it’s hard to execute but I think it works on every level – the choice of the material the choice of the actor, my relationship with the actor, and so on. Michel Gondry Read Quote
I don’t call cut between the takes – it’s my way to help the actor keep focused. As soon as you say ‘cut’ you have 10 people jumping on them and everybody’s trying to do a great job, and they do, but sometimes they forget that the more important thing is the performance, creating the performance. Michel Gondry Read Quote
The first dolly track was somebody who had the idea to put the camera on a boat on a canal. So the boat would move very slowly but steadily. So they would see all that surrounds you and you’d see the landscape changing slowly. So that was the first time. Michel Gondry Read Quote
It’s very hard to say I’m surrealist. It’s like saying I’m poetic. It’s not something you want necessarily to be aware of. Michel Gondry Read Quote
Sometimes it’s interesting to see something that you’re not used to seeing, which is the main ingredient of life, and it’s removed from the usual entertainment. I think it’s important to give the opportunity to people to witness the life of somebody who was not public. Michel Gondry Read Quote
The MTV Video Awards were never about the video, but about the song. Most of the time it was just to glorify people for the wrong reason. Michel Gondry Read Quote
I’m attracted to working with comedians because they don’t have that stars’ idea of what a hero should be. The downside is they’re always addressing the camera too much. Michel Gondry Read Quote
I like the days when all the filmmakers had was a film roll, a camera and a gangster. The Mack Sennett comedies were all like that. They’d create little teams to go out and shoot films. Michel Gondry Read Quote
I try to learn from both, from features and documentaries. In both cases you have to find a way to make the camera as discreet as possible, and flexible enough to be able to capture the moment when it happens. I know from documentary how to not have a preconceived idea of what the scene could be. Michel Gondry Read Quote