Quotes About Improvisation

I had gone to New York with no plan at all. I did a lot of jobs - barman, teacher, security guard, postman and construction worker - and I was meeting many eccentric characters, and they were saying funny things, which I always wrote down.

When you go to set, they just go, 'OK, let's see what you guys do!' The camera moves around what you initially feel.

I was very skilled at football at a young age in Egypt. I never played with a real ball. We used rolled-up socks or a balloon with a towel ducktaped to it, and we played on concrete in bare feet.

I think improvisation is a skill, that if you learn it at a really young age then you can use it for the rest of your life, whether that's acting or singing.

Both 'Udaan' and 'Lootera' were largely rehearsed. With 'Trapped,' I left room for improvisation.

Art is fluid, and it travels. You have to let music take you where it wants to take you. You can't necessarily be the controller.

I really want to bring ensemble playing back to the forefront - not just for me, but for everyone in jazz. When you have a group, a true co-op group, you can really heighten the possibilities of all the treasures of jazz.

I always treat each take as a rehearsal for the next take. That way you can find stuff and keep adding and playing until they tell me to stop.

We always have a take that's 'one for fun', so once you've got what you need, you can do what you like. Something does occasionally pop out of that tree. I'm always open to ideas.

People who don't do jazz think it's black magic. But really, it's just a matter of getting used to it. It's fun to gamble. The trick is not to fall back on the things you've done before.

Luz's manner of speaking made it clear that she had no idea what she might say next. It wasn't that she made things up, strictly speaking--only that facts were merely a point of departure for her.

Stories are invented as you go along...

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

People want to see musicians sing things that come from their own mind and own heart in real time, responding to the moment for them.

The musicians that didn't know music could play the best blues. I know that I don't want no musicians who know all about music playin' for me.

Look at the piano. You'll notice that there are white notes and black notes. Figure out the difference between them and you'll be able to make whatever kind of music you want.

When I am composing, the sounds are leading me to the way I want them to organize.

In composition you have all the time you want to decide what to say in 15 seconds, in improvisation you have 15 seconds.

It's so funny when you're actually directing because things start popping that you don't expect to pop, and something that you think is going to pop, maybe doesn't quite have the impetus that you thought it might.

Structure ignites spontaneity.

Okay, here's the tough part, but we know you can do it. If you run out of an ingredient or forget an item, substitute it with something else, borrow it from a neighbor, or make a different meal—just don't go back to the store. You can do it—it may take some time to perfect your system, but eventually it will be as easy as breathing.

12/18/89 Calvin asks Hobbes if he'll help him write a book. Calvin says this book will be like historical fiction. He's writing a fictional autobiography. He tells Hobbes it's the story of his life with a lot of parts completely made up. Hobbes asks why he'd want to make up his whole life. Calvin replies that in his book, he has a flame thrower.

Usually, the things that are quickly slapped together become the big hits, rather than the ones you would painstakingly deliberate on.

I want to see good-quality comedy shows, not the slapstick ones or where people imitate others.