The film [Dream of Life] came together when we started editing; it was organic, it became nonlinear and it was its own animal. And I didn't want to tame it, either. I wanted it to be different. It's not your typical documentary.
Steven SebringI remember when we were at Sundance, we were in Robert Redford's screening room, and I had never seen the film look so beautiful or sound so great. It was really big and really powerful, and I had a sense of accomplishment in finishing a project like this.
Steven SebringSometimes my fashion pictures can look a little bit like documentary style pictures. So having a camera in my hand was normal.
Steven SebringWhen I went to Detroit, I was very naรฏve, actually, and I think Patti [Smith] picked up on that quite quickly.
Steven SebringThe editing process was a free-for-all, and since I hadn't gone to film [Dream of Life] school or anything like that, I just said, "We'll do this. We'll do that."ย It was a really great experience that way.
Steven SebringI thought about how to film something, how to take pictures of it and how to mix it all together. And I was getting that through Patti [Smith] - because she takes pictures, performs, writes; she does so many things, and that was a big inspiration to me. It helped me realized that I'm not just a fashion photographer. I wanted to do all these other artistic things as well, and during filming my mind opened up to those possibilities.
Steven Sebring