Patti [Smith] was my experiment, to be honest. And the film is what we got out of it. At the end of the day, I learned a lot about how to make a film.

She let me in during her tour, in London. Her band members - especially Lenny Kaye - were shocked at the fact that I was filming Patti [Smith].

I was making a film [Dream of Life] about Patti [Smith], but I was taking pictures, too.

Fashion's been really good to me. It financed Patti Smith: Dream of Life.

We were just hanging out and getting to learn about each other. But I think trust was a really big thing. Patti [Smith] is a good friend, somebody I can talk to.

I became Patti's [Smith] messenger, basically, and the film is my view of how I learned about Patti.

It took 12 years to put this film [Dream of Life] together, but it was not until toward the end of those 12 years that I looked at Patti [Smith] and said, "Maybe we should do something with this footage."