I record all of my music with authentic instruments in a studio before we start editing, doing many, many versions. The music shapes the film as we edit so it has an organic relationship to the content.

Quote by Ken Burns

Topics: Ken Burns Quotes

I don't use composers. I research music the way I research the photographs or the...

I don't use composers. I research music the way I research the photographs or the...

The stories from 1975 on are not finished and there is no resolve. I could...

The stories from 1975 on are not finished and there is no resolve. I could...

A jazz beat is a dynamic changing rhythm.

A jazz beat is a dynamic changing rhythm.

You know, you meet some people, and do a lot of interviews, and you come...

You know, you meet some people, and do a lot of interviews, and you come...

Like a layer on a pearl, you can't specifically identify the irritant, the moment of...

Like a layer on a pearl, you can't specifically identify the irritant, the moment of...

I can understand why some of these drummers and bass players become cult figures with...

I can understand why some of these drummers and bass players become cult figures with...

I subscribe to William Faulkner's' view that history is not just about what we were...

I subscribe to William Faulkner's' view that history is not just about what we were...

History is malleable. A new cache of diaries can shed new light, and archeological evidence...

History is malleable. A new cache of diaries can shed new light, and archeological evidence...

To say that an artist sells out means that an artist is making a conscious...

To say that an artist sells out means that an artist is making a conscious...

Wynton told us that Miles sold out, just wanted to make more money, just wanted...

Wynton told us that Miles sold out, just wanted to make more money, just wanted...

The flame is not out, but it is flickering.

The flame is not out, but it is flickering.

I read cover to cover every jazz publication that I could and in the New...

I read cover to cover every jazz publication that I could and in the New...

I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely...

I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely...

You need, as a historian, essential triangulation from your subject and the only way you...

You need, as a historian, essential triangulation from your subject and the only way you...

I have made a film about jazz that tries to look through jazz to see...

I have made a film about jazz that tries to look through jazz to see...

I treat the photograph as a work of great complexity in which you can find...

I treat the photograph as a work of great complexity in which you can find...

The way I work, the interview never becomes larger than the person being interviewed.

The way I work, the interview never becomes larger than the person being interviewed.

I have made all my films for my children with the exception of my first...

I have made all my films for my children with the exception of my first...

I enjoy total creative control right now. Nobody tells me to make it longer, shorter,...

I enjoy total creative control right now. Nobody tells me to make it longer, shorter,...

One of the things I really like about Ford's films is how there is always...

One of the things I really like about Ford's films is how there is always...