Documentary director: The more I let subjects speak for themselves the better

This exchange between interviewer Terry Gross and movie director Michael Apted says a lot about learning from mistakes and experience. Apted is the director of the "Up" series of films, that have followed a group of 14 people through their lives, with one edition every seven years. The first, "7Up," appeared in 1964 and interviewed the group as 7-year-olds. The latest edition, "56Up," is just out.

GROSS: So what was it like you? What's it been like for you every seven years to drop in on these people's lives and, you know, ask them about the landmark events that have happened in the seven-year interim?

APTED: What can I say? I mean, it's the favorite thing that I've done, the thing that I'm most proud of. It's nerve-wracking because you always think you're going to blow it, and you'll wreck the whole thing. It seems fragile. And I've learned a lot of lessons about it. I've made mistakes on it and had to correct those mistakes.

You know, particularly I got into a situation, I think, early on when I became judgmental about people, that if they didn't agree with my standards of success, failure, happiness, whatever, then, you know, that I would feel that they were lesser for it. And also I tried to play God. I tried to predict what might happen to people and sort of set it all up for that.

And I did that, and that was an embarrassing mistake. And I think what I've learned all the way through is the less I do, the better, that the more I let them speak for themselves because what's so interesting about the films to me is that they're all different.