Extra Credit: Cameraperson

Question: I ask for trust, cooperation and permission without knowing where the filming experience will lead the subject.

        Kirsten Johnson challenges the dimensions of cinematography by removing the traditional rules of continuity in order to present her own tale. There is a duality in the film, presenting those she filmed and herself to be the subject. It reveals the intimacy and existence of the human behind the camera. Unseen, but heard, through voice, content and camera movement. I learned the art of documentary through Cameraperson because it allowed me to not feel like an observer, but rather, feel the connections that are needed to produce films. Reality, not fiction, beyond the curation. While filming a documentary, one must enter the life of another. There must be a level of comfort in order to capture ones reality. This film is comprised of various stories of individuals in a moment of hope, fear, comfort and discomfort. Overall, I felt humanity through this film. It made me desire to pick up a camera and document the existence of humanity. Pure, raw, and honest reality of individuals around the world. It shows that we are not truly different, rather we all are all simply going through different triumphs and tribulations of humanity. I felt Johnson’s desire to capture this sense of humanity. She shows how she built this level of trust, cooperation and permission by simply being a human. For example, in one part of the film, a single mother blames herself for becoming pregnant despite the financial hardship she is faced. While painfully expressing her hurt, Johnson comforts her and lets her  know the normalcy and commonality in becoming pregnant. With these few words, she is able to build a level of intimacy with the subject because she offers her comfort and understanding. She does not judge or remain silent to use the woman's tears as content, she extended her advice in order to build a relationship with her subject. She was able to use the camera as a tool of documentation while using her existence to draw the stories out of the subjects. Often, it is easy to forget about the person behind the camera because the person on screen cultivates the viewers attention. However, a filmmaker speaks through their lens and their subjects; they show us what they desire to express and experience.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog 3: Editing Analysis

Pulp Fiction: Dance Scene. Explained through shots. Shot one included a close up shot of main character, Mia Wallace, staggering to smoke a cigarette with her eyes glancing over to something off scene with a sense of yearning. Shot two works with continuity editing by including a medium shot that shows what Mia was glancing at, a Marilyn Monroe impersonator introducing a dance competition. This scene included an eyeline match to further enforce that the impersonator was in fact what Mia was fixated on, this was created by using a low angle medium shot due to Mia sitting in a booth and the presenters elevated on stage. Shot three cut back to a close angle shot of Mia’s face to show her reaction to hearing about the dance competition. Shot four cut to a medium close up shot of character Vince, to show that he is in the booth and his opposing reaction. The similarity in shot type aided to the continuity of the scene. Shot five was a jumpcut back to the presenters, it was a wide shot tha...
Read more

Artistic Statement

Growing up in Staten Island, my block consisted of twenty semi-attached houses, all unrecognizably uniform, with twenty working-class families who built up a network of support. The fathers worked, the mothers worked, and us kids would come together to attack the mundane with our imaginations. As a child the world seemed very small; the same houses, the same faces, the same days, however, it was not until I moved to New York City to pursue higher education, that I truly grasped the seclusion I experienced growing up. The speed at which New York City moves and operates at first quickly succumbed me and I began to seek the quiet I once knew as a child.  My work defines my lived experience. My name is Thomas McMillen, I am a multimedia artist that tackles the question of mundane. Early exposure to my grandfather’s film collection has shaped my beliefs on the qualifications of art. I use artistic creation to reveal the beauty in individuals and everyday lived experiences, while finding...
Read more