Whether it’s in Kabul, Afghanistan or Aberdeen, Maryland, there are military surveillance balloon floats in both places. The sudden cuts that Kirsten Johnson placed in her short documentary The Above showed comparisons and helped to relay the point she was trying to make.
With this documentary, Kirsten made me feel as if I was always being watched, whether at church, in my neighborhood, or even on the other side of the world, there will always be this greater force watching me. The only words that were spoken in the film was about God, who is also known as this higher power always watching our actions. The film gave me an eerie feeling, and no matter what I do to try and get away from being watched, I can’t escape it.
I noticed a little clip in this film on the ferris wheel that was a moment inserted into Cameraperson. It was intriguing how it Cameraperson Kirsten clipped the images together to show a whole different meaning than she did in this film. This just shows that the way you edit your footage can really change what you are trying to say.