A couple of weeks prior to the screening of Cameraperson, I remember reading in Bernard’s book about the selective process of manipulating footage into a story or an argument. I took a stab at this myself during the Instagram video assignment, where I compiled some of the random shots I had taken in the last few months into a movie about my summer. Doing this gave me a special appreciation for Kirsten’s work in her film. As a person who is very interested in documenting life as it happens, I was truly astonished at her decision to make this movie. More specifically, I was really drawn in by her idea to turn seemingly unrelated footage that she had recorded for other purposes into a new film that offered a unique perspective. And her execution was perfect. The movie was nicely balanced as she countered intense moments of anger and sadness with funny and more light-hearted content. For this reason, I believe that this movie was in many ways a refreshing reminder of life and what it means to be human. Overall, I think my main take away from watching Cameraperson was encouragement to keep trying to document my life and my experiences. I look forward to the different stories that my footage will reveal.
