Camerawork
through the experience of Kirsten Johnson regarding her film, Cameraperson
Published in
5 min readJul 10, 2019
“The images you capture make you.”
Kirsten Johnson
Kirsten Johnson is a filmmaker and cinematographer interested in addressing the changing dimensions and urgent ethical challenges of documentary camerawork. Her film Cameraperson, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2016, was short-listed for an Academy Award, won the National Board of Review “Freedom of Expression” prize, and was awarded three 2017 Cinema Eye Honors, including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature. Looking at Cameraperson, this short essay summarizes some of the distinct experiences of a camera person shooting a documentary film.
In the very early ages of cinema, directors were physically handling the camera themselves. As the art form and technology evolved, a separation between director and camera operator emerged. Even though there have always been filmmakers who have not been able or…
