Documentary interview footage has revealed to me the relation of observation to documentation as being firmly grounded in presence and mindfulness throughout the course of the documentary experience. Not necessarily that experience which is being communicated to the film maker or the audience by the interviewee, although such remains still as of utmost importance, but rather the experience of the film maker in being exposed to particular stories and environments throughout the course of constructing a piece and how such may be exploited to enhance the representation of the experiences depicted and/or the experience of an interviewee.

This idea was made evident to myself upon viewing a documentary excerpt pertaining to the immediate political climate and electoral politics in Chile at the time of its production. The camera work could easily be deemed as of observational character, as the camera operator was not the interviewer but rather accompanied the interviewer and his subjects, and was of seemingly unplanned and thus ‘unrefined’ nature (by this I mean to say that there is no evident meticulous preparation of shots, angles, transitions, but rather each shot and frame appears as though it was constructed in an instant and perhaps even impulsively). My impression of this particular example of an observational approach to documentary was that things or elements of the environment that were or perceived pertinence and interest were captured as they were noticed and realised; the moving crowds, the political signage in car windows, the crowd of people attracted as an interviewee discussed their beliefs and opinions. As the camera swung back and forth between subjects and elements of the environment, it felt as though the experience of living in and observing a moment was emulated. Furthermore, it felt as though this derived from the fact that the individual operating the camera seemed to be doing exactly that in their documentation of the event, being present and observant. What arose was an engaging and organic representation of a moment that felt closer to an experience than a representation, all for the camera operator being mindful of their own experience of the event and elements that were important to its understanding as they unfolded.