Blog #4: Camerawoman

I think the point Kirsten Johnson was trying to make through her continuous movement was that in order to open yourself up to different point of views, you have to place yourself in a position to actually see those different perspectives. She moved around constantly because she wanted to be able to engage with the different people in her environment. Through doing this, she was able to have conversations with many different people. If she had stayed put in one spot, she would not have been able to do this. I think that she emulates this through her filming through the different angles she films in. At one point in the lecture, she mentioned that though she doesn’t speak Pashto or Dari, she can speak ‘little kid’. By using lower angles in her cinematography, she allows herself to see the world from the perspective of little children. 
Another interesting moment in the lecture was the analyzation in the shot of the balloons. She stated that she shot that sequence by actually moving through the balloons. I think this point relates to her past point of continuous movement allowing for different perspectives. The shot would’ve looked completely different had she stayed still and filmed the balloons from one position, but by moving through the balloons as she did, the shapes and colors of the balloons were able to consume the screen. It also served as a stark contrast to the beige scenery in the rest of her film. I believe this was her intention; to create a sharp difference in structures. 
During the lecture, KJ asked us to look into our partner’s eyes for two minutes. Though it definitely felt a lot longer, I believe she asked to do this so that we could understand the point she tries to make on perspective. Cameras are akin to a single lens, in that when using a camera to film a scene, you are seeing the scene through this frame only. By staring into our partner’s eyes for two minutes, it allowed us to focus solely on our partner and not the environment around us, which we otherwise might not do. 
My biggest takeaway from KJ’s lecture was her use of continuous movement. She used this to ensure she spoke with as many people as possible, which also helped people open up to her. She mentioned that she came into our lecture to teach us something, but she left having learned about some of us after asking the right questions. I think we often forget that though we might be students, we all have something to teach or share.

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