Books in French are on www.livres-cinema.info
The Art of the Observer
A Personal View of Documentary
(0 vote)Average rating:
| 0 | rating |  = We can do without |
| 0 | rating |  = Good book |
| 0 | rating |  = Excellent book |
| 0 | rating |  = Unique / a reference |
Your rating: -
Book Presentation:
The art of the observer is a personal guide to documentary filmmaking, based on the author's years of pioneering work in the fields of ethnographic and documentary cinema. It stands in sharp contrast to books of academic film criticism and handbooks on visual research methods, being based extensively on concrete examples from the author's own filmmaking experience. The book places particular emphasis on observational filmmaking and the ways in which this approach is distinct from other forms of documentary. It offers both practical insights and reflections on what it means, in both emotional and intellectual terms, to attempt to represent the lives of others. The book makes clear that documentary cinema is not simply a matter of recording reality, but of artfully organising the filmmaker's observations in ways that reveal the complex patterns of social life.
About the Author:
David MacDougall is Honorary Professor in the Research School of Humanities and the Arts at the Australian National University, Canberra
Press Reviews:
'Particularly gratifying are the author's explorations of the work of his amateur collaborators, as in the chapter on films children in his video workshops made between 2011 and 2016. He respects their work and points of view and seems to have genuinely meditated on their insights without being patronizing. Mixing memory and analysis, this engaging book helps readers see the filmmaker and his craft anew.'
Choice
Reprinted with permission from Choice Reviews. All rights reserved. Copyright by the American Library Association.
See the publisher website: Manchester University Press
> From the same author:
> On a related topic:
The Documentary Audit (2025)
Listening and the Limits of Accountability
by Pooja Rangan
Subject: Genre > Documentary
Three Documentary Filmmakers (2009)
Errol Morris, Ross McElwee, Jean Rouch
Dir. William Rothman
Subject: Genre > Documentary
Faking It (2001)
Mock-Documentary and the Subversion of Factuality
by Craig Hight and Jane Roscoe
Subject: Genre > Documentary
Representing Reality (1992)
Issues and Concepts in Documentary
by Bill Nichols
Subject: Genre > Documentary
Between Reality and Documentary (2025)
A Historical Representation of Gaza Refugees in Colonial, Humanitarian and Palestinian Documentary Film
Subject: Genre > Documentary
The Oxford Handbook of American Documentary (2025)
Dir. Joshua Glick and Patricia Aufderheide
Subject: Genre > Documentary
Stories Make the World (2025)
Reflections on Storytelling and the Art of the Documentary
by Stephen Most
Subject: Genre > Documentary
Back
