The vibrant act of looking

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this paper, I dissect how the filmmaker looks at the world around them, and the recorded images of that world, when they are filming and editing. I suggest that this is a different act of looking than how a non-filmmaker looks at their surroundings, primarily because the act of looking is a conduit intended for an audience, rather than an act merely for the self. I analyse this act of looking as a new materialist one in which the camera equipment and images have vibrancy. When filming, the cameraperson works with the camera to carve the world into frames. When editing, the editor falls into sync with the images, creating a dialogue with them where the images suggest edits via what they depict, but also via the materiality of the image itself.