Kitten Interview

mobile

Nichols describes the participatory mode of documentary in which the filmmaker interacts with his or her social actors. The filmmaker participates in shaping what happens before the camera. I know the most common example of this is executed through interviews, but I wanted to take a little bit of a different approach and film my friends cat, Samantha, as the subject. One of the social actors is provoking the kitten with a toy to act in a certain way. Therefore, the cat is more interesting to the camera rather than the viewer just observing her. My approach reminds me of a mix between Nanook of the North and Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. Obviously, this short clip and poor recording of Samantha does not compare to these two great documentary works. I was trying to capture Samantha in a time of happiness. Like the parrots and the inuits, Samantha the cat has been through difficult times as well. The kitten was abandoned, in poor health, and had no one to care for her. When my friend found Samantha, she was starving and her tail was in poor condition. My friend took Samantha in and cared for her, getting the abandoned kitten veterinary help. The short clip goes to show how happy Samantha is now, she has a family and people who truly care for her. For participatory mode, I had my friend tease the kitten with the toy, a game she actually enjoys very much. Though the kitten was being provoked for the video, she is usually this playful and I wanted to capture her in her natural playful state. I like to call this clip “kitten interview” because Samantha shows the audience how happy she is now to have a home and a family who cares so much about her.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *