The Camera I: Autobiographical Documentary

Abstract

‘I thought it was real’; ‘I try to keep track of the days’; ‘dear diary’. The styles and language of written autobiography are familiar to us. The expression of the self — through use of the first person ‘I’ — characterizes a written form which reflects and focuses various ‘personal’ or subjective issues and agendas. A move from written autobiography to filmed self-representation has extended the possibilities for the depiction of ‘first person’ topics and created new styles and forms available for such representation. In turn, new camera and sound technology has further contributed to the growth of the autobiographical mode. The camcorder diary, for example, is now a popular and expanding form of self-authored work which has impacted on the visual language of the autobiography, creating new visual styles that situate the viewer in an intimate relationship with the subject of the autobiography. Other issues beyond new camera technologies have impacted on the development of autobiographical film and video.