Documentary and ethnographic filmmaking have spawned a wide range of practices, but until fairly recently most of them have relied on fictional techniques, with each scene being acted out for the camera. Observational filmmaking has diverged from this in its attempts to film spontaneous human behavior. Further, it emphasizes the role of the filmmaker as an observer, sharing this perspective with the audience. This short article discusses the qualities that make observational filmmaking unique, and how these are experienced by the filmmaker, with particular reference to the author’s filmmaking at an elite boys’ boarding school in India.

中文翻译：

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观察电影制作：一种独特的实践

纪录片和民族志电影制作产生了广泛的实践，但直到最近，它们中的大多数都依赖于虚构的技术，每个场景都被镜头呈现出来。在尝试拍摄人类自发行为的过程中，观察性电影制作已经偏离了这一点。此外，它强调电影制作人作为观察者的角色，与观众分享这个观点。这篇简短的文章讨论了观察性电影制作的独特之处，以及电影制作人如何体验这些品质，特别提到了作者在印度一所精英男子寄宿学校的电影制作。