I Am a Camera (4 min. 2016) Story and Photographs by Rose Anne Sheehan. Produced and edited by Lester Alfonso. Developed through CNFW.
Day 29 of 360 videos from my archive. This video is from 70-year-old amateur photographer Rose Anne Sheehan who joined our Creative Nonfiction Filmmaking Workshop in 2016.
Coming from a writing prompt that I suggested in the workshop, Rose Anne’s interpretation was a complete surprise. I offered the class an exercise inspired by Christopher Isherwood’s famous passage from Goodbye to Berlin.
“I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking. Recording the man shaving at the window opposite and the woman in the kimono washing her hair. Some day, all this will have to be developed, carefully printed, fixed.”
Christopher Isherwood, Goodbye to Berlin
I suggested that they go for a walk someplace rich with detail and turn on their “camera” (the part of the brain that notices things) and just record. Instead of doing that, Rose Anne literally wrote from her Nikon camera’s perspective. In doing so, she was able to talk about herself and show her work. The result is a brilliantly hilarious small masterpiece.
Thank you, Lester. For all your work, for all your encouragement. It is almost unbelievable that someone is excited about what I’m doing, but your reaction is so honest — it is so encouraging! Thank you!
— Rose Anne Sheehan, Email Nov. 2016
The process always starts with writing. I help discover the story from their lives that they need to tell. Letting the automated computer voice read Rose Anne’s words was the idea that pulled it all together for this one.
Enjoy! — LA
P.S. If you’re liking these daily posts, perhaps you can consider becoming a monthly donor for a year or making a one-time contribution. It would seriously help a lot. Your money goes directly into supporting an artist committed to continually become the best version of himself. Thank you so much! Much love, LA