Click here to learn more about Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman and to view clips of the movie.
Q: Tell me about why you created the technique of “passing the camera.”
A: The film really grew out of me noticing that I was having these incredibly special conversations with my girlfriends and they seemed to be different from any other conversations I’ve had in my life. They went on for hours; they were circular in nature. We hashed and rehashed the same issues over and over again. They were not goal oriented. At the end of the conversation, or the meal, or the coffee, I always walk away feeling better.
So, as a filmmaker, my goal was always to try to figure out how to capture some part of real life on film. Often when we bring out the camera, it destroys the event—or the real kind of presence, or life, in the event, because people start to act. I’m very, very interested in capturing the real moments of intimacy. So I felt if I brought a camera person into the room, it would destroy the kind of incredibly charged intimacy between me and my girlfriends. Even if I put the camera in a third position, like on a tripod, I felt like we would begin to become very self-conscious … I thought about how the conversations are circular—maybe if we used the camera in a circular way and literally passed it between us, so that I’m not the filmmaker, they’re not the subject … so we both have an equal power in the scene, then maybe we would be able to really capture what happens between women … I began to experiment and it worked well. In fact, it heightened the conversation because people get really excited. “Give me that camera!” ... It’s like a modern-day talking stick …
Q. How did you film on the plane?
A. Sometimes one person would hold the camera. A lot of times, it looks like there’s a camera person, but I’m actually holding it at arm’s length …
I made some rules and one was that the camera must be passed. Everyone in the scene must agree to be filmed. No one could just observe the filming … I wouldn’t use a tripod; if you see a static shot, it means the camera has been placed on a table, on a chair, in the kitchen, or the bathroom. The reason for that is I wanted to speed the process up, so that one wouldn’t be too thoughtful about it, make it really light and easy. Don’t make the camera important; diminish the importance of the camera … The camera is just a part of your life …
Q. How did you stay honest with yourself?
A. It is the big challenge, not to be self-conscious. I’m very aware as a viewer you can immediately see when someone is acting or when they’re uncomfortable … my whole effort was to work with the camera in a way that it just became a part of my daily life … I didn’t make a big thing of it and also, I decided I’d shoot hundreds and hundreds of hours, knowing that most of it I’d never use. So, in that way, I made it lighter. “I can shoot hundreds of hours, it can be crap!” … again, diminishing the importance of the camera and the footage so you relax … So when we edited, we really looked for the most authentic moments.
Q. Did you ever grow weary of filming over the four years?
A. Shooting takes a lot of energy, but it makes you feel more alive … you become awake and aware when you take the camera out. That awakeness is really exciting. The littlest thing becomes a piece of art … It brings a lot to your life. Now I’ve gone back to sleep … I’ve put the camera away, but I’m sleeping again. Of course, it’s comfortable, but it’s not as fun. It was a lot of fun shooting all the time.
