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First Person
2000 · TV series · documentary · 2 seasons
Created by Errol Morris
First Person was an American TV series produced and directed by Errol Morris. The show engaged a varied group of individuals from civil advocates to criminals. Interviews were conducted with "The Interrotron", a device similar to a teleprompter: Errol and his subject each sit facing a camera. The image of each person's face is then projected onto a two-way mirror positioned in front of the lens of the other's camera. Instead of looking at a blank lens, then, both Morris and his subject are looking directly at a human face. Morris believes that the machine encourages monologue in the interview process, while also encouraging the interviewees to "express themselves to camera".
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5 comments on Hacker News
Seconded.
I bought the First Person DVD set many years ago just to get this episode, which I first saw on (IIRC) IFC.
I rewatch Denny's episode every year or two. Chills every time.
He used the Interrotron on his incredible First Person TV series, which essentially gave us 17 Morris-quality (ie, "as good as it gets") short documentaries.
Highly recommended - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Person_(TV_series)
Errol Morris did a fantastic job of telling this emotional story in his First Person TV series (ep: 'Leaving the Earth').
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Person_%28TV_series%29
It's a heartwrenching and inspiring tale. I tear up every time I watch it. Denny Fitch was an absolute hero. RIP.
The interview of the pilot Dennis Fitch by Erol Morris in the TV show First Person [1] is one of the most riveting interviews I've ever seen -- would highly recommend it.
[1] First Person, Season 2 "Leaving the Earth"
Quite some time ago I went through Morris' first person interview series. Very interesting stuff but also very odd characters. Especially the Murray Richman episode stuck with me as one of the very view interviews that I still can remember years after watching it.