Paper short abstract:

This presentation looks at very rapid glances from a bonobo being filmed that were not noticed in real time, but only when the video underwent editing. The glances reveal the bonobo's conscious participation in the filming session.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation will examine a few short video clips filmed at a bonobo research center. I filmed an adolescent male bonobo grooming a baby bonobo. Throughout the grooming session, the adolescent threw lightening-quick glances at me (at the camera). I didn't notice the glances while filming, only when I later uploaded and edited the clips. He also positioned himself and the baby in such a way that the grooming could be filmed at a good angle. Furthermore, at one point the adolescent picked up the baby and brought him right next to the enclosure screen and positioned himself so that I could get a good view. Again, he threw very quick glances to make sure the camera was still on him. Through his glances, his positioning, and his approaching the camera, he seemed to be letting me know that he was participating in the filming, that he was playing his role well. He was not only an actor in the sense that he was carrying out the act of grooming the baby, but he was also an actor in the Hollywood sense, a conscious collaborator in the film.