Art and Life
Vertov shows the combination of art and life in the imagery in this film. We see posters and a drawing of an old man peering into the bedroom of a sleeping woman. These images show us that art gets its form from the truth of life. That art is always paying attention to life in order to draw its inspiration.
Mannequins
We see several shots of mannequins in the film. This imagery shows us the separation between reality and what is fake in the beginning of the film. That there is a difference between what appears human to what actually is.
Camera Work
We are shown the camera and then the image cuts to shots of what the camera is doing, how it is functioning. We first see this with the focus and the flowers coming into focus. Then we watch as the imagery shows us how the aperture on the camera works by relating it to the shutters on a window opening and closing.
High Wire Act
We see the camera man walking on a high catwalk above a bridge with his camera in tow. This imagery shows us that filmmaking is far more than turning a camera on. It's a high-wire act with a great deal more action and risk that one may expect.
