Fly On The Wall

Fly-on-the-wall is a style of documentary-making used in filmmaking and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them. In the purest form of fly-on-the-wall documentary-making, the camera crew works as unobtrusively as possible; however, it is also common for participants to be interviewed, often by an off-camera voice.

Examples Include:

  • Cops
  • Deadliest Catch
  • Survivor
  • Big Brother

Famous quotes containing the words fly and/or wall:

    “I know of the sleepy country, where swans fly round
    Coupled with golden chains, and sing as they fly.
    A king and a queen are wandering there, and the sound
    Has made them so happy and hopeless, so deaf and so blind
    With wisdom, they wander till all the years have gone by....”
    —William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)

    “Last night you wrote on the wall: Revolution is poetry.
    Today you needn’t write; the wall has tumbled down.”
    —Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)