Observation Observed: Closely Observed Infants on Film. A Tavistock Foundation film using observational material from the BBC (copyright). Written by Margaret Rustin and Beth Miller. Accompanying booklet by Lisa Miller. Copies from the Tavistock Clinic, £50 or £25 for students.

The two videos in this set, each about an hour long, were produced by the Tavistock Foundation out of film material made during the filming for the BBC series, Talking Cure, on the work of the Tavistock Clinic. The material for the video is taken from two observations undertaken by students of the Tavistock Clinic, one a baby observation and the other a young child observation which starts when the child is 2 years old. Both observations were set up specially, with the family giving permission not only for an observer but also for a BBC camera and operator. The film material and the editing of the film are, as one would expect from its professional production, of very high quality.

The first video shows something of the process of infant observation and highlights a number of issues. It is in the style of a documentary. This enables the viewer to really see something of the development of these children in the context of their families and also to get a little of the feel of the experience of doing an infant or young child observation. The cutting between different levels of situation — observations of the children, film of the observers observing, comments the observers make about their experience when outside the situation, comments of the mother about the experience, film of the seminar discussing the observations, comments by teachers at the Tavistock Clinic and commentary by the BBC commentator — is well done. Points are highlighted and things are explained and watching the video gives an integrated experience.

The first video is in four sections. The first starts with the birth of baby Damian and then shows the setting up of both the observations. The other sections ‘Identifications’, ‘Observing and being observed’ and ‘Containment and endings’ focus on a range of issues that can be broadly grouped under those themes. For example, the way in which the observer can identify with the child or with the parent is explicated and the question of feeling excluded and w