French for "truthful cinema", this is a method of filming a movie that attempts to not interfere with the way events take place in reality. The concept was developed by filmmakers Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch. Movies made in a verite style often utilize a minimum of equipment, usually a hand-held camera, portable sound equipment, and maybe a little lighting equipment. The camera is rarely hidden or unacknowledged -- it is as much a character as any of the subjects on the screen. Both the subjects and the audience are aware the camera is there filming what we see -- much like an interview on a TV news program, the subjects know the camera is there; they may play to the camera, but it's not uncommon for them to actually forget the camera and the film crew are there, sometimes allowing moments of surprising honesty to be captured on film.
Most verite films are documentaries, and almost every concert movie is filmed in cinema verite style as well. Some of the best-known cinema verite documentaries include films like "Daybreak Express," "A Time For Burning," "Titicut Follies," "Monterey Pop," "Gimme Shelter," "Woodstock," "Harlan County U.S.A.," "The Decline of Western Civilization," "Paris Is Burning," "Hoop Dreams," and many, many others. , but some filmmakers use some of the methods of cinema verite for fiction films -- notably "Medium Cool," "The Blair Witch Project," "Saving Private Ryan," and "The Florida Project." The techniques of cinema verite have also been used in fiction TV shows, including dramas like "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "NYPD Blue" and even comedies like "The Office," "Parks and Recreation," and "Modern Family."