"An ethnographic film is a non-fiction film, often similar to a documentary film, historically shot by Western filmmakers and dealing with non-Western people, and sometimes associated with anthropology."
How video can be used to document and represent culture.
Video Production Techniques: Understanding various video production techniques such as shot composition, editing, and audio recording can help in producing high-quality and effective video ethnography.
Ethnographic Research Methods: Familiarizing oneself with ethnographic research methods can help in conducting effective video ethnography research, such as participant observation, interviews, and focus groups.
Cultural Anthropology: Understanding the field of anthropology, particularly cultural anthropology, can provide a theoretical framework for video ethnography research and analysis.
Visual Literacy: Developing visual literacy skills such as the ability to read and interpret visual media can help in analyzing and interpreting video data.
Narrative Theory: Understanding the principles of narrative theory can help in structuring and presenting compelling video ethnography data.
Digital Media Production: Familiarity with digital media production tools such as video editing software, audio recording equipment, and cameras is crucial for producing high-quality video ethnography.
Ethics in Visual Anthropology: Understanding the ethical considerations involved in conducting visual anthropology research, particularly in terms of informed consent, can help in designing and conducting a responsible and ethically sound video ethnography project.
Reflexivity and Self-Reflection: Practicing reflexivity and self-reflection can help in acknowledging the researcher's positionality and biases, which can help in producing more nuanced and informed video ethnography data.
Multimodal Analysis: Understanding the principles of multimodal analysis can help in analyzing video data in relation to other modes of communication, such as language and gesture.
Storytelling: Developing effective storytelling skills can help in presenting the video ethnography data in a compelling and engaging way.
Participant-Observation: This type of video ethnography involves the anthropologist immersing themselves in the community or culture they are studying to understand their customs, behaviors and beliefs.
Life History: Capturing the life history of an individual or community through recorded interviews and personal stories.
Kinship and Family: Exploring the social structures and relationships within a family or kin group.
Ritual and Symbol: Documenting the practices and symbols used in various cultural and religious ceremonies.
Material Culture: Examining the material objects of a community or culture and exploring their significance and meaning within that context.
Performance: Focusing on the various forms of performance within a culture, such as dance, music, and theater.
Urban Ethnography: Studying the culture and communities of urban areas and how they differ from rural communities.
Environmental Anthropology: Examining the relationship between humans and their environment and how it shapes identity, belief systems, and practices.
Ethnomusicology: Documenting and analyzing the music and its cultural significance within a specific community or culture.
Medical Anthropology: Exploring the anthropology of health, illness, and healing within cultural frameworks.
Digital Ethnography: Documenting online communities and cultures and how they differ from offline communities.
Ethno-aesthetics: Examining the aesthetics of a culture and how they contribute to cultural identity.
Critical Ethnography: Exploring the power dynamics and systemic inequalities present in a culture or community.
Applied Ethnography: Using ethnographic research to address real-world problems and inform policy and decision-making.
Visual Anthropology: Using film or other visual media to document and analyze cultural practices, beliefs, and behaviors.
"Some academics claim it is more documentary, less anthropology, while others think it rests somewhere between the fields of anthropology and documentary films."
"Definitions of the term are not definitive."
"Anthropologist and ethnographic filmmaker David MacDougall."
"Ethnographic films cannot be said to constitute a genre."
"Ethnographic film-making is not a discipline with unified origins and an established methodology."
"Since the first conference on ethnographic film was held at the Musée de l'Homme 30 years ago."
"The term has served a largely emblematic function, giving a semblance of unity to extremely diverse efforts in the cinema and social sciences."
"Ethnographic films are often shot by Western filmmakers."
"Ethnographic films deal with non-Western people."
"Ethnographic films are sometimes associated with anthropology."
"Some academics claim it is more documentary, less anthropology."
"Others think it rests somewhere between the fields of anthropology and documentary films."
"The genre has its origins in the colonial context."
"Anthropologist and ethnographic filmmaker David MacDougall wrote in a 1978 paper."
"Ethnographic film-making is not a discipline with unified origins and an established methodology."
"The term has served a largely emblematic function, giving a semblance of unity to extremely diverse efforts in cinema and social sciences."
"The term 'ethnographic film'."
"Ethnographic film-making is not a discipline with unified origins and an established methodology."
"Since the first conference on ethnographic film was held at the Musée de l'Homme 30 years ago."