An Introduction to Visual Ethnography: To See and Be Seen, Enough.

Workshop on visual ethnography where students learn phone-based observation, filming, sound and editing and produce an ethnographic short film within a group.

Visual ethnography is the detailed representation of people, objects, and places in relation through audiovisual means. Such representation is always itself relational and ethically charged, asking who represents and why; who wishes to be represented and how; and what is sufficient for audiences to grasp situated claims and stories?

This workshop operationalises Enough as an ethic-aesthetic calibration across three constituencies: participants, ethnographers, and audiences. Participants learn core methods of visual ethnography (observation, filming, sound, editing) while developing procedures for consent, proportionate visibility, and narrative sufficiency. The emphasis is on attuned representation: images negotiated at the nexus of what ethnographers aim to show, what participants endorse, and what audiences require to follow – no more, no less.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Plan and carry out small-footprint visual ethnographic fieldwork with camera phones that articulates co-authored boundaries and purposes.
• Translate ethical commitments (consent, opacity, anonymity) into concrete cinematic choices (framing, duration, voice, caption) without defaulting to absence.
• Produce a concise visual ethnographic film as part of a group that is analytically clear and proportionate to participant desires and audience needs.
   

Schedule

Theoretical and Practical Training (Day 1–2)
Fieldwork and Filming (Day 3–6)
Final Presentation and Reflection (Day 7)
 

Equipment requirements

Smartphone with a camera; laptop with minimum 8gb RAM

David Lowis, Junior Professor of Digital Intercultural Communication at SDI Munich International University, Desk Officer at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany

https://www.sdi-muenchen.de/en/team/david-lowis

Owain Astles, Participatory Filmmaker, NYU Tisch Affiliate and BAFTA Scholar

www.owainastles.com/about

Deborah Sie, Trainer for critical anti-racism and empowerment with a background in anthropology and communication science, focusing on audiovisual media.

Gökcen Kavuk is a visual anthropologist, photographer, and educator working at the intersection of cultural heritage, disasters, and emerging 3D/AI technologies.