Ethnovideography
Encyclopedia
Ethnovideography is a methodology of using video
in the study of people
s, communities
, groups or sub-groups. It espouses the use of video to document reality instead of "creating" realities. Hence, ethnovideographic presentations are unscripted. Narrations, background music, sound effects and special effects are not employed. The use of artificial lighting, obtrusive hardware, production crews and all but the simplest camera technique are discouraged.
Although originally experimented upon by the Los Baños
science community in the Philippines
in the early 1990s as adjuncts to environmental impact assessment
s (EIAs), studies of indigenous knowledge systems and documentation of agricultural best practice
, it traces its roots in the cinéma vérité
movement of the 1950s and 1960s, the difference being its emphasis on small format or digital format video and its adoption of extra-sociological subjects. Being a methodology, ethnovideography is theory-based and adopts a set of procedures or protocols.
project document written by a team of environmental consultants headed by Sylvia Guerrero, former Dean of the University of the Philippines
College of Social Work and Community Development. Guerrero et al. (1992) defined ethnovideography as:
...a research procedure developed at the UPLB Institute of Development Communication, which makes use of small-format video-generated non-alphanumeric data for social analysis. This procedure entails video documentation of five types of subjects: people, places, processes, events and social problems...
Credited for coining the term ethnovideography as well as its development as a methodology, Alexander Flor
considers it more than a research procedure but a knowledge management
system and a form of development intervention as well. Flor was a professor of development communication
at the University of the Philippines Los Banos who underwent a Fulbright-PAEF post-doctoral tour in the US in 1989. The tour included a summer at the USC Center for Visual Anthropology
, wherein exposure to the use of video in urban anthropology contributed to his early constructs on ethnovideography. Other influences include Professor Alain Martenot who mentored Flor on Direct Cinema
technique under a French Foreign Ministry grant. His early work on ethnovideography was sponsored by the Users' Perspectives with Agricultural and Rural Development (UPWARD) facility of the Lima-based International Potato Center
. Succeeding research were conducted mostly by development communication
graduate students, e.g. Bandara, Hardono, and Maya. Recently, ethnovideographic studies have been uploaded to YouTube
.
In 2002, the book Ethnovideography: Video Based Indigenous Knowledge Systems was co-published by SEAMEO-SEARCA and CIP
-UPWARD.
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
in the study of people
People
People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:* as the plural of person or a group of people People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:*...
s, communities
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
, groups or sub-groups. It espouses the use of video to document reality instead of "creating" realities. Hence, ethnovideographic presentations are unscripted. Narrations, background music, sound effects and special effects are not employed. The use of artificial lighting, obtrusive hardware, production crews and all but the simplest camera technique are discouraged.
Although originally experimented upon by the Los Baños
Los Baños, Laguna
The Nature and Science City of Los Baños is a 1st class urban city in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 98,631 inhabitants in 17,030 households...
science community in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in the early 1990s as adjuncts to environmental impact assessment
Environmental impact assessment
An environmental impact assessment is an assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects....
s (EIAs), studies of indigenous knowledge systems and documentation of agricultural best practice
Best practice
A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark...
, it traces its roots in the cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
movement of the 1950s and 1960s, the difference being its emphasis on small format or digital format video and its adoption of extra-sociological subjects. Being a methodology, ethnovideography is theory-based and adopts a set of procedures or protocols.
History
The earliest mention of ethnovideography in current literature comes from an Asian Development BankAsian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
project document written by a team of environmental consultants headed by Sylvia Guerrero, former Dean of the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
College of Social Work and Community Development. Guerrero et al. (1992) defined ethnovideography as:
...a research procedure developed at the UPLB Institute of Development Communication, which makes use of small-format video-generated non-alphanumeric data for social analysis. This procedure entails video documentation of five types of subjects: people, places, processes, events and social problems...
Credited for coining the term ethnovideography as well as its development as a methodology, Alexander Flor
Alexander Flor
Alexander G. Flor is a Filipino academic known for his transdisciplinary approach to communication and as a pioneer of the Los Baños school of development communication, contributing to the field's understanding and application of ethnovideography, distance learning, strategic communication,...
considers it more than a research procedure but a knowledge management
Knowledge management
Knowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...
system and a form of development intervention as well. Flor was a professor of development communication
Development communication
Development Communication, has been alternatively defined as a type of marketing and public opinion research that is used specifically to develop effective communication or as the use of communication to promote social development...
at the University of the Philippines Los Banos who underwent a Fulbright-PAEF post-doctoral tour in the US in 1989. The tour included a summer at the USC Center for Visual Anthropology
USC Center for Visual Anthropology
The USC Center for Visual Anthropology is a center located at the University of Southern California. It is dedicated to the field of visual anthropology, incorporating visual modes of expression in the academic discipline of anthropology...
, wherein exposure to the use of video in urban anthropology contributed to his early constructs on ethnovideography. Other influences include Professor Alain Martenot who mentored Flor on Direct Cinema
Direct Cinema
Direct Cinema is a documentary genre that originated between 1958 and 1962 in North America, principally in the Canadian province of Quebec and the United States...
technique under a French Foreign Ministry grant. His early work on ethnovideography was sponsored by the Users' Perspectives with Agricultural and Rural Development (UPWARD) facility of the Lima-based International Potato Center
International Potato Center
The International Potato Center is a root and tuber research-for-development institution located in Lima, Peru...
. Succeeding research were conducted mostly by development communication
Development communication
Development Communication, has been alternatively defined as a type of marketing and public opinion research that is used specifically to develop effective communication or as the use of communication to promote social development...
graduate students, e.g. Bandara, Hardono, and Maya. Recently, ethnovideographic studies have been uploaded to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
In 2002, the book Ethnovideography: Video Based Indigenous Knowledge Systems was co-published by SEAMEO-SEARCA and CIP
CIP
-Business:* Carriage and Insurance Paid to, an Incoterm* Construction in Progress, in accountancy, a balance sheet assets item used for assets being constructed, e.g...
-UPWARD.