Techniques of Ethnographic Filmmaking

By Dr, Ipsita Barat | St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata

Learners enrolled: 619

Welcome to the massive open online course on Techniques of Ethnographic Film Making. It is for B.A. Sociology Hons under Under Choice Based Credit System.

Course Objectives:

This course focuses on doing sociology and social anthropology through forms other than the written, in particular, the oral, aural, and the visual. It introduces students to film techniques as a form and method of description and argument and enables a comparison between film and the written mode as ethnography.

Taking up this course, students will acquire the following skills -

• Draw on anthropological and social science approaches to ethnographic filmmaking

• Think critically about the relationship between form and content in ethnographic and documentary practice

• Master the technical skills needed to produce ethnographic accounts used in research

• Critically view and review film material.

Summary

Course Status :	Completed
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	8 weeks
Category :	Multidisciplinary
Credit Points :	2
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	07 Feb 2022
End Date :	03 Apr 2022
Enrollment Ends :	03 Apr 2022
Exam Date :

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1

1. Ethnography Research and Documentary film

2. Introduction to Film as an Ethnography and Ethnographic research

Week 2

3. Semiotics: Index, Icon, Symbol, Codes of Visual Representation

4. The question of Ethics in Anthropological Filmmaking

Week 3

5. Filmmaker and the filmed ‐ Gender, Class, Ethnicity

6. Storytelling in a Documentary

Week 4

7. Writing Narration

8. Production process - Requirements & Stages

9. Crew Designations, Responsibilities

Week 5

10. Videography 1

11. Videography 2

12. Properties of Light and the Study of Lighting Situations Ready

Week 6

13. Lighting Techniques Ready

14. Speak Into Me

15. Practical on Sync Sound: Recording of Vocals & Music

Week 7

16. Digital Editing: Software & Equipment

17. Video Editing on Open Shot

18. Shooting with new media device

Week 8

19. Media Research: Qualitative Methods - In-Depth Interview

20. Video Ethnography

21. Video Ethnography: A Practice

Books and references

1. Heider, Karl G. Ethnographic Film, Austin: University of Texas Press,

2006

2. MacDougall, David. ‘Ethnographic Film: Failure and Promise’, Annual

Review of Anthropology Vol. 7, pp. 405‐425

Instructor bio

Dr, Ipsita Barat

St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata

Dr Ipsita Barat has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mass Communication & Videography at St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, for more than ten years. She is presently the Head of the Mass Communication & Videography Department and in the past has been acting as the head of the Film Studies Department at St. Xavier's College. She has completed her PhD. from Film Studies Department of Jadavpur University, Kolkata and holds a master's degree from AJK Mass Communication and Research Centre (MCRC), Jamia Millia Islamia. Her academic research remains focused on industrial networks, and investments in the post-millennium Hindi film industry. Prior to her academic career, she has also worked extensively as a media professional in the Kolkata television industry. Dr Barat was also appointed Principal Instructor (PI) for the MOOC course Documentary Production in 2018

and additionally, has been appointed as a resource person for several educational films produced by EMMRC Kolkata for nation-wide telecast.