A Multi-Species Etho-Ethnographic Approach to Filmmaking

• Bibliography
• Notes
• Abstract
• Reading Notes

Bibliography

Fijn, N. (2012). A Multi-Species Etho-Ethnographic Approach to Filmmaking. Humanities Research, XVIII(1). https://doi.org/10.22459/HR.XVIII.01.2012.05

Notes

A Multi-Species Etho-Ethnograpic Approach to Filmmaking

Go to annotation“Through the filming of herders and herd animals within a multi-species hybrid community—essentially two herding encampments in Mongolia—I provide an example of an alternative methodological approach to both ethnographic filmmaking and multi-species research. This paper is a call for scholars engaging in the exciting and emerging area of multi-species ethnography to adopt a multisensory, etho-ethnographic approach to filmmaking in the field with attention to both visual and auditory communication between human and non-human agents.” (Fijn, 2012, p. 71)

• Go to annotation“Background” (Fijn, 2012, p. 72)

• Go to annotation“Multi-Species Etho-Ethnography” (Fijn, 2012, p. 74)

• Go to annotation“Observational Filmmaking” (Fijn, 2012, p. 76)

• Go to annotation“Three Etho-Ethnographic Examples” (Fijn, 2012, p. 78)

  • Go to annotation“Khangai Herds Segment 2: Saikhanaa and the Calves” (Fijn, 2012, p. 78)
  • Go to annotation“Khangai Herds Segment 5: ‘Lhagva the Herder’” (Fijn, 2012, p. 81)
  • Go to annotation“Khangai Herds Segment 9: ‘Training for Naadam’” (Fijn, 2012, p. 83)

• Go to annotation“Conclusion” (Fijn, 2012, p. 86)

Notes

• Go to annotation“‘I edit when I choose my subject (from among thousands of possible subjects), and I edit when I observe (film) my subjects (to find the best choice among a thousand possible observations).’” (Fijn, 2012, p. 74)
• Go to annotation“In my view, in a complex multi-species landscape, these embedded sounds are the ones that are important, not detailed conversation or interviews telling the audience what is unfolding.” (Fijn, 2012, p. 75)
• Go to annotation“Here was a more embodied, phenomenological approach to filmmaking, where the focus could be on details of bodily engagement, rather than verbal dialogue, without the need for an overriding didactic form of narration.” (Fijn, 2012, p. 76)
• Go to annotation“A multi-species approach to research requires an observational approach to filmmaking, much as both ethnography and ethology are based on observation. The aim is to allow the subjects (both human and non-human) to engage as they ordinarily would with one another. This does not mean that I, as the filmmaker, am an invisible presence, as I may interact with people and other animals from behind the camera in a reflexive manner. The intended result is to produce documentary that is not set up or manipulated by the researcher but is an observation of events as they unfold. This filmmaking process is not intended to be prescriptive but a compelling method for interpreting etho-ethnographicbased research.” (Fijn, 2012, p. 87)

See also