Ethnographic Film Cinematography: Capturing Culture and Human Experience Through the Lens

Dear Colleagues,

Ethnographic cinematography has advanced rapidly in the last few years as the cinematography tools available to ethnographic film makers have expanded beyond the bounds of traditional cameras. The seminal debate between Margret Mead and Gregory Bateson on where and how to place the camera in relationship to the subject now seem to reflect the concerns of another area. The tools available to ethnographic filmmakers today include 360° video, drones, action cameras, cinematic cameras, DSLRs, and even AI image generation. However, the questions at the heart of Mead and Bateson’s debate remain—what constitutes “evidence” in ethnographic film? How does the cinematographer’s presence and interactions affect the material produced, and what is the balance between objective documentation and subjective artistry? These are questions that every ethnographic filmmaker and ethnographic cinematographer must consider in the process of their own work. The interests and concerns of ethnographers engaged with cinematography have also broadened as our wider discipline and field has expanded to include issues of representation, indigenous media production, and decolonizing methodologies.  As ethnographers engaged with the craft and artistic practice of cinematography, we share a common goal of understanding the life worlds of those with whom we collaborate and seek to portray. What potentials do these new technologies open for the advancement of this goal and what remains immutable and unchanging? This Special Issue on ethnographic cinematography invites scholars to draw on their field research experiences and academic practice and to reflect on the rapidly changing technological landscape within which we work as ethnographers engaged with cinematography practices.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send this to the Guest Editor (paul.wolffram@vuw.ac.nz) or to the Arts editorial office (arts@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purpose of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Dr. Paul Wolffram
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Arts is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• ethnography
• ethnographic film
• anthropology
• visual anthropology
• ethnographic video
• cinematography