Paper short abstract:

The paper will elaborate the question of the role of visual ethnography in post socialistic era in Eastern Europe. The hypothesis is that the development of (digital) visual technology helped to resist and prevail in many fields of human activities. The challenge is to reconsider the methodology and field-work methods in visual ethnography.

Paper long abstract:

The visual record is an important act of identification of the person and of the cultural situation, which reveals a sensual experience of reality. In anthropology the senses were not regarded as a scientific facts for a long time. This is perhaps a reason that academy was often neglecting endavours in the field of visual anthropology.

The paper will ask the question of the role of visual ethnography in post socialistic era in Eastern Europe. The hypothesis is that the development of (digital) visual technology helped to resist and prevail. There is a vaste field of using visual technology in family production, in the public broadcating, in the sophisticated use in scientific research and in the video art movement. All these fields of intensive use of visual technology enhanced creativity of individuals and of the groups, especially of young people. Democracy of visual production is expanding the sphere of so called open society and enabled many marginal groups to express themselves.

The challenge is in a further inquiry of the hypothesis: did (digital) visual technology help to win the war for democracy? However there are collateral effects in the whole issue like the radical change of esthetic in visual media and the erosion of ethic principals. What are we witnessing today is a chaotic and perhaps epoch-making transformation in the field of the visual, which we have to reconsider.

Paper short abstract:

The paper addresses issues that have been opened by a long term project of visual ethnography, and places them in the context of contemporary debates in visual anthropology.

Paper long abstract:

What can be gained by twenty years of continuous filming, apart from a heap of videocassettes? This paper discusses different forms of knowledge and experience gained by applying a specific, regionally characteristic type of fieldwork practice - the short-term, event-focused approach - in a multi-cultural rural region of Vojvodina during an extended time frame of twenty years. Can the length of contact with the local communities compensate the shortcomings of not being a "true" participant observer? Which cultural and mediatic expectations of the local communities should be satisfied, and what are the research related "costs" of such exchanges? What are the consequences of introducing TV crews and local public screenings? Does a community change if it can continually observe its behaviour, and can feedback from the community mold the "lonely videographer" in any research-significant way? What are the visual expressions of attitudinal changes in the communities concerning global, regional and local political transformations? What happens if students are introduced, and become "initiated" by local actors into the filmed events and practices? Can what has been filmed contain all the necessary information in order to be intelligible to an "innocent spectator"? Can new technologies bridge the informational gap between the visual and the theoretical? By opening such questions, I will try to juxtapose one rather particular experience with some of the central dilemmas that have been fuelling debates in visual anthropology in the last two decades.

Paper short abstract:

Experiences of ethnographers engaged in shooting low-budget(no-budget!)film project among the multiethnic local community of the city of Skopje.researchers not only record reality but intervene and facilitate with various social and ethnic relationships.

Paper long abstract:

Sharing experience where visual recording and anthropological/social engineering are being done simultaneously. The film `Skopje, and everything is possible` is edited on the base of the footage made within diverse multiethnic environment in the city of Skopje, capital of Macedonia. Since interethnic relationships have been quite delicate issue for years now in the Balkans, two ethnographers, from Macedonia and Serbia, wish to challenge the widely accepted massmedia and public perception of problem, as well as assumptions rendering that problem rather unsolvable. Researchers deliberately do not avoid the approach possibly leading to consequent lack of objectivity. For one, through various interventions the obtained data are victimized as far as objectivity of results is considered. On the other hand, this approach enabled relatively fast gaining of mutual trust between researchers and their informers on the field.

The issue of spontaneity became also the important part of visual strategy of ethnographers in this endeavour.

Paper short abstract:

The paper discusses possibilities for visual ethnography of intimate spaces. It examines specific circumstances that demand adaptation and creative use of visual technology and research methods. In addition, it addresses the possibilities of visual penetration into intimate spaces and more specifically the problem of analysis of thus gained visual information.

Paper long abstract:

The paper discusses video ethnography techniques used in research of intimate spaces of early childhood. The subject of the study are routines parents create for their children and lullabies they sing during bedtime, and the role of such rituals in human interaction, communication and socialization were the subject of the study.

Various techniques and approaches were developed and used to collect visual data and special text, context and textuality based form to enable analysis and comparison of thus gained visually recorded data. Video ethnography included video recordings made by researcher during participant observation, visual recording made by parents and video-elicitation interviews.

The paper discusses possibilities for visual ethnography of intimate spaces. It examines specific circumstances that demand adaptation and creative use of visual technology and and development of specific-field accommodated visual research methods. In addition, it addresses the possibilities of visual penetration into intimate spaces, the role of informants and more specifically the problem of analysis of thus gained visual information.

Paper short abstract:

Three essential specifics of ethnographic film in the Slovene Ethnographic Museum are: it is integrated into exhibitions; ethnographic films and audiovisuals, data and reflections on them are accessible to visitors in various manners; audiovisuals serve as a medium for communication with museum visitors, inviting them to take an active part.

Paper long abstract:

Professional activities of the Department of Ethnographic Film (established in 2000) in The Slovene Ethnographic Museum in Ljubljana, Slovenia, has three essential specifics. Recently it has been orientated into production of visual ethnographic contents for the permanent exhibition of SEM, where several parameters are considered: the concept of the exhibition, the exhibition's author' guidance, references of ethnographic film and the medium itself, audience, and user friendly integration of the media in the exhibition. The second characteristic of the ethnographic film and audiovisual media in SEM is accessibility to the visitors at the exhibitions, at film presentations, as a part of workshops, and through a review of Slovene ethnographic films Ethnovideo Marathon, which transformed into an international festival Days of Ethnographic Film in 2007. The Department supports the accessibility of the audiovisuals, as well as of data and reflections on them with DVD publications, on the web page of the Museum, with lectures in the museum and outside it, and with participation at the conferences and festivals. The third challenge is to establish the two way communication with the visitors at the exhibition. This can be achieved at several levels: at the level of the contents of audiovisuals, with the mode of screening and accessing them, at the level of encouraging (self)reflection of the visitors, and finally, by inviting the visitors to active participation.

Paper short abstract:

The first organized filming of ethnological documentaries in Macedonia began in 1952. Those films were filmed according to strictly elaborate book of shooting. The actual Macedonian ethnological film is distinguished by different approaches defined by the personal standpoints.

Paper long abstract:

The first organized filming of ethnological documentaries in Macedonia with active participation of ethnologists, above all, from the Museum of Macedonia, began in 1952. Major role among the first ethnology film-makers was played by Vera Kli~kova, the doyen of Macedonian ethnography. She used tо choose the themes, localities for filming, wrote the screenplay and book of shooting, organized the filming, made reconstructions, directed, etc. The films based on her scenarios and directed by her were filmed according to strictly elaborate book of shooting. There were none, or, in utmost cases, very slight changes in the scenario.

Their main characteristics were clear and complete information contained in the picture, narration explaining specific points in the film and traditional music performed by a symphonic orchestra.

Nowadays the actual Macedonian ethnological film is distinguished by different approaches defined by the personal standpoints, the approach to certain themes and the temper of the ethnologist. They carry out their researches with the camera, do the shooting themselves or hire professional cameramen. In preparing the film they never use formerly written scenarios, but merely set a general framework to run the shooting, whereas the scenario is most frequently being shaped up during the editing.

Macedonian ethnologists follow up continually the world trends in producing ethnological documentary films always managing to preserve and point out the specific points and emphasize their viewpoints. All these features allow them to be original and recognizable filmmakers.

Paper short abstract:

The paper is based on a research at the Bulgarian National Film Archive, and presents a survey of Bulgarian ethnographic filmmaking development.

Paper long abstract:

Due to the noticeable absence of interest in Bulgaria for many years, the canon of official ideology, and the lack of possibilities, the topic was neglected by the scholars. As we entered a new age in early 90s, it became more important to recognize the means by which socialism manifested itself visually in particular cultural forms. It helps to better understand the contemporary attempts to strengthen the ethnographic filmmaking in Bulgaria, free of censorship and/or directed folkloristic demonstrations.

Currently a few types of ethnographic filmmaking are observed: the filmmaking as a research tool, a part of the students education in observation and documenting of events, as interviews, and videos; next, are the works of a famous visual anthropologist from Bulgarian origin, who has made several films in the country, introducing anthropological methods of ethnographic filmmaking. Another shared stylistic dimension of Bulgarian ethnographic cinema is in the respect to films made by journalists for TV with strong ethnographic influences.

Thanks to the new forms of audio-visual expression, people manage to maintain freedom by avoiding the demands of feature financing. As a result, documentary/ethnographic filmmaking is burgeoning popular, particularly among the younger generation who make use of digital video. The ethnographic output of Bulgaria, however, is seen considerably less internationally. Occasional glimpses of remarkable films can be caught at specialized documentary and visual anthropology festivals.

Paper short abstract:

There are several issues and problems the authors making ethnological films are facing. Most of the authors-ethnologists work at institutions such as museums, faculties, and companies that do not possess production and post-production resources. The largest number of the films make the authors with their team, or at least with a cameraman.

Paper long abstract:

The contemporary output of the authors of ethnological films in Macedonia started in the first half of the 90's of the 20th century; again, it is more widely practiced at the beginning of the new millennium. The emergence of such trends is not random, and there are several reasons thereof.

Despite such successful development of the ethnographic film in the country, an organized professional treatment of this field, such as education, production, and presentation, has been missing, as well as information and popularization of the created works of art.

With the exception of the film as the final product, treated as an ethnological exhibit, the entire footage has no special treatment as something that should be preserved and stored safely. The funding, that usually plays an important part in the entire endeavor, that is, the realization and the final product, varies from movie to movie and can come from very the institution the authors works at, the Ministry of Culture, the radio and TV license, or foreign and domestic foundations and donations. The education the authors gain for making this kind of film is entirely individual, by way of personal experience or through following festivals and other places where ethnological films are projected.

Paper short abstract:

Local photographic studio (Moravia) produced number of photographs in 1920-1956. Production and biography of photographer reflect common regularities in interregional comparison. Paper follows role of studio in creating of local historical consciousness.

Paper long abstract:

Antonin Koukal led his studio in a small Eastern Moravia´ locality (CZ) in the period of 1920 - 1956. His biography and also his work, as well, reflect some common regularities in interregional and even in international comparison: disabled ex-serviceman and originally not educated in photography; his work was more good handicraft then art. He focused on turning points of human life, as other dozens og local studio´s photographers did: confirmation, recruitment, wedding, funeral, and besides it, portraits of family generations. But he paid special attention to an individual portrait, partly in civil dress, partly in national costume, that is considered to be one of the basic sign of local specificity.

Using old research methods like field research and interview, and combining the ethnological and folkloristical point of view, I followed how the local community likes its own portrait built by the photographer´s production, what are opinions concerning the past life and life cycle, how strong still are vertical and horizontal nets connecting local inhabitants and what are inside and outside effects of photographs in the local community life.