Petr Nuska: Ethnomusicological Film: Translating Research Footage into a Film [conference paper]
Channel: Petr Nuska
Date: 2019-09-10

Presented at the XXXV European Seminar in Ethnomusicology, 6th of September 2019, Durham University (Durham, UK).

PDF:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335727734_Ethnomusicological_Film_Translating_Research_Footage_into_a_Film

Abstract:

The motion-picture camera has been an important part of ethnomusicologists’ toolkit for decades; and, with the recent democratisation of the technology, it has become nearly a standard component of contemporary ethnomusicological research. Nevertheless, despite of the boom of the camera involvements, the number of produced ethnomusicological films has not increased accordingly. Majority of research footage, therefore, seems to end up on ethnomusicologists’ hard drives; never shown to any potential audience. 

This multimedia session reflects upon the involvement of film in an ethnomusicological research project, which has been carried out in 2018/2019 with Romani musicians in Slovakia. It will introduce contemporary approaches of visual ethnography and documentary filmmaking and discuss their potential application in ethnomusicology, including their limitation related to specifics of ethnomusicological research objectives and methods. It will examine new possibilities in the field of visual ethnomusicology triggered by massive democratisation of motion-picture technology and new online distribution channels, such as video-sharing services and social media videos. The presentation will showcase the audio-visual samples of the research project and will provide practical examples of converting ethnomusicological research footage into film language, which could not only help ethnomusicologists to better document music performances, but also, to represent their research participants’ music cultures to the outside world.

http://esem-music.eu/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Petr_Nuska
http://woreshack.cz/en/

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References:

Collier, J, and M Collier. 1986. Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method. University of New Mexico Press. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fDn8CrH8gRoC.
Lassiter, Luke E. 2005. The Chicago Guide to Collaborative Ethnography. University of Chicago Press.
Pink, Sarah. 2007. Doing Visual Ethnography : Images, Media, and Representation in Research. 2nd ed. London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.
Zemp, Hugo. 1989. “Filming Voice Technique: The Making of ‘The Song of Harmonics.’” The World of Music. VWB - Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung. https://doi.org/10.2307/43561229.


Pictures (Creative Commons):

https://pixabay.com/cs/v%C3%BDvoj-lidsk%C3%A9-evoluce-teorie-evoluce-2780651/

https://pixabay.com/cs/vectors/vinobran%C3%AD-film-kino-kamera-ikona-2028217/


Other media (Fair Use):

Additional pictures:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3o69_r8D9pc/TO0S62UEOtI/AAAAAAAAAh0/NxKxi7pv5UU/s1600/meadbateson_msq_rm_final_ls.jpg
https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/jean-rouch-a-film-maker-ethnologist-and-explorer
http://nightingalecinema.org/dead-birds-1964/
http://unifiedtao-en.blogspot.com/2010/11/every-schoolboy-knows-about-tao.html
Google search (Ethnomusicological film; Ethnographic film)


Video sample:

Theatre Audience Watches Blank Stage ROYALTY FREE VIDEO FOOTAGE NO FEE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSwgW9T1BM