Gleb Raikov (Ethnographer/Visualista)

Natalia Ashurovskaya (Director/Editor)

Pavel Mikhailov (DoP/Scriptwriter)

Danilil Gorbylev (Gaffer)

IVSA Workshop: Stripping Down the Talking-Head (Filming a Studio Interview)

IVSA

Convey ethnographic reflexivity through meaningful cinematographic solutions when filming a studio interview.

Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud

<h3>[FULL TITLE] Stripping Down the Talking-Head: Convey Ethnographic Reflexivity via Meaningful Cinematographic Solutions When Filming a Studio Interview</h3>Organized as part of the International Visual Sociology Association's 40th anniversary activities. Aims:<ul><li>To explore how aesthetic and technical decisions express reflexivity, power, and relationality in ethnographic filmmaking.</li><li>To examine the interplay of four key creative roles—ethnographer, director, cinematographer, and gaffer—in the process of constructing meaning within a talking-head.</li><li>To link filmic form (light, framing, presence) with sociological interpretation in the making.</li><li>To foster an embodied understanding of how visual practice creates knowledge rather than merely recording it.</li><li>To contribute to developing a practical collaborative vocabulary between social researchers and film professionals.</li></ul>For visual researchers, to be reflexive is to systematically and rigorously reveal and question both their methodology and themselves as the instrument of data generation (Jay Ruby, “Exposing Yourself: Reflexivity, Anthropology, and Film” Semiotica, 1980). Building on this insight, this workshop invites participants to rethink the conventional “talking-head” interview by exploring how visual, aesthetic, conceptual, and technical choices shape ethnographic meaning, positioning filmic research as an epistemological practice in its own right (Douglas Harper, Visual Sociology, 2012). The workshop brings together four key figures—ethnographer, director, director of photography, and gaffer—to collectively interrogate how, and to what extent, the deliberate and collaboratively produced cinematographic decisions within a filmed interview can convey sociological meaning, evoke empathy, and influence viewers’ interpretation.Participants will experience a full studio setup where three interviewees are filmed under different visual configurations, each reflecting a distinct conceptual approach. Observing via playback, attendees will analyse how lighting, framing, and direction together produce affective and epistemological effects and observe how filmingbecomes a sensory and collaborative engagement with reality. In this spirit, light, framing, and movement are treated not as neutral techniques but as gestures of interpretation and positioning. The gaffer introduces lighting schemes that reflect both the subject’s profile and the filmmaker’s interpretive stance in relation to the subject as well as instrumental strategies to guide viewers’ perception. The DoP experiments with framing and camera distance to express proximity, hierarchy, or tension. The ethnographer, working in close collaboration with the director, defines the theme and crafts the questions, situating the interview within a broader social and ethical framework. Finally, the director articulates how these visual choices will integrate into the film’s conceptual and narrative structure. Funded by the IVSA.

Agenda

Welcome desk, greetings, guidance through the space, filming notice.

Participants Arrival

Team introductions, workshop goals, quick participant introductions, overview of the day.

Introduction

Interview setup principles. Two-camera interview workflow. Natural lighting schemes → studio lighting schemes. Mood variations, filters, and creative lighting options. Live monitoring on screens.

Demo: Cameras, Sound & Lighting

Brief recap + instructions for Part 2 (interactive).

Transition / Task

The studio rules do not allow food, so we will only provide drinks during the day. We will share good lunch spot recommendations with you on the spot.


Lunch

Subject introduction + why protagonists matter. Camera positions and lighting setups explained.

Live Interview

Practical Exercise Setup

Group discussion: what worked, challenges, insights.

IVSA Workshop: Stripping Down the Talking-Head (Filming a Studio Interview)

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IVSA Workshop: Stripping Down the Talking-Head (Filming a Studio Interview)

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