The new esea ch echniques in isual
communica ion: a me hodological
p oposal o ideog aphy
Alba Ma in
Hype media Communica ion Depa men , Uni e si y Sa oie Mon Blanc, F ance
Fe nando Con e as
Depa men o Jou nalism I, Uni e si y o Se ille,Spain
Abs ac
The aim o his pape is o show he applica ion o ideog aphy in communica ion e-
sea ch. Ha ing o e comed he deba es on he epis emic weakness o audio isual an h opol-
ogy, we can adop hese ools cha ac e ized by he di e si y o o ma s and suppo s o social
esea ch. Fo he s udy o non- ic ion audio isual p oduc ion, in e disciplina i y allows lexible
wo k based on he in e ela ion o elemen s o he a ious disciplines in ol ed. We p opose a
me hodological model composed o isual analysis, in e iew and ideog aphy o he s udy o
audio isual documen a y. We ha e applied he me hod o a sample o documen a ies and o
h ee case s udies o documen a y p oduc ions in di e en o ma s. The expanded o imme si e
na u e o he documen a ies we analyse ha e led us o c ea e speci ic ca ego ies o analysis o
hese new o ma s. Complemen a y we ha e in oduced he 360º ideo in one o ou case s udies
o know i s possibili ies. Among he esul s ob ained we highligh he c ea ion o a isual, ex ual
and audio isual ma e ial ha p o ides us wi h in o ma ion o he s udy o he documen a y. The
a icle ou nishes a compa ison be ween ideo o ma s and a heo e ical e lec ion a ound he
esea che ’s gaze and he sel - e e en ial na u e o esea ch ha sha es he audio isual simul a-
neously as an objec and me hod.
Keywo ds
communica ion; ideog aphy; documen a y ilm; isual me hods; me hodology
As no as écnicas de pesquisa em comunicação
isual: uma p opos a me odológica da ideog a ia
Resumo
O obje i o des e abalho é mos a a aplicação da ideog a ia na pesquisa em comunica-
ção e especi icamen e a p opos a de um modelo me odológico pa a p oduções audio isuais de
não- icção. Supe ados os deba es sob e a agilidade epis émica da an opologia audio isual, po-
demos ado a essas e amen as isuais ca ac e izadas pela di e sidade de o ma os e supo es
à pesquisa social. Pa a o es udo do documen á io, a in e disciplina idade pe mi e um abalho
lexí el baseado na in e - elação de elemen os das di e sas disciplinas en ol idas. P opomos um
modelo me odológico compos o pela aplicação de análise isual, en e is a em p o undidade
e ideog a ia pa a o es udo do documen á io audio isual. Aplicamos o plano me odológico a
uma amos a de documen á ios em di e en es o ma os. A na u eza expandida ou ime si a dos
documen á ios que analisamos le ou-nos à c iação de ca ego ias de análise especí icas pa a
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h ps://doi.o g/10.21814/ lec.2120
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The new esea ch echniques in isual communica ion: a me hodological p oposal o ideog aphy . Alba Ma ín & Fe nando Con e as
esses no os o ma os como o in e a i o, o ansmedia ou o ime si o. Além disso, in oduzimos
o ídeo em 360º num de nossos es udos de caso pa a conhece as suas possibilidades. O a igo
o nece uma compa ação en e os o ma os de ídeo e uma e lexão eó ica em o no do olha
do pesquisado e da na u eza au o e e encial da pesquisa que compa ilha o audio isual simul-
aneamen e como obje o e mé odo.
Pala as-cha e
comunicação; ideog a ia; documen á io; mé odos isuais; me odologia
In oduc ion: an audio isual p ospec i e o he s udy o communica ion
The communica ion esea ch is a ield o s udy in which we mus con inuously
adap he me hods o he eme ging o ms o new media. In a con ex whe e human ac-
ions and socio-cul u al en i onmen mix wi h he echnology, we should conside he
use o isual echniques and digi al media ha can complemen o he adi ional So-
cial Science esea ch echniques (such as con en analyses o in e iews).This wo k
shows he eco ding o eali y wi h audio isual echnology as a use ul ool o scien i ic
esea ch.Fo his pu pose, we ha e s udied non ic ion p oduc ions linked o al e na i e
eali ies, expanded, pa icipa o y and mobile na a i es.
We unde s and documen a y as a con empo a y audio isual exp ession se hal way
be ween a is ic c ea ion and media p oduc ions so ha i can be amed in he con ex o i-
sual s udies (Bal, 2016; B ea, 2005;Canclini, 2010;Con e as, 2017). Visual s udies o e s an
in e disciplina y s uc u e ha allows us o in e ela e elemen s o he disciplines in ol ed
in audio isual c ea ion. Al hough hese disciplines do no sha e he same me hodologies,
hey ha e he same objec in common. Communica ion heo y is conside ed a “c oss oads
science” in which se e al sciences con e ge(Rod igo-Alsina, 1989, p. 113). Documen a y
is a his in e sec ion on se e al le els. We use he e min e disciplina y because di e en
disciplines sha e he objec o s udy. As Ma ela and Ma ela (1997)has unde lined, “ he
objec s o s udy a e o en imposed on esea ch, due o he a ailable me hods, when wha
would ha e o be done is o adap he me hods o he objec ” (Ma ela & Ma ela ,1997,
p. 57).Thei pe spec i eis simila o he one p oposed by B eawhen he s a ed he need
o a “polyhed al” app oach o he s udy o communica ion (B ea, 2005, p. 13).Bo h au-
ho s ag eeon hei a gumen s abou he choiceo a me hodology ha combines se e -
al disciplines, e e ingspeci ically o he ounda ion o an epis emology o he isual in
communica ion.
Rega ding he esea ch objec , echnological inno a ion has inc easingly mo i a ed
documen a y make s o de elop expe imen al na a i es in sha ed spaces o he inclu-
sion o use s: Nonny de la Peña, B ad Lich esns ein and Je Fi zsimmons(Ac oss he Line,
2015);Gabo A o a and Ch is Mikl (Clouds o e Sid a,2015);Ka imBem-Kheli a (The En-
emy,2017);Ma cello Hopkins (On he b ink o amine.U gence au SudSoudan,2017);Ma ia
Cou andRosema ie Le ne (P oyec o Quipu,2013-2019).The cu en hinking abou he
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The new esea ch echniques in isual communica ion: a me hodological p oposal o ideog aphy . Alba Ma ín & Fe nando Con e as
c ea i e p ocess o a pos -documen a y di e s om he adi ional concep ion o he linea
cinema og aphic documen a y, since he inclusion o o he echniques, such as i ual eal-
i y, makes he dynamics o p oduc ion necessa ily change. The no ion o he documen a y
u ned o he image o pa hos(Bal, 2016), conce ning i s ole in he human expe ience, as
well as he possibili ies associa ed wi h he na a i e unc ion o he image h ough echno-
logical inno a ion.
In his con ex , he explo a ion o documen a y p ac ices o unde s and he con empo-
a y isuali y and oi s ins umen aliza ionadap ed o he demands o a di e en spec a o ,
a e he pa hs ha lead o new phenomena o communica ion media ed by echnology.
The communica ion esea ch using isual me hods
As Pauwels (2000) explains, isual me hodss udy wha we see and how we
gi emeaning o he isual, he expe ience o obse ing isual objec s and he a ibu ion
o meaning o isual ep esen a ions.This au ho adds ano he c i ical conside a ion in
he use o he isual me hods: “We should also y o ake i one s ep u he and acqui e
he necessa y skills and syn he ical insigh s o p oducing isual ma e ial as a c ucial pa
o he scien i ic discou se” (Pauwels, 2000, p. 9).
TheRe ue F ançaise des Mé hodesVisuellesp oposes a de ini ion o isual me hods
based on a adi ion suppo ed by image esea ch. He e, isual me hods a e amed in
a con ex o e lec ion and p ac ice o he he meneu ical and heu is ic app oach, he in-
cu sion o he c i icism o he heo y (Ho kheime & Ado no, 2016) and a cons an sel -
e lec ion.“We could simply de ine he isual me hods as a se o esea ch me hods in
Social and Human Sciences ha a e no limi ed o p oduc ion and/o deli e y o w i ings
in hei modes o scien i ic a gumen ” (Bouldoi es, Meye & Reix, 2018, p. 11).
In he exe cise o isual and digi al e hnog aphy, he aspec s o c i ical hinking a e
me iculous. Audio isual eco ds ha e been used o yea s in e hnog aphic esea ch.The
use o so wa e, pho og aphy and ideo de ices, social pla o ms o mobile apps o
quali a i e analysis, is cu en ly ecognized in he academic ield and mo e a eas o
knowledge han e e adop hese inno a ions(Al a ez Gi aldo &Na a o, 2017).In ad-
di ion o all hese echnological inno a ions in scien i ic esea ch o he documen a y,
we mus add he need o a commi ed and poli ical conscience ha gua an ees c i ical
conclusions neededa e he isual eco d.I we conside he pa icipa o y ole o he e-
sea che , especially wi h he use o came a ideo as a esea ch ool, he e hical dimension
is pa icula ly ele an , as well as he commi men oi s esea ch objec i es.
Videog aphy is posi ioned wi hin mo e signi ican e hnog aphic deba es
conce ning abou how objec i i y and subjec i i y a e concep ualized, and
he call o e hnog aphies o be o mula ed as mul i- ocal ex s and ‘ e lexi e
mi o s’ a he han objec i e da a (Ruby, 1982). Videog aphy unde s ands
and uses he ideo as a ool o e-o ien a e he powe o he esea che gaze
and o gi e oice o esea ch subjec s/pa icipan s. (Jewi , 2012, p. 3)
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The new esea ch echniques in isual communica ion: a me hodological p oposal o ideog aphy . Alba Ma ín & Fe nando Con e as
Image appea edin he ea ly days o An h opology,al hough his discipline was an
academic ield adi ionally domina ed by he wo d.Image was a ool o collec in o -
ma ion and did no unc ion as a es imony o as a mnemonic a chi e. Nowadays, he
senso y acquisi ion o he main subjec s o esea ch becomes mo e impo an han he
sys ema ic collec ion o desc ip i e da a.
Despi e he g owing ecogni ion o he alue o he isual, only in he se en ies,
he image was ecognized academically (Dion, 2007). E en hough his scien i ic cinema
had a mo e dis an pas . Fo example, Malinowski (1884-1942) and Flahe y (1884-1951)
p omo ed e hnog aphic exhibi ion cinema.In he ield o desc ip i e isual an h opology,
Regnaul , Medaand Ba eson (Feb e , 2013, p. 728)s ood ou . In he 1950s, Jean Rouch’s
(1917-2004) wo k inspi ed a new gene a ion o an h opologis s who would la e p omo e
con empo a y isual an h opology. Cu en ly, isual me hodsa e ully ecognized (Pink,
2006) and in e disciplina y wo ks en ich each o he . Wi h he echnological de elopmen
o de icescap u eand he in en ion o o he na a i e o ms in he in e p e a ion o he
images, social esea ch/p og esses by s udying audio isual p ac ices ha go beyond an
a is ic ac i i y based on he pho o and he ideo (Ibanez, 2006).
Visual me hods a e he hei s o Visual An h opology, which means ha he image is
s udied as an objec and he isual is used as a esea ch me hod.I would bea lack o i-
sion o conside only he unc ion o he image and no he obse e expe ience abou he
esea ch objec .In Visual An h opology, he image is an in insic elemen o he esea ch
me hod, which ac s independen ly o he na u e o he objec i ep esen s.Thus, a isual
me hodology is no basedon s ylis ic analysis o gene a e knowledge ela ed oaes he ic
alue.This is an in es iga ion wi himages (Dion, 2007) ha in ou speci ic case is com-
plica ed becauseweapply i o he s udy o he documen a y.The isual is me hod, ob-
jec o s udy andp ocess o c ea ing images h ough he image.
Visual An h opology he i age
Pa o he di icul y o a isual s udy is he con inuous adap a ion o he esea che
o choose an app op ia e esea ch echnology.An h opological esea ch mo es in o i -
ual communi ies.This has led o he obse a ion o social beha iou s on he ne wo k
and he analysis o communica i e ac i i ies media ed by digi al de ices. Vi ual e hnog-
aphy has been de eloped by he need o adap con en ional me hods o he objec o
digi al cul u e and i ual communica ion.
Digi al media is a key elemen in ou wo ld. I is h ough hem ha we ela e wi h
o he s and e en help us o unde s and ou sel es.
The ideo came a places he iewe in he image, as he pho og aphic had
al eady done. Howe e , unlike his one, i in i es you o communica e wi h
o he s h ough his medium o o obse e you sel in i . This p ac ice is
al eady ca ied ou as ypical in ilms when couples exp ess hei eelings
h ough li e eco dings o p ojec ing each o he . This medium o p esence
is es ablished in p i a e hands ha a e no longe es ic ed o he old s a us
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The new esea ch echniques in isual communica ion: a me hodological p oposal o ideog aphy . Alba Ma ín & Fe nando Con e as
o a medium o memo y, and which is also no subjec o he empo al leap
ha p e iously sepa a ed all he images o i s iewe . (Bel ing, 2007 p. 103)
In he i s s udies on echnology media ed communica ion, i was necessa y
o anspo  adi ional me hods o he new echnicalcon ex (Hine, 2005).Due o he
con inuous echnological e olu ion, his adap a ion is s ill equi ed, as well as e hinking
he ole o he esea che and he se ing in which hei  esea ch akes place.The ield-
wo k mo es in o he digi al con ex and he esea che en e s his i ual space o look
o social ela ions and indi idual beha iou s(Tu kle, 1997).
Media An h opology s udies communica ion using isual o digi al ools.In he
case o non ic ion ilm analysis, he An h opology o he Media uses in he in es iga ion
he same p ocedu es ha in e ene in he p oduc ion o he in es iga ed objec : he ob-
se e is obse ed. We analyse henon ic ion ilm p oducing ano he ilm.
Dickey (1997) and Spil unikn (1993) ha e ad oca ed an h opological esea ch in
media s udies and, speci ically, in he p ocesses o ep esen a ion and cons uc ion o
imagina y.F om newmedia ques ions in he 1990s, Visual An h opology was legi ima e-
ly in eg a ed in o communica ion esea ch o explain he public eac ion o he media
(Dickey, 1997, p. 4).
The An h opology o he Media ocuses on he ela ions be ween jou nalis s
andsou ces, human ela ionships ha su ound he in o ma ion wo k and s udy con-
ex s and o ms o  ecep ion.Vi ual e hnog aphy, which de elopsi s wo k on he in e -
ne , causes he o al eloca ion o he ield o wo k, he dissolu ion o he space o s udy
and he eloca iono he esea che .In sho ,hiswo k is de eloped in he new scena ios
c ea ed by digi al echnologies.Acco ding o Lemos (2008), his is no a con on a ion
be ween he “ i ual” and “ eal”, bu  hemig a ion o he social p oduc ion owa ds a
space c ea ed by hene wo ks,in which he expe iences o physical places, objec s and
eal people in e ene.
Fo he communica ion s udy, Goodwin (1993, 2000) highligh s heobse a ion o
isual phenomena and he p ocesses o c ea ing meanings.Ges u ali y and i s eco ding
in isual documen s help ounde s and social eali ies.Inhis wo k, he analysis does no
ocus on isual e en sinisola ion, bu on he sys ema ic p ac ices used by he pa ici-
pan s in he in e ac ion.Wi hi s wayo analysis, i is possible o go beyond he in e pe -
sonal ela ions o audio isual p ac ices in he knowledge o a communi y.
The compu e -media ed communica ion and he academic ecogni ion o cy-
be cul u e ha e helped o in oduce a me hodological e sa ili y in o e hnog aphy
(Hine,2005).Examples include he wo k o Flo es-Má quez on digi al ac i ism (2015); he
union o physical and i ual e i o ies (Lemos, 2008), Edga GómezC uz’s wo k onsel -
ep esen a ion (GómezC uz, 2012) o he p ojec “Sel ie-s o ies and pe sonal da a: hy-
b id me hodologies o he analysis o isual na a i es in digi al cul u e”1.
F om he pos mode n an h opology model (Dion, 2007; Gee z, 1992), he no ion
o objec i i y changes conce ning he in es iga ion and use o he image. The use and
1 P ojec in o ma ion a ailable a h p://sel ies o ies.ne

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The new esea ch echniques in isual communica ion: a me hodological p oposal o ideog aphy . Alba Ma ín & Fe nando Con e as
p oduc ion o images we e hen conside ed a cons uc i e nego ia ion be ween he sub-
jec s and he esea che .Jean Rouch (1995)assumes he ans o ma ion o he ole adi-
ionally played by he esea che , hecame aand he image p esen ed, he in e p e a ion
and he pa icipa ion o he esea che as pa o he esea ch i sel .Sa ah Pink (2001)
analysed he a ious possible uses o ideo in an h opology.No all esea che semploy
i in he same way as somewho in end o p oduce edi ed ideos. Pink de ends he sub-
jec i e dimension o he image ha e lec s senso y expe iences. This is possible om
he ilming since he image can e oke bodily sensa ions di e en ly om he wo d.Video
is no onlyaway o hecollec iono da a, bu an applied science ha pa icipa es in
henego ia ion o social ela ions,a means ha gene a esknowledge o he e hnog a-
phy(Pink, 2001, p. 138).
In Rouch’s o iginal app oaches(1995), hecame aceases o be a dis an objec and
becomes in eg a ed as a pa icipan in documen a y ac ion.The ex ac ion o knowledge
eme ges om his imme sion o hecame aand he obse e in wha is obse ed.P e i-
ously, i was onlycon empla ed,and he obse e ook no es o explain he g oup’s ac-
ions.This is how he alida ed he da a.Nowadays, he obse e imme ses himsel wi h
he came a as a pa icipan in he social phenomenon o ob ain in o ma ion om collab-
o a ion and in e ac ion. A collabo a ion p o oked on some occasions when he p ocess
o c ea ing images is o e ed o he subjec s o ep esen hemsel es, o also o in e ac
wi h images ha a e shown o hem i hese ha e al eady been eco ded p e iously.
Fo his e lec ion weused he ield o Visual An h opology in a echnological en-
i onmen such as BancksandMo phy (1997);BanksandRuby (2011);Collie andCol-
lie (1986);Hine (2005, 2015);Hockings (1995);Ibanez, Chabe , Lamboux-Du and and
Wanono(2017);Pink (2001, 2006);Rouch (2003);Ruby (2000). These au ho s ad anced
in he documen a y na a i e wi h he combined use o pho og aphy and ideo in ea ly
wo ks, and hen wi h hype media and he use o di e en echnological de ices. Also,
hey ha e accomplished he in eg a ion o isual and digi al echnologies in an e hno-
g aphic s udy, among which we can highligh hype media (Ibanez, 2006).
The ole o he obse e andhis connec ion wi h he came a de e mines he ela-
ionship ha is buil wi h eali y and, in his case, wi h he objec o s udy.Lallie (2009)
conside s mo e ele an he ela ion be ween he ilmed and who ilms in esea ch
and he useo mo emen andspace in he ilmed and hose who ilm: “ he sequence
ilmed comes om he social ela ion be ween heobse e and he people ilmed”(Lalli-
e , 2011, p. 107).Acco ding o Lallie (2011), he e hnog aphy ilmed is di e en om ha
which isw i en, since he ecip oci y wi h he s udied si ua ion is e y close.Thee hno-
ilmmake ge s in ol ed, akes pa in he ac ion, does no emain as a s ange ele-
men ha does no in e ene; he e isa pe sonal in ol emen o he esea che wi h he
e en o si ua ion obse ed.Lallie calls his p ac ice ilmed-obse a ion.Wi h his, he
de ines a di e en ype o p ac ice o he ield o social esea ch, asdoes hepa icipan
obse a ion.
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The new esea ch echniques in isual communica ion: a me hodological p oposal o ideog aphy . Alba Ma ín & Fe nando Con e as
P oposal o an in e ac i e audio isual me hodological model o esea ch on
he audio isual documen a y
Ou p oposed isual me hodological model is based on a iangula ion o he ol-
lowing complemen a y echniques: isual analysis, pa icipan ilming and in e iews. In
he e hnog aphic app oach, iangula ion is ypical: obse a ion, in e iews, documen
analysis and o he o ms o combined da a collec ion (Flick, 2015). Acco ding o he
au ho , case s udies a e o en ca ied ou in e hnog aphic in es iga ions in which a i-
ous me hods and de ices a e used o da a collec ion. We designed his me hodological
model o he s udy o he documen a y and applied i o h ee case s udies ha we e in
he p oduc ion phase. In all h ee cases, he ideo was used as a esea ch ool o di ec ly
eco d di e en c ea i e s ages du ing he p oduc ion o documen a ies, as well as he
inal esul be ween wha was ilmed and he in e p e a ion ob ained om he ep esen-
a ion. To comple e he iangula ion, we conduc ed in e iews wi h he di ec o s o he
h ee documen a ies. The las echnique aimed o access in o ma ion ha we could only
ob ain h ough di ec ela ions wi h he c ea o s. They p o ided subjec i e in o ma ion
wi hou con amina ion by o he ex e nal ac o s abou hei way o unde s anding he
c ea i e p ocess, hei opinion abou he con ibu ions o he echnologies acco ding o
hei p o essional expe ience and a e lec ion abou he communica i e success abou
he ep esen a ion and he ep esen ed. Fo his, we ely mainly on he wo k o B uhn
(2002), Flick (2011, 2015) and Mann (2016), abou he in e iew as a me hod o esea ch
in communica ion.
E hnog aphy is an app oach o s udy g oups and p ocesses in hei na u al
en i onmen , which equi es he lexible use o me hods and much pa ience
in he ield. The da a may be less sys ema ic han in o he me hods, bu i
can be mo e holis ic in he desc ip ions ha make i possible. The e o e,
he gene aliza ion he e is gene ally mo e in e nal – in he con ex – han
ou side he s udy si es and ields.(Flick, 2015, p.130)
In he ou line o Figu e 1, i is possible o see how we applied he combina ion
o hese me hods, wi h which we we e able o app oach ou objec o s udy om h ee
di e en pe spec i es: he inal wo k, he cons uc ion o he ep esen a ion and he au-
ho ’s poin o iew.
Figu e 1: Me hodological iangula ion scheme and he app oaches o each me hod o he objec o s udy
C edi s: Alba Ma ín and Fe nando Con e as
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The new esea ch echniques in isual communica ion: a me hodological p oposal o ideog aphy . Alba Ma ín & Fe nando Con e as
The case s udies we e selec ed acco ding o hei o mal cha ac e is ics and hei
abili y o adap o he ime equi emen s o ou esea ch. Among he h ee cases, hey
should co e he main digi al o ma s, he inclusion o he use , se ials o allow o know
he quali y o a piece al eady published and be in he p oduc ion phase o ano he chap-
e o documen a y o he se ies.
The documen a y La P ima e a Rosa (Ma io de la To e, 2016-2018) is concei ed as
a media p ojec wi h se e al chap e s, o which ou had al eady been published and a
i h was in p og ess. These ou chap e s had a di e en ia ing elemen ha made hem
ideal o he s udy: a di e en o ma in each chap e , complemen a ily o he linea
audio isual.
The documen a y Las Sinsomb e o (Tania Balló, Manuel Jiménez and Se ana To -
es, 2015-2019) is one o he e e ence documen a ies o Spanish p oduc ion in ecen
yea s, due o i s expanded na u e and inno a ion in i s o ma , especially he webdoc and
he use o social ne wo ks. Mo eo e , i s webdoc includes h ee le els o in e ac i i y ha
we conside especially in e es ing o analyse, as i is no common o ind hem in he
same wo k.
Ho s-Cad e (Ma ín Cha iè e, 2017-2019) is a non ic ion i ual eali y se ies ha
cu en ly has ou sho ilms and ha we use as a e e ence example o he imme si e
documen a y, a subgen e s ill eme ging.
The o ma o he isual analysis model
The pe spec i es o he his o y o images and media a e only jus i ied when hey
a e no mu ually disca ded. The isual pe spec i e o An h opology ocuses on he p axis
o he image, which equi es a di e en ea men om image echniques and hei his-
o y (Bel ing, 2007). The analysis uses case s udies which, in ou esea ch, consis ed o
a sample o documen a ies. We ied o analyse he elemen s ha come in o play in he
c ea ion o he audio isual documen a y.
The analysis model ini ially equi es he classic ca ego ies o ilms and he audio-
isual na a i e analyses p oposed by Ba hes (2002, 2017); Bel ing (2007); Bo dwell Ca-
se i e di Chio (1991); De ida and S iegle (1998); Gau eaul and Jos (1995); Gi eu Cas-
ells (2013); Kös e (2005); Nichols (2010) o Plan inga (2014). To conclude he analysis
p oposal, we add speci ic ca ego ies o ansmedia o imme si e wo ks. A his poin , we
emphasize ha his analysis has o be made om a deep in ol emen o he esea che ,
since many o he wo ks a e imme si e, pe sonalized o pa icipa o y, and he analysis is
made om he comple e expe ience.
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The new esea ch echniques in isual communica ion: a me hodological p oposal o ideog aphy . Alba Ma ín & Fe nando Con e as
Ca ego y Desc ip ion le el 1 Desc ip ion le el 2
Con ex Desc ip ion o he wo k
Synopsis
Technical da a
Fo mal ca ego ies Visual codes
G aphic codes
Sound codes
Mo emen
Composi ion
Tex ual elemen s
Na u e and use o sound
Ca ego ies o ep esen a ion Edi ion
Space composi ion
Tempo ali y composi ion
Dimensions o he na a ion Enuncia ion ma ks
S uc u e o he epo
Poin o iew/ocula iza ion
Spec a o inclusion In e ac i i y
Pa icipa ion
Cus omiza ion
Imme sion
Expansion o s o y Le els and na u e
Medium/image/use ela ion Fo mals speci ica ions
Func ion o he image
Final desc ip ion o he pe sonal
expe imen a ion o he wo k
Table 1: Analysis model o pos -documen a y
How o apply ideog aphy in a p ac ical esea ch case
Du ing he days o eco ding documen a y ilms, we in oduced he came a in e -
ac i ely. This in e ac ion was designed o ake ad an age o hose esul s ha can only
be p o ided by pa icipan obse a ion. The came a and he ilming p ocess we e in e-
g a ed in o he same p oduc ion o he documen a y we s udied (Rouch, 2009). We also
sough o inco po a e Lallie ’s isual an h opological app oach (2011) and his ilmed
obse a ion:
he ilmed obse a ion does no me ely consis o wa ching i wi h a cam-
e a, as i he use o a de ice alone would de e mine a ield p ac ice. (...)
Filmed obse a ion does no belong o w i ing i sel o a simple eco ding
echnique, bu o a social p ac ice: a unique way o dealing ace o ace wi h
he objec o ou ep esen a ion. (Lallie , 2011, p. 105)
Jewi (2012) es ablishes a di e en ia ion in he applica ion o ideo o esea ch,
dis inguishing be ween pa icipa o y ideo and ideog aphy. Pa icipa o y ideo is an in-
e en ion p ocess in which pa icipan s ha e access o eco ding and/o edi ing ools o
c ea e hei own ision o he subjec o s udy. In he applica ion o ideog aphy, we ind
collabo a i e o ms o esea ch e y close o collabo a i e documen a ies and indi idual
o ms close o he ilmed jou nal.
Videog aphy is gene ally used o deepen cul u al and social issues h ough audio-
isual c ea ion: ei he since Visual An h opology (Collie , 1995; Collie & Collie , 1986)
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The new esea ch echniques in isual communica ion: a me hodological p oposal o ideog aphy . Alba Ma ín & Fe nando Con e as
F om ou me hodological guidelines, he esea che ine i ably assumes an ac i e
ole and, he e o e, we see no incon enience in his p esence in he image. Howe e , we
a e awa e ha i is a p ac ice ha mus be conside ed in each case s udy i i plays a ole
in he esea ch. The p esence o he de ice i sel al e s wha is ilmed and, aes he ically,
we should no o ge ha he main objec i e esponds o he esea ch c i e ia.
Conclusion
We p oposed an e hnog aphic app oach based on he use o ideog aphy. This
model add esses he complexi y o audio isual p oduc ions in ga he ing in o ma ion and
documen ing social esea ch. Speci ically, ou me hodology was designed o in es iga e
he c ea i e p ocess o documen a ies. To elabo a e his p oposal, we had o ecognize
di e en ac o s o o he me hodologies such as he inclusion o he esea che in he
making o e hnog aphic audio isual ma e ial, he new na a i e modes o audio isual
scien i ic na a i e o he mo emen o he iewe in imme si e con ex s.
The use o an e hnog aphic app oach in communica ion, he knowledge o he au-
dio isual media and he wo k a icula ed wi h da a o a di e en na u e (image, audio,
ideo, ex ) inc ease he weal h o in o ma ion ob ained in he s udy o he documen a y.
To his me hodology, we in eg a e he case s udies and he in e ac ion wi h he esea ch
subjec s. A he same ime ha we ob ained and eco ded he da a o he s udy o he
documen a y using an an h opological app oach, we ob ained ma e ial o c ea e an au-
dio isual wo k as pa o he same p oduc ion p ocess. The esul is an in es iga ion
cha ac e ized by he “goal” elemen since i is he esea che ’s gaze h ough he image
ascending an audio isual wo k. The p oduc ion ca ied ou as pa o he esea ch in-
cludes a p o o ype o audio isual c ea ion.
The inco po a ion o he complexi ies associa ed wi h isual polysemy poses a chal-
lenge o communica ion esea che s who mus ha e he ideal aining o ake ad an age
o he possibili ies o hese ools. We aced he di icul y o sys ema izing audio isual
me hods, de i ed om he cus omiza ion associa ed wi h hei use and he lack o au-
dio isual aining as a ool o social esea ch. We, he e o e, belie e ha , al hough we
a e no in an unexplo ed line, u he de elopmen o hese aspec s is needed o com-
munica ion esea ch.
We ied inco po a ing 360 deg ee ideo in o he esea ch. I s igh ole in u u e
esea ch on communica ion has ye o be de ined. The echnical cha ac e is ics o he
de ice sugges i s complemen a y use o he ideo came a o a maximum o 180 deg ees.
The da a ob ained om bo h egis e s a e no epea ed because he espec i e mode
o use and isualiza ion ha e di e en cha ac e is ics ha make hem complemen a y.
A e he i s expe ience wi h his de ice, we conside i in e es ing o con inue he pa h
o explo a ion and expe ience in di e en si ua ions o ind he igh con ex o i s use.
The analysis o a ilmed ma e ial opens scien i ic esea ch o imme si e en i on-
men s. This implies de eloping o he wo king me hodologies ha ocus no only on he
ime o da a collec ion and in e ac ion wi h he subjec s in ol ed bu on he subsequen

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The new esea ch echniques in isual communica ion: a me hodological p oposal o ideog aphy . Alba Ma ín & Fe nando Con e as
analysis o he image. An analysis o he da a collec ed on ideo includes pa icula p o-
cedu es. In ou s udy, he main quali y o 360 deg ee ideo in e hnog aphic ieldwo k
does no eside in he ime o ilming, bu i s isualiza ion and analysis. Wi h he co ec
edi ing p ocess, he esea che can e u n o he ilmed space and s udy di e en ele-
men s and momen s in pa allel. The e ision phase akes on a new dimension, since
he esea che does no e u n o his own gaze in he audio isual eco d, bu his gaze
e u ns o he s age. Al hough we ha e indeed aced he limi a ions o explo a ion and
ideo mo emen s, we mus alue in his ype o scien i ic wo k: he ela ion be ween he
echnological de ice and he esea che , he empo ali y o eali y and he ime o he
machine, he space o wo k and he space o analysis, he ole o he came a and he ole
o he esea che .
T ansla ion: Alba Ma ín
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P oducciones.
Biog aphical no es
Alba Ma ín Ca illo is lec u e a he Communica ion Hype media Depa men o
he Uni e si y Sa oie Mon Blanc, F ance. Quali ied Maî e de Con é ence in In o ma ion
and Communica ion Sciences, holds a PhD in Communica ion om he Uni e si y o
Sé illa and he G enoble Alpes Uni e si y Communi y. Mas e in Communica ion and
Cul u e and Bachelo in Jou nalism (US).
ORCID: h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0003-0285-7086
Email: [email p o ec ed]; alba-ma ia. [email p o ec ed]
Add ess: Rua du Se gen Re el, Jacob-Bellecombe e, 73000 Chambé y Cedex,
F ance
Re is a Lusó ona de Es udos Cul u ais / Lusophone Jou nal o Cul u al S udies, ol. 7, n. 1, 2020
147
The new esea ch echniques in isual communica ion: a me hodological p oposal o ideog aphy . Alba Ma ín & Fe nando Con e as
Fe nando Con e as Medina is Lec u e in Communica ion a he Depa men o
Jou nalism I, Vice Dean a Facul y o Communica ion, Uni e si y o Sé illa. PhD in Com-
munica ion, PhD in Philosophy and BA in Fine A s.
ORCID: h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0003-1105-5800
Email: [email p o ec ed]
Add ess: Amé ico Vespucio, s/n, La Ca uja, Se illa, Spain
Submi ed: 05/09/2019
Accep ed: 31/11/2019