The DSLR Revolution and its Impact on Documentary and Ethnographic Filmmaking | Nuska | Visual Ethnography
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The DSLR Revolution and its Impact on Documentary and Ethnographic Filmmaking

Petr Nuska

Abstract


The article deals with the involvement of digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) with video-capturing capacity in the making of documentary and ethnographic films. More particularly, it examines whether and to what extent these genres were influenced by a trend called the “DSLR revolution,” which arose mainly between 2008 and 2014. Firstly, it acquaints the reader with the phenomenon of the DSLR revolution from a technological point of view. Secondly, it provides a qualitative analysis of the testimonies of ten documentary and ethnographic filmmakers, who used DSLR cameras in making their films; this is the main contribution of the article. The article evaluates the role of this phenomenon and considers the future involvement of DSLRs in the genre of documentary and in visual-ethnography research.

Keywords


DSLR; Digital Cameras; Film and Video Technology; Documentary film; Ethnographic film; Visual Anthropology

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References


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ISSN Print 2499-9288
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