What Design Research can Learn from Documentary Filmmaking
Summary
Video can be so much more than just a presentation aid and a way to engage stakeholders; it can also be a means to explore, understand, and convey deep human truths. Through the lens of documentary filmmakers and visual ethnographers, film can be a powerful medium with which to capture context and emotion, and tell nuanced stories. In this fireside chat with three design researchers who have extensive experience working with video and documentary techniques, you will hear how they integrate documentary filmmaking approaches and methods into their research practices.
Key Insights
-
•
Documentary filmmaking involves active collaboration between filmmaker and subjects, not passive observation.
-
•
Visual anthropology backgrounds help design researchers see cultural context and material culture as core story elements.
-
•
Video serves as both a data capture tool and a medium for thinking about and analyzing research information.
-
•
Authenticity in video research requires balancing participants’ self-representation with researchers’ storytelling perspectives.
-
•
Structured video scripts asking participants for environment and personal response shots improve remote video ethnography.
-
•
Multi-tiered video deliverables—from highlight clips to full contextualized stories—better serve diverse stakeholder needs.
-
•
Good storytelling in research videos helps insights travel through organizations, fostering empathy and shared understanding.
-
•
Video can connect remote and distributed teams by enabling collaborative synthesis sessions with rich audiovisual material.
-
•
Interpreting video data collaboratively uncovers multiple perspectives and challenges team assumptions.
-
•
Tools like Reduct’s Video Board facilitate organizing, tagging, and collaborative manipulation of video clips in research workflows.
Notable Quotes
"Film is not just a way to capture information, it’s a way to think about information."
"The fly on the wall approach is a myth; interaction between filmmaker and people is what makes documentary film interesting."
"If ethnographic film is just observational, then it’s just a security camera and a bank, and I want no part of it."
"We answer questions differently when we’re living life and doing activities than when we’re sitting down facing the camera."
"People now carry incredibly powerful cameras everywhere, changing how stories are told and represented."
"Great stories travel through organizations freely when they connect to what really moves and motivates people."
"Different stakeholders interpret stories differently, and those conversations are valuable for deeper understanding."
"Autoethnography and video diaries enable participants to capture aspects of their lives that researchers might not see otherwise."
"Contextualizing sound bites or clips is crucial; otherwise, they risk losing meaning when separated from their original story."
"Collaboration with participants via video is possible even in constricted remote or hybrid work environments with the right methods."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"I don’t know anyone who uses the configuration out of the box without customizing it heavily and extensively."
Sam ProulxEverything You Ever Wanted to Know About Screen Readers
June 11, 2021
"If you want to avoid time zone confusion, you can switch the conference schedule to your local time on the program page."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
November 17, 2022
"Taking time to intentionally create a career strategy helps avoid reactive decisions based on fear."
Corey Nelson Amy SanteeLayoffs
November 15, 2022
"Blaming the system for failures is like blaming the garden for not growing—the system is made by the people within it."
Milan GuentherA Shared Language for Co-Creating Ambitious Endeavours
June 6, 2023
"If we can’t provide research as a service at scale, we need to make sure the teams are equipped to do it on their own."
Erin May Roberta Dombrowski Laura Oxenfeld Brooke HintonDistributed, Democratized, Decentralized: Finding a Research Model to Support Your Org
March 10, 2022
"Screen curtain mode isn’t for sighted people simulating blindness; it’s a privacy feature to keep screens safe from prying eyes."
Sam ProulxUnderstanding Screen Readers on Mobile: How And Why to Learn from Native Users
June 6, 2023
"When clients join us in the field and experience research deeply, they often become advocates who come back for more."
Mujtaba HameedThe new horizon of ethnography: using AI to unlock the full potential of in-person research
March 11, 2026
"Regulation is part of the solution, but by diversifying who makes technology and embedding safeguards, we can better prevent corruption of well-intentioned products."
Ilana LipsettAnticipating Risk, Regulating Tech: A Playbook for Ethical Technology Governance
December 10, 2021
"One in four people in the United States have a disability."
Samuel ProulxFrom Standards to Innovation: Why Inclusive Design Wins
September 10, 2025
