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
"Accessibility at scale can put you into the VUCA world – volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous."
Sheri Byrne-HaberAccessibility at Scale
June 9, 2021
"Empathy isn't just kindness, it's the lens through which we see users' true motivations."
Prayag Narula Hannah HudsonEmpowering Designers to do Good Research
March 11, 2022
"The UX team is never the keeper of all knowledge of the customer; the whole company owns the experience."
Janelle EstesUX Research Trends
January 28, 2021
"Style guides and embedding content systems into design systems help scale content without bottlenecks."
Craig Brookes Andreas Huebner Morgan Quinn"Just Make it Look Good" and Other Ways We're Misunderstood
June 11, 2021
"We encourage one-to-one video calls to build rapport and feel comfortable reaching out for advice."
Marc Fonteijn Ru ButlerIncrease your confidence, influence, and impact (through a Professional Community)
December 3, 2024
"Designing the service so the team can be efficient and impactful is essential — otherwise you just move the inefficiency around."
Kate TowseyThe State of ResearchOps: More Than Just Theory
June 20, 2019
"When we’re not safe, our thinking brain — the neocortex — shuts down and operating IQ drops by half."
Alla WeinbergDesign Teams Need Psychological Safety: Here’s How to Create It
September 9, 2022
"A government designer aims to reduce UX variation while a contractor may optimize only their single product, creating potential conflicts."
Shawna Hein Kevin HoffmanCreate a Cohesive Civic Design Practice Across Agency, Vendors, and Contracts
November 17, 2022
"Every culture has things to celebrate and improve upon; we should learn from others instead of imposing our own standards."
Tricia WangSCALE: Discussion
June 15, 2018
