Okay, so based on your first response to my comments, it sounds like my "critique" will actually be more of philosophical discussion on the ethics of visual ethnographies. My intro to vis-anth class also spent a great deal of time reading about and discussing the issues you've mentioned, and it seems as though you and I have chosen opposite sides of the issue.
It is my opinion that it is literally impossible for the ethnographer to present the absolute truth, as so many try to do.
For starters, the mere presence of a camera dramatically changes people's behavior, instantly. There are methods we can implement to try and lessen this effect, but it cannot be eliminated.
Furthermore, every decision you make, as a filmmaker, affects how the audience will see the subject. It's not just how you edit the piece - it's EVERYTHING you do. Is the camera close to, or far away from the subject? Are they centered in the frame, or off-center? Did you give them nose-room, or did you do the exact opposite? Is the camera looking up at them, down at them, or is it eye-level? Where did you conduct the interview -- did you take them someplace secluded and quiet, or did you get them in their natural everyday surroundings? Do we see their surroundings a little bit, entirely, or not at all? Do we see the interviewer asking questions? All of these things matter. Even as a mere cameraperson, you have a tremendous impact on how the viewer soaks everything in.
And lastly, it's not like you didn't edit anything. You edited a lot. You chose which clips were more important than others. You chose in which order you could present these clips to best tell the story you're trying to tell. Yes, it's true that you're doing your best to present it as most accurately as possible, but let's not kid anyone -- this isn't their story. It's their story, as YOU see it.
The most truthfully accurate visual ethnography would be to place a camera down in front of someone, with a wide angle, so that we could also see our ethnographer, press record and just let it go. And then don't edit anything. No editing whatsoever, because as soon as you edit the video, we're getting YOUR version of the story.
But that would be boring, and nobody would watch raw footage of an interview.
So I say EMBRACE the edit. If it's going to be my version of the story, then I'm going to use every tool in my arsenal that will help me effectively tell that story. I'm going to use soft edits almost exclusively. I'm going to keep the soundbites brief, and I'm going to keep the story moving forward at a rapid pace. I'm going to use cutaways and pickup shots galore, and as many relavent (and pretty) visuals as possible. I'm going to use music. Lots of it. I'm going to try my best to be as truthful and honest to the story as I possibly can be, but that's not going to stop me from trying to make this story entertaining to watch.
In my opinion, the methods I'm describing wouldn't make the ethnography any less legitimate then if I were to not use them. I guess what I'm getting at is that I don't believe a visual ethnography is science.
One of the things that I love about Anthropology is that it's this weird combination of science and social science (and any scientist can tell you that social science isn't all that scientific). Visual Anthropology definitely falls into the social science side of things, so I say we should embrace the ART of filmmaking, and use all of it's powerful tools. If we can use these tools to help the audience connect with the subjects on a deeper emotional level, might that make the story more truthfull?
My professor taught me a wonderful organizing tool that I'd love to share with you, but I'm too tired to explain it right now. Also, it's more along the lines of making the edit yours, as I'm talking about doing, and I kind of get the impression that you're not really interested in doing that, anyway.
Regardless of our philosophical differences, you've done a terrific job on the video. As I mentioned before, I think your interviews were very good. They really had a more natural conversational feel to them, and not every interviewer can produce those results.