At present the world is awash in visuals, and there seem to be all kinds of visuals of everything from ethnic groups in remote areas to our lifestyle spaces. Anthropology too makes extensive use of visuals in everything from research and education to the publication of results. The precipitous increase in the publication of visuals by scholarly societies is clear evidence of this fact. Also true is that amidst these conditions we are proceeding without having achieved a common understanding regarding visuals. How do researchers and residents of areas being studied jointly own visuals, and what are the ethics surrounding the creation of visuals?—These are some of the issues that require full-fledged discussion.

Jean Rouch (1917-2004) played the pivotal role in the establishment of visual anthropology by showing how anthropologists and the people living in an area of study could share research results through the common experience of viewing visuals, and thus made it possible for anthropology to explore new possibilities for visuals. Such experiments are collectively referred to as “shared anthropology.”

This research will adhere to this shared viewpoint. Actually, this shared “seeing” in itself is meaningless. Visuals production (filmmaking) is a complex activity that involves (1) pre-production; (2) production—including negotiations in the survey area, shooting and related negotiations; and (3) post-production—including editing, preview screening at the survey site, publication of results and storage. The objectives of this research will be to study the various processes in filming, develop multifaceted debate concerning the ethics and rights supporting anthropological visuals, as well as methods to encourage receptiveness and sharing, and stake out future possibilities for visual anthropology.