Video Ethnography

We explore and document the lived experiences of brands, products and services in the context of everyday realities.

Why Video Ethnography?

Video ethnography captures human behaviour in context, offering a powerful, visual means of understanding how people live, interact, and make meaning in everyday life. It transforms abstract insights into tangible stories that resonate across audiences.
  • Explores human behaviour, rituals, practices & interactions
  • Connects the dots between data and lived experience
  • Enables deeper empathy with target audiences
Original Promo from 2011
From living rooms to boardrooms, Authentic Video captures the moments that matter—and the meaning behind them.
With over two-an-a-half decades dedicated to uncovering the deeper truths of human behaviour from behind the camera, Nick Agafonoff has built a reputation as one of the most skilled and insightful video ethnographers and qualitative researchers in the field. Back in 2011, as the Director of Real Ethnography, Nick produced this landmark video promo that showcased his authentic approach—blending cinematic storytelling with rigorous inquiry to illuminate the lived experiences of real people.

Bring-to-Life Target Markets & Personas

We partner with researchers, consultants and research agencies to create rich description of the lived experiences of target segments and groups, including behaviours, motivations, needs, desires, frustrations, rituals, practices and relationships.
  • Recruitment and briefing of ideal participants
  • Discussion and observation guides
  • Implementation of co-creation methodologies, including video diaries and remote ethnography
  • Professional videography capturing users, customers and consumers in real world contexts
  • Professional video editing with integration of infographics and quantitative data
  • Outputs tailored to a variety of research audiences and stakeholder groups

Fields of Inquiry

Video Immersions
We use participant-observation methods combined with observational filmmaking to explore everyday consumer rituals, practices, and interactions, providing researchers, designers, and strategists with rich, contextual insights that support more grounded and human-centred decision-making.
  • Document real-world settings and interactions in situ
  • Capture nuanced, experiential data beyond written reports
  • Support participatory and human-centered methodologies
  • Bridge the gap between research findings and stakeholder engagement
Customer Experience
We use video techniques (such as eye-tracking and reflexive techniques) to document and explore customer experience, providing a powerful lens into real-time behaviours, decision-making processes, and emotional responses. Our approach yields rich, visual data to inform service design, product development, and customer experience research.
  • Capture in-the-moment interactions across physical or digital environments
  • Integrate eye-tracking to reveal attention patterns and cognitive load
  • Identify friction points and unmet needs through behavioural observation
  • Enhance qualitative insights with visual evidence for stakeholder impact
Consumer Subcultures
We investigate consumer subcultures to understand the shared meanings, identities, and practices that shape group dynamics and influence consumption behaviours. Our approach combines ethnographic fieldwork with visual methods to extract deep cultural insights.
  • Explore how values, symbols, and narratives shape group identity
  • Reveal the social and emotional drivers behind brand affinity and loyalty
  • Uncover hidden norms, rituals, and resistance within subcultural groups
  • Inform culturally resonant brand, product, or policy strategies

Co-creation at the heart of our approach!

  • Empower participants to share authentic, first-person perspectives
  • Build trust and intimacy through self-directed storytelling
  • Custom how-to videos guide filming, framing, and thematic focus
  • Flexible across contexts: homes, communities, or digital environments
  • Generate rich, narrative-driven insight grounded in lived experience
We design and direct auto-ethnographic video programs where participants become co-creators, documenting their own lives, routines, and reflections. Using a highly effective methodology for participant engagement, we equip contributors with bespoke how-to videos tailored to each inquiry, ensuring clarity, confidence, and depth in their self-filmed contributions.

Video Ethnography Training Workshop

Individual & Group Coaching
Step-by-step guidance on conducting video ethnography: Build practical skills. Enhance observational insight. Apply visual evidence. Empower independent practice.
Filming for Insight
Best practices for filming, editing and analysing ethnographic, behavioural, cultural and contextual insights: Planning and preparation. Filming techniques. Analysis and interpretation. Synthesis and application.
Presenting Evidence & Storytelling
Translating observations into compelling video outputs for maximum impact: Short ethnographic clips. Documentary-style videos. Thematic highlight reels. Standalone documentaries.
Nick Agafonoff has 25+ years experience in conducting professional video ethnography projects for a wide range of commercial research applications, including UX, CX, Shopper Studies, Service Design, Consumer and Market Research, New Product Development, Innovation, Brand and Communication Strategy.
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Highly Experienced

One of the most impressive CVs for video ethnography in the commercial research realm!

  • Industry Accredited

    • Member of The Research Society (Australia)
    • Member of EPIC International Conference (Ethnographic Praxis in Conference)

  • Published

    • Qualitative Market Research Journal
    • Handbook for Anthropology in Business

  • 4000+ video Immersions

    • Across a wide range of industries and consumer categories
    • In collaboration with researchers, consultants and agencies

  • Video Ethnography Training

    • Directed workshops at major international conferences
    • Internal training days for organisations, including marketing and design departments

  • Innovator + Pioneer

    • Forged new territory in applying video ethnography methods to ad hoc commercial research
    • Developed reflexive and iterative methods for deeper insight and storytelling

  • Public Campaigns

    • Support public awareness campaigns with video ethnography assets, including government, corporate and media groups
    • Ethnographic polling during elections

Ready to uncover deeper, more authentic insights?

Get in touch to explore how our video-led research methods can transform your next project.