Thinking Anthropologically about Media: What’s the Difference between Photos and Movies?
2025.08
Date:
Original email campaign link:
by Johannes Merz
Photos are static and movies move. That’s the difference. But have you ever considered how this affects how people understand images and how they interact with them?
Photo © 2016 Johannes Merz, used with permission.
When I researched movies with people in Benin, West Africa, who were less experienced with images than I, I noticed that some found it difficult to make sense of stills from movies. But when I showed them the corresponding movie clip on a tablet (see photo), people found it much easier to recognize what the moving images showed and what was happening.
Especially for people who are not used to images, photos can be challenging to understand. The main difficulty for them seems to be to distinguish shapes from their backgrounds, which is a skill that needs to be learned. While in many countries we do this at a young age, there are some people who hardly have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with images as they grow up. Being handed a photo to look at may thus cause a pause or some difficulty. Even an apparently simple task of figuring out the correct orientation of a photo can be a challenge.
Movies are generally easier to understand, even if we may consider them a more complex form of media. The main reason is that movement helps to differentiate shapes from their backgrounds. As soon as somebody or something moves, they become alive and much more easily recognizable. Photos may be life-like, but movies bring photos to life.
Appropriate light conditions, too, increase the recognizability of images. When we look at pictures on paper, we benefit from a good light source. Movies typically rely on dim light conditions to be clearer. Cell phones often adjust the screen’s brightness to light conditions, and they can display both still and moving images.
Thinking anthropologically about images, photos, and movies means that we should first think about potential audiences and their experiences and preferences of images. Would still images be okay, or would it be better to provide movies?
Then, we should pay attention to the composition of images. What we might consider a good image may not always be the best choice. Generally, I have found that simpler images with less busy backgrounds are easier to understand, especially when there is no movement involved. For example, it’s better to maintain empty spaces than fill them with unessential detail or decoration. Also, a high contrast between main characters or objects and their background can facilitate an image’s recognizability.
Next time you work with images, first think about the people you’d like to use them. Images, whether still or moving, should help people focus on what’s essential.
Johannes Merz is a senior anthropology consultant with SIL Global and trainer for International Media Services. He holds a Ph.D. in anthropology and lectures at Moorlands College in the U.K. He and his wife, Sharon, have been based in Benin, West Africa, since 2002. You can contact him at johannes_merz@sil.org.
Join us and spread the word! Our September IMS Community of Practice will be a good one! Here is a bit more about what we will be engaging during this time.
How do we deliver rich, interactive learning where internet access is limited—or where security risks make online engagement unsafe? TheWell Systems’ offline-first approach equips institutions and organizations to build resilience in training delivery, even in the most challenging contexts. This presentation introduces the system, shares the vision behind it, and invites reflection on how offline-first solutions can transform access to learning. https://thewell.systems
Want to attend? Email Margaret Doll at margaret_doll@sil.org expressing your interest, and she will add you to the CoP contact list for this one and all future IMN CoPs. Hope to see you there!
Contact Andreas Ernst at ims_training@sil.org for more info & registration.
“Come Away” is an offering of the Spiritual Life Team to our global SIL community. You are warmly invited to this guided time in the Word, prayer, reflection, and worship.
Tuesday, 2 September – Europe/Africa UTC 12:00 - 13:00; 1pm London/Yaounde; 3pm Nairobi
with French interpretation
Tuesday, 2 September – Americas UTC 15:00 - 16:00; 10am Dallas/Lima; 12pm Brasilia
with Spanish & ASL interpretation
Wednesday, 3 September – Asia/Pacific UTC 05:00 - 06:00; 12pm Bangkok, 3pm Ukarumpa/Melbourne
with Bahasa Indonesia interpretation
[En franҫais] [En español] [Em português] [한국어] [Dalam Bahasa Indonesia]
Parables of Jesus is a one-hour video that includes seven parables of Jesus. These videos have been developed into a single-narration dubbing format. Each story helps the viewer understand the customs and culture behind the parables while presenting the life-changing words of Jesus. Language teams may select the parables they want to dub or dub all seven. Whatever they choose can be formatted as one project on DVD and/or individual MP4s for each parable.
https://www.internationalmediaservices.org/parables-of-jesus