This chapter provides an examination of the specific actions of two people
immersed in their respective family contexts in Lithuania and Turkey. Both were
filmed continuously for one day in their lives thus providing approximately eight hours
of video data for each person. The chapter selects very small segments of the total
footage available to choose exact and fleeting visual moments of life for close analysis.
Video enables such a fine-grain selection because it captures 25 frames per second so
even 20 seconds of film can be imbued with meaning and interpretation. The first study
comes from Jonas, an older Lithuanian adult, who shares with his grandchildren some
of the moves and rules of chess, and then engages them in the processes of playing his
accordion. The second study arises from Selin, a 24-month-old Turkish child, as she
examines the moving arm of a toy monkey and the way in which it impacts on a small
bell, and then explores the nature of a necklace with her hands, face, and mouth. In
seeking explanations of the events observed, the chapter draws on theorists from the
fields of phenomenology and material culture, for instance, Pallasmaa (2009), Stewart
(2005, 1999), Ellsworth (2005), Merleau-Ponty (1945; 2020, Tilley (2004), and Casey
(1993).
Keywords: Video Analysis, Phenomenology, Touch, Material Culture.
