Field Notes on the Office Tribe by Viviana Mendiola is licensed under NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Synopsis:
This digital story presents a humorous anthropological field report on modern office culture. The narrative follows an anthropologist documenting the behaviors of “office workers,” interpreting everyday activities—such as meetings, emails, and workplace interactions—as cultural rituals.
Content & Creation:
This project combines original narration, AI-generated visuals, Adobe Express stock media, and third-party content used under fair use principles. Visual assets include stock video clips and images representing workplace environments, as well as original images created using ChatGPT to support the anthropological framing of the narrative.
The video was created using Adobe Express, which was used for editing, applying a consistent mahogany color treatment, integrating stock media, and incorporating motion effects such as zoom transitions and animated elements. ChatGPT image generation tools were used to create original visuals, including the title slide, anthropologist self-portrait, field notes, email imagery, whiteboard diagrams, meme content, and closing slides.
Narration was self-recorded, and additional audio elements—including ambient music, office chatter, and dialogue clips—were sourced from Adobe Express stock tools.
Image & Video Credits:
Adobe Express Stock Library (licensed under Adobe Express Terms of Use):
- Office meeting video
- Office worker typing video
- Manager and subordinate interaction video
- Water cooler image
- Vending machine image
- IT workers image
- Office error screen image
- Tribal hut video
ChatGPT-generated images (original content, OpenAI Terms of Use):
- Title slide (“Field Notes on the Office Tribe”)
- Anthropologist self-portrait
- Field note image (“Field Report 27”)
- Email visual (“Just circling back / as per my last email”)
- Cavemen meme (“That meeting could have been an email”)
- Whiteboard diagram (cave-style symbols)
- Stylized coffee scene
- End slide (“Field Notes”)
- Credits
Composited images (original and Adobe Express stock hybrid):
- Water cooler scene
- Vending machine scene
- IT workers scene
Audio Credits:
Adobe Express Stock Library (licensed under Adobe Express Terms of Use):
- Ambient background music
- Office chatter audio
- Dialogue audio clips – text-to-audio tool (“synergies,” water cooler conversation, and vending machine conversation)
- Closed captions were generated using Adobe Express to improve accessibility and ensure clarity of narration.
Third-Party Image (Fair Use):
Lion meme image (“The lion does not concern itself with Microsoft Teams notifications”),
from Instagram (account: garkuwan_matasa01; original creator unknown).
Under the CMSI’s Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video, this image is used under Fair Use for purposes of commentary, illustration, and educational storytelling. It supports the analysis of workplace communication and functions as an example of memes as symbolic cultural artifacts. The use is transformative, non-commercial, and does not affect the market value of the original work.
