Unexpected Crossroads of International Political Communication: Influence and Insights of Universal Codes of Media as Exemplified by Podcasts, Comics and New Media

The article dwells upon the original research conducted by author during and after his PhD studies. Through the case studies of media (exemplifying podcasts, comic books and unclassifiable new media such as web-series) directly influencing and/or vice versa being influenced directly by current political events, shown is the interconnecting tissue of universal codes of media, affecting the international political communication through media influence in unpredictable ways. Underlined is the crucial need to strengthen the awareness of experts and general population alike of such processes in Ukraine due to hybrid war occurring with Russian Federation.

Innovative Way of Cinema Development

The purpose of the research is to identify the characteristics of modern cinema, to analyze the factors of cinema language formation and to reveal new possibilities for displaying reality in screen art. The research methodology consists in the application of the following methods: theoretical is a review of the history of the screen arts development, analysis of art direction works and modern screen artworks (films, TV series, web series), generalization of modern technologies influence on the perception of the world and human socialization. Scientific novelty. For the first, time new possibilities of displaying reality on the screen, which change the artistic development of culture, are analyzed, a new approach to the perception of modern technologies, their influence on consciousness and development trends in screen art is implemented. Conclusions. The development of screen arts and factors of the formation of the cinema language has been analyzed. With the help of the analysis of art direction's works and works of screen art, the characteristics of modern cinema have been identified and new opportunities have been revealed. The influence of modern technologies on the perception of the world and human socialization has been generalized.

Looking back, looking forward

The Earth to Tables Legacies Project emerged in 2015, growing out of personal relationships, but also built on a long trajectory of participatory research, multimedia arts production and popular education. We created an intergenerational and intercultural exchange of food activists working for food justice and food sovereignty with the initial goal of producing a feature length documentary. However, the project evolved over five years to culminate in a multimedia educational package with 10 short videos and 11 photo essays, all accompanied by facilitator’s guides. A web series on the pandemic is in production and a forthcoming book is to be published in 2021. The intergenerational production team included Deborah Barndt (co-director and co-editor), Lauren Baker (co-editor) and Alexandra Gelis (co-director). In this ‘report from the field,’ the two co-directors Alexandra and Deborah look back on the process of co-producing the visual materials for the interactive website and look forward to its potential use in university classes, schools, and social and environmental justice organizations. Parts of the essay include our zoom dialogue as we revisit our process over the past five years and try to elucidate our way of working, while reflecting on the challenges of the collaborative production and use of multimedia educational tools. Note that this essay utilizes the same kind of text with hyperlinks that are featured in our website and book. The reader is encouraged to click on the links to learn more about the people and their practices as well as the concept of a non-linear multimedia educational tool and process.

Web Series as Digital Brand

The purpose of this research is to explain the role of the Web Series in discussing and delivering messages to audiences about the "value" of the product, where the web series published on digital media such as Youtube that becomes the attractive promotional strategies for the consumers. This research used a qualitative method with a descriptive approach that explains the promotion strategy and brand engagement through the web series that became a new content marketing campaign. The results of this study are the increased proximity between customers and brand as well as the increased understanding brand which leads to brand awareness because attractive promotional strategies can attract the attention of consumers. The use of web series to build engagement with customers also has its own added value, where the web series can also be used as a product campaign such as Ax Indonesia, which released a Web Series Axelerate the series: Kostan AX/3 that is in conjunction with the launch of their new product, Pomade, and Facial Wash. This study concludes that the approach to consumers must be adjusted to the characteristics of consumers themselves so that messages can be conveyed more effectively and on target.

Symbol alphabets from tensor diagrams

We propose to use tensor diagrams and the Fomin-Pylyavskyy conjectures to explore the connection between symbol alphabets of n-particle amplitudes in planar $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 Yang-Mills theory and certain polytopes associated to the Grassmannian Gr(4, n). We show how to assign a web (a planar tensor diagram) to each facet of these polytopes. Webs with no inner loops are associated to cluster variables (rational symbol letters). For webs with a single inner loop we propose and explicitly evaluate an associated web series that contains information about algebraic symbol letters. In this manner we reproduce the results of previous analyses of n ≤ 8, and find that the polytope $$ {\mathcal{C}}^{\dagger}\left(4,9\right) $$ C † 4 9 encodes all rational letters, and all square roots of the algebraic letters, of known nine-particle amplitudes.

Conclusion

The book concludes with a discussion on the making of an Internet legend, Slender Man, as a step further in embedding everyday life with supernatural entities. Originated in a contest proposed by the Something Awful website, which made a call for users to post images of phenomena that could pass for paranormal, this figure, which appears in the background of photographs showing children and teenagers, generated a series of horror stories (in the form of creepypasta), web series (Marble Hornets and totheark), horror films, and games. Slender Man has also been pointed to as the motive behind real acts of self-harm and stabbings. The multiple recycling of this monster (which some believe to be real) across a variety of media invites questions about the strange mix of unquestioning belief and exaggerated skepticism that characterizes our approach to information circulated on the Internet and in social media.