Jesús Muñoz Morcillo

Typologies of the popular science web video

The creation of popular science web videos on the Internet has increased in recent years. The diversity of formats, genres, and producers makes it difficult to formulate a universal definition of science web videos since not every producer considers him- or herself to be a science communicator in an institutional sense, and professionalism and success on video platforms no longer depend exclusively on technical excellence or production costs. Entertainment, content quality, and authenticity have become the keys to community building and success. The democratization of science video production allows a new variety of genres, styles, and forms. This article provides a first overview of the typologies and characteristics of popular science web videos. To avoid a misleading identification of science web videos with institutionally produced videos, we steer clear of the term science communication video, since many of the actual producers are not even familiar with the academic discussion on science communication, and since the subject matter does not depend on political or educational strategies. A content analysis of 200 videos from 100 online video channels was conducted. Several factors such as narrative strategies, video editing techniques, and design tendencies with regard to cinematography, the number of shots, the kind of montage used, and even the spread use of sound design and special FX point to an increasing professionalism among science communicators independent of institutional or personal commitments: in general, it can be said that supposed amateurs are creating the visual language of science video communication. This study represents an important step in understanding the essence of current popular science web videos and provides an evidence-based definition as a helpful cornerstone for further studies on science communication within this kind of new media.

e-Installation: Synesthetic Documentation of Media Art via Telepresence Technologies

In this article, a new method for the conservation and dissemination of media art through “synesthetic documentation” is presented. A “synesthetic documentation” is the description and reproduction of complex multisensory information that a work of media art produces. This new method is called “e-Installation” in analogy to the idea of the “e-Book” as the electronic version of a real book. An e-Installation is a virtualized media artwork that reproduces all synesthesia, interaction and meaning levels of the artwork. Advanced 3D modeling and telepresence technologies with a very high level of immersion allow the virtual re-enactment of works of media art that are no longer performable or rarely exhibited. The virtual re-enactment of a media artwork can be designed with a scalable level of complexity depending on whether it addresses professionals such as curators, art restorers, and art theorists, or the general public. An e-Installation is independent of the artwork’s physical location and can be accessed via head-mounted display or similar data goggles, computer browser, or even mobile devices. In combination with informational and preventive conservation measures, the e-Installation offers an intermediate and long-term solution to archive, disseminate, and pass down the milestones of media art history as a synesthetic documentation when the original work can no longer be repaired or exhibited in its full function.

Öffentliche Wissenschaft und Neue Medien : die Rolle der Web 2.0-Kultur in der Wissenschaftsvermittlung

Im Internet ist mit dem Web 2.0 eine neue Kultur des Austauschs und der Partizipation entstanden. Damit wird auch die Offentliche Wissenschaft vielfaltiger und attraktiver. Sie steht jedoch auch vor offenen Fragen: Befordern die Neuen Medien den Dialog von Wissenschaft und Offentlichkeit? Und worin besteht die Rolle der wissenschaftlichen Institutionen in diesem Prozess? Der Sammelband beleuchtet aus inter- und transdisziplinaren Perspektiven den aktuellen Wandel in der Wissenschaftsvermittlung.