Video essay, videographic criticism, polymedial essayism, polymodal essayism

Abstract

I propose that, as a video essayist, when I orchestrate an essayistic audiovisual narrative using multiple units of meaning potential in written and spoken word, still and moving images, sound and music, and other such building blocks of a communicative entity, I practice polymedial essayism. Authors of video essays of all kinds – say, YouTube video essays, TikTok video essays, academic video essays, explainer videos, science videos – on all subjects in all disciplines, even subjects that does not involve analysing audiovisual media, and producers of even audio essays, are practitioners of polymedial essayism; the practice can also be called polymodal essayism.

Keywords

• polymedial essayism
• polymodal essayism
• videographic criticism
• video essay
• intermedial studies