SCREEN FORMS IN WARTIME: A POLYLOGUE OF JOURNALISM, DIGITAL TOOLS AND DOCUMENTARIES

Abstract

The interpenetration of screen-based forms of documentary film and social media-based digital-materials in wartime has become more noticeable. To achieve the «presence effect», filmmakers, journalists, and bloggers use common visual and audio forms, and also allow the audience to interact with the authors of the content by leaving comments, reactions, and engaging in discussions. The purpose of the article is to analyze the key interpenetrating methods and tools of journalism, digital content and documentary on the example of «Mariupol.Unspent Hope» and the local media outlet «YakTyTam» (Zaporizhzhia). The authors set themselves the following tasks: 1) to analyze the existing Ukrainian and foreign source base on local media and documentaries and, based on this, to outline common and distinctive tools for authors; 2) to describe the specific screen forms and audio effects used to create the «presence effect» of one material or series of materials. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the first attempt to identify and describe screen forms and audio means that create a sense of direct presence on the location in extreme times, form a media-real picture of life, and allow the audience to «travel» in space and time. With their successful use, authors can achieve an increase in coverage, views, and form an image of a product (film, series) or media (local, institutionalized) that demonstrates current events, provokes them to rethink, and creates a sense of attachment to the collective through specific stories of people: «We are all Mariupol», «We are all Zaporizhzhia», but with a position of self-identification. If the forms described in this article are successfully used, filmmakers, journalists, and bloggers will potentially be able to improve the content, make it more relevant to wartime conditions and the relevant needs of the audience. Further perspectives will be outlined with the emergence of new media-real (hypertextual) products, their further discussion on the web, as well as in the case of interaction between online (digital) and offline forms of existence: interactive exhibitions, performances, films with the viewer’s ability to choose a certain scenario, etc.