Subtopic Deep Dive

Intermediality in Visual Media
Research Guide

What is Intermediality in Visual Media?

Intermediality in visual media examines hybrid interactions between visual, verbal, and auditory forms across film, photography, and digital installations, formalizing concepts like mediality and remediation.

Intermediality studies media borders and convergences, with Irina O. Rajewsky's 2011 paper (889 citations) defining it from a literary perspective integrating intertextuality and remediation. Lars Elleström's 2020 model (115 citations) expands on multimodal media relations. Jens Schröter's 2011 analysis (107 citations) categorizes four discourse models: synthetic, transformational, ontological, and discursive.

Curated Papers

Key Challenges

Why It Matters

Intermediality maps media convergences in contemporary art, enabling analysis of hybrid forms in film like Howl (2010) where poetry, animation, and trial footage intermix (Bruhn and Gjelsvik, 2014, 43 citations). It informs digital poetry across platforms (Schaefer, 2015, 32 citations) and ekphrasis in visual-verbal transfers (Webb and Squire, 2015, 288 citations). Applications include museum exhibits blending text and image (Yacobi, 2013, 23 citations) and remediation in installations transferring media traits (Elleström, 2017, 30 citations).

Key Research Challenges

Defining Intermedial Borders

Distinguishing intermediality from intramediality and intertextuality lacks consensus, as broad definitions obscure specific media relations (Rajewsky, 2011). Schröter (2011) identifies synthetic models fusing media without clear separation. Elleström (2020) addresses this via modalities but requires empirical testing across visual forms.

Modeling Media Transformations

Transforming traits like iconicity between dissimilar media challenges theoretical frameworks (Elleström, 2017). Bruhn and Gjelsvik (2014) show sensory mixing in film but scaling to digital remains open. Johnston et al. (2016) note ekphrasis variability in medieval contexts.

Empirical Analysis of Hybrids

Quantifying hybrid effects in visual-verbal-auditory works demands new metrics beyond citation-based models (Handley, 2020). Yacobi (2013) proposes double exposure for ekphrasis but lacks computational validation. Ljungberg (2010) highlights performative iconicity needing cross-media datasets.

Essential Papers

Intermediality, Intertextuality, and Remediation: A Literary Perspective on Intermediality

Irina O. Rajewsky · 2011 · Intermédialités Histoire et théorie des arts des lettres et des techniques · 889 citations

The concept of intermediality has come to be part of a fixed critical inventory in the debate on literature and the other arts and media. Although there is relative agreement with respect to a defi...

Ekphrasis, Imagination and Persuasion in Ancient Rhetorical Theory and Practice

Ruth Webb, Michael Squire · 2015 · Aestimatio Sources and Studies in the History of Science · 288 citations

Contents: Preface Introduction The contexts of ekphrasis Learning ekphrasis: the progymnasmata The subjects of ekphrasis Enargeia making absent things present Phantasia memory, imagination and the ...

The Modalities of Media II: An Expanded Model for Understanding Intermedial Relations

Lars Elleström · 2020 · 115 citations

Abstract This chapter is a significantly expanded and improved version of ‘The Modalities of Media: A Model for Understanding Intermedial Relations’ from 2010. It suggests an elaborated theoretical...

Discourses and Models of Intermediality

Jens Schröter · 2011 · CLCWeb Comparative Literature and Culture · 107 citations

In his article "Discourses and Models of Intermediality" Jens Schröter discusses the question as to what relations do different discourses pose between different "media." Schröter identifies four m...

Ginsberg’s animating typewriter: mixing senses and media in<i>Howl</i>(2010)

Jørgen Bruhn, Anne Gjelsvik · 2014 · Word & Image · 43 citations

Epstein and Friedman’s 2010 movie Howl is partly a portrait of Allen Ginsberg, author of the poem ‘Howl’, and partly a documentary about the 1957 obscenity trial against his publisher Lawrence Ferl...

Poetry in Transmedial Perspective: Rethinking Intermedial Literary Studies in the Digital Age

Heike Schaefer · 2015 · Acta Universitatis Sapientiae Film and Media Studies · 32 citations

Abstract In the digital age. literary practice proliferates across different media platforms. Contemporary literary texts are written, circulated and rea|d in a variety of media, ranging from tradi...

Transfer of Media Characteristics among Dissimilar Media

Lars Elleström · 2017 · Palabra Clave · 30 citations

A broad variety of media traits are transmedial in the sense that they can to a certain extent be transferred among media that differ in fundamental ways This article presents a new theoretical fra...

Reading Guide

Foundational Papers

Read Rajewsky (2011) first for core definition (889 citations), then Schröter (2011) for models, and Bruhn and Gjelsvik (2014) for film case study.

Recent Advances

Study Elleström (2020) for expanded modalities, Handley (2020) for contemporary ekphrasis, and Schaefer (2015) for digital transmediality.

Core Methods

Core techniques: remediation analysis (Rajewsky, 2011), modality frameworks (Elleström, 2020), ekphrastic quotation (Yacobi, 2013), and discourse modeling (Schröter, 2011).

How PapersFlow Helps You Research Intermediality in Visual Media

Discover & Search

PapersFlow's Research Agent uses searchPapers and exaSearch to query 'intermediality remediation visual media,' retrieving Rajewsky (2011) with 889 citations. citationGraph reveals Elleström's (2020) connections to Schröter (2011), while findSimilarPapers expands to Webb and Squire (2015) on ekphrasis.

Analyze & Verify

Analysis Agent applies readPaperContent to extract modality models from Elleström (2020), then verifyResponse with CoVe checks claims against Rajewsky (2011). runPythonAnalysis with pandas networks citation overlaps (e.g., 115 vs. 889 cites), graded by GRADE for evidential strength in hybrid media claims.

Synthesize & Write

Synthesis Agent detects gaps like unmodeled digital poetry hybrids (Schaefer, 2015), flagging contradictions between Schröter's (2011) models. Writing Agent uses latexEditText for ekphrasis sections, latexSyncCitations for Rajewsky (2011), and exportMermaid to diagram Elleström's (2020) media modalities flowchart.

Use Cases

"Analyze intermedial relations in Howl (2010) film using Python network graph."

Research Agent → searchPapers('Howl intermediality') → Analysis Agent → readPaperContent(Bruhn 2014) → runPythonAnalysis(pandas network of senses/media nodes) → researcher gets citation-graph visualization of typewriter-poetry-film hybrids.

"Write LaTeX section on ekphrasis models with citations."

Research Agent → citationGraph('ekphrasis intermediality') → Synthesis Agent → gap detection(Webb 2015) → Writing Agent → latexEditText + latexSyncCitations(Yacobi 2013) + latexCompile → researcher gets compiled PDF with synced refs on double exposure.

"Find code for intermedial modality analysis tools."

Research Agent → exaSearch('intermediality visual media code') → Code Discovery → paperExtractUrls(Elleström 2017) → paperFindGithubRepo → githubRepoInspect → researcher gets repo with Python scripts for media trait transfer metrics.

Automated Workflows

Deep Research workflow scans 50+ intermediality papers via searchPapers, structures reports on Rajewsky (2011) to Handley (2020) convergences with GRADE checkpoints. DeepScan applies 7-step CoVe to verify Elleström (2020) modalities against Schröter (2011) models. Theorizer generates hypotheses on unstudied visual-audio hybrids from Bruhn (2014) and Schaefer (2015).

Try Doxa for Intermediality in Visual Media Research

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the core definition of intermediality?

Intermediality denotes media relations transcending single-medium boundaries, as defined broadly by Rajewsky (2011) integrating remediation and intertextuality.

What are main methods in intermediality studies?

Methods include modality modeling (Elleström, 2020), discourse categorization (Schröter, 2011), and ekphrastic analysis (Webb and Squire, 2015; Yacobi, 2013).

What are key papers?

Rajewsky (2011, 889 citations) on literary intermediality; Elleström (2020, 115 citations) on media modalities; Schröter (2011, 107 citations) on discourse models.

What open problems exist?

Challenges include empirical quantification of transformations (Elleström, 2017) and scaling ekphrasis to digital hybrids (Handley, 2020; Schaefer, 2015).