The Audiovisual Strategies and Cultural Communication of Intangible Cultural Heritage Documentaries

Abstract

As the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) shifts from salvage-oriented documentation to modes of living transmission, ICH-themed documentaries have increasingly emerged as a key visual medium connecting traditional crafts with contemporary audiences. This paper takes Handmade Yunnan and The Ancient Tea Horse Road: Deramu as its primary case studies, employing textual analysis and an examination of cinematographic language to investigate the visual strategies of ICH documentaries with respect to authenticity, regional cultural expression, and new media communication contexts. The article examines shot types, camera positioning, camera movement, long takes, and montage, as well as the ways in which composition, color, lighting, and sound design collectively shape the visual construction and emotional experience of ICH inheritors in both films. The study finds that Handmade Yunnan emphasizes craft processes and tactile qualities through extensive handheld tracking shots, close-ups, and detailed framing, whereas The Ancient Tea Horse Road: Deramu constructs an immersive observational perspective through fixed long shots, deep focus, and the use of ambient sound. Both works enhance the audience’s sense of immersion in regional spaces and the everyday lives of the characters through carefully structured narrative pacing and camera movement. Additionally, through secondary dissemination across new media and online platforms, ICH visuals are re-edited and recontextualized within a multi-screen environment, thereby further expanding the audience base and cultural influence of ICH imagery. This paper argues that audiovisual expression centered on cinematographic language not only shapes the aesthetic orientation of ICH documentaries but also, to a certain extent, reconfigures contemporary society’s perceptions and value recognition of intangible cultural heritage.