Animating Domain-Specific Complex Knowledge : An Analysis of Organic Food Communication

The pivotal point of this paper is an analysis and a discussion of the animated film “MultiTrust”. The film is a result a research project dealing with the “Multicriteria assessment and communication of effects of organic food systems”. A primary intention of this project was to help consumers make informed choices when it comes to purchasing organic foods. The animation presents a novel way of communicating domain-specific knowledge of organic food products to consumers. In order to analyze “MultiTrust”, a model of analysis is presented, which is framed by the research field communication and language for special purposes and – due to the filmic format – informed by social semiotics and multimodal analysis. The findings of the analysis are documented at the level of presentation, orientation and organization. The paper ends with a discussion of the potential of the animated film as a means to communicate domain-specific knowledge of organic foods to a lay audience.