Performing Authenticity for the Chinese Gaze: Multimodal Strategies in Spanish Institutional Tourism Videos

Performing Authenticity for the Chinese Gaze: Multimodal Strategies in Spanish Institutional Tourism Videos | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Performing Authenticity for the Chinese Gaze: Multimodal Strategies in Spanish Institutional Tourism Videos Yu Zeng, Anqi Liu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9209670/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract As Western institutions increasingly target Chinese audiences, they face the significant challenge of communicating abstract cultural values across different semiotic and affective repertoires. Authenticity, a cornerstone of cultural promotion, is particularly difficult to translate. This study examines how this challenge is addressed in practice, asking: what multimodal strategies do institutions use to construct and mediate authenticity for the Chinese market? The study analyzes a corpus of 20 promotional videos released by Spanish public institutions for Chinese digital platforms. Drawing on visual grammar —critically adapted to account for temporality, camera movement, and multimodal orchestration—fine-grained annotation of four representative videos is combined with a macro-level corpus analysis to identify recurring semiotic patterns. The findings reveal that authenticity is not an inherent quality but is systematically produced through multimodal configurations that foreground emotional narration, idealized modality, and culturally adapted forms of viewer positioning. Four recurrent strategies are identified— “real participation”, “scenic contemplation”, “emotional narration”, and “sensory engagement”—each mobilizing specific combinations of gaze, social distance, framing, narrative structure, and auditory co-deployment to naturalize particular versions of “genuine” experience for a Chinese audience. The study further demonstrates how institutional audiovisual discourse selectively foregrounds desirable cultural meanings while marginalizing less marketable realities, a dynamic theorized here as reverse strategic orientalism. Theoretically, this research proposes a methodologically grounded model for understanding how abstract cultural values are operationalized in audiovisual communication. Practically, it provides a typology of multimodal strategies that can inform the work of intercultural communication professionals. Humanities/Cultural and media studies Social science/Cultural and media studies Humanities/Language and linguistics Social science/Language and linguistics Humanities/Literature Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology intercultural communication visual communication multimodality authenticity nation branding Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 1. Introduction In the competitive global landscape, attracting the attention of the rapidly growing Chinese market has become a strategic priority for many Western nations. Spanish institutions, for example, invest heavily in promotional videos to convey a sense of Spain's unique cultural “authenticity.” Yet, how can such an abstract, culturally specific value be effectively communicated to an audience with different aesthetic preferences, media habits, and cultural understandings? Audiovisual texts are not merely illustrations but powerful tools that can either bridge or widen this cultural gap. Understanding the practical semiotic strategies embedded in these videos is therefore crucial for effective intercultural communication. While practitioners are producing this content, they often lack a systematic understanding of which specific visual choices resonate with non-Western audiences and why. Previous academic research has shown that visual elements such as gaze and framing construct ideological stances, but much of this work has focused on static images or has not specifically addressed the dynamics of cross-cultural video communication. This leaves a critical knowledge gap: how do institutions adapt their visual language to make cultural values like authenticity tangible and appealing to a specific international public? The concept of authenticity is particularly challenging in this context. What is perceived as a “genuine” cultural experience in Spain may be interpreted very differently through a Chinese cultural lens, requiring a strategic process of cultural mediation where visual communication is carefully calibrated to align with the target audience's expectations. Addressing this gap, this study investigates the multimodal strategies used to construct authenticity in Spanish institutional videos for Chinese audiences. Analytically, the study draws on visual grammar (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006 ) as its primary theoretical framework, critically adapted for dynamic audiovisual discourse. Since the framework was originally designed for static images, its application here requires explicit methodological justification—an issue addressed in depth in Section 2.2 . The metafunctional categories of representation, interpersonal positioning, and modality are operationalized to account for temporal unfolding, camera movement, and multimodal orchestration across time. We conceptualize authenticity not as an inherent property but as a communicative effect, produced through recurrent multimodal configurations. Empirically, the study analyzes 20 institutional videos produced by Spanish public organizations (2019–2024) for Chinese digital platforms. A combined micro–macro approach, using fine-grained annotation (ELAN) of four representative videos alongside a macro-level analysis of the full corpus, allows for a systematic exploration of both local meaning-making and broader institutional tendencies. The article proceeds as follows: Section 2 reviews the theoretical framework, Section 3 details the methodology, Section 4 presents the analysis, Section 5 discusses the findings, and Section 6 concludes. As the study focuses on production rather than reception, it is necessarily limited by the absence of audience data—a gap identified as a priority for future research. 2. Literature Review 2.1. Visual Grammar as a Framework for Multimodal Meaning-Making Contemporary communication research increasingly recognizes that meaning is produced not solely through verbal language but through the interaction of multiple semiotic modes, including visual, auditory, and embodied resources. Halliday’s ( 1978 ) systemic functional linguistics laid the groundwork for understanding language as a social semiotic system organized around metafunctions that realize experiential, interpersonal, and textual meanings. Building on this tradition, Kress and van Leeuwen ( 2006 ) developed visual grammar as a framework for theorizing how images and visual compositions function as structured resources for meaning-making across diverse social and institutional contexts. Visual grammar proposes that images, like language, are organized through three metafunctions. The representational metafunction concerns how visual discourse constructs versions of reality by depicting social actors, actions, and settings, thereby shaping what is made visible and meaningful. The interpersonal metafunction addresses how images position viewers in relation to represented participants through gaze, perspective, social distance, and angle, thus organizing relations of involvement, power, and affect. The compositional metafunction focuses on how visual elements are arranged into coherent wholes through salience, framing, and information value, guiding attention and structuring interpretive hierarchies. Together, these metafunctions offer a systematic account of how visual communication operates as a socially situated semiotic practice. A central concept within this framework is visual modality, which refers to the degree of credibility or “truth value” an image claims. Importantly, modality is not an objective feature of images but a culturally and socially conditioned judgement: what counts as realistic, natural, or authentic depends on shared conventions within specific communities (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006 ). From a visual communication perspective, modality thus becomes a key resource through which images naturalize particular representations and invite viewers to accept them as plausible or self-evident. 2.2. Extending Visual Grammar to Dynamic Audiovisual Discourse: Critical Debates and Methodological Adaptations The application of visual grammar to dynamic audiovisual texts has been the subject of sustained critical debate in multimodal studies. Originally calibrated for the analysis of static images, the framework has been challenged by scholars who argue that dynamic, time-based artefacts introduce dimensions of meaning-making that require either substantial adaptation or altogether different theoretical tools (Bateman & Schmidt, 2012 ; Wildfeuer, 2014 ). A central concern is the problem of temporality. Static image analysis operates on the assumption of a simultaneously perceivable visual field, whereas film and video unfold through time: meaning emerges not from a single frame but from the sequential accumulation of shots, transitions, camera movements, and rhythmic editing patterns. Bateman and Schmidt ( 2012 ) argue that this temporal dimension requires an account of how multimodal meaning is constructed across narrative sequences rather than within individual images—a challenge the original framework is structurally ill-equipped to address. Wildfeuer ( 2014 ) similarly demonstrates that audiovisual meaning-making is governed by sequential and inference-driven logic rather than by compositional arrangement within a single frame. A second concern relates to the co-deployment of multiple modes. Film and video integrate moving images with sound, music, voiceover, and ambient noise in ways that produce meaning through intersemiotic interaction across time. Tseng ( 2013 , 2019 ) has shown that the metafunctional categories of visual grammar can be extended to account for such intersemiotic dynamics when appropriately adapted, but stresses that relationships between modes in video are qualitatively different from the image-text relations the original framework was designed to address. A third line of critique concerns the unit of analysis. In static image analysis, the frame or the page provides a natural analytical boundary. In video, the selection of an appropriate analytical unit—whether the shot, the scene, the sequence, or the segment—is itself a theoretical and methodological decision with significant consequences for the analysis (Tseng, 2013 ; Bateman & Schmidt, 2012 ). The adoption of annotation tools such as ELAN, which allows analysts to define and synchronize multiple tiers of meaning across time, represents a practical response to this challenge, but does not in itself resolve the theoretical question of which unit best captures the semiotic logic of audiovisual discourse. Despite these limitations, the visual grammar framework retains significant analytical purchase for promotional video when its application is explicitly methodologically grounded. Several studies have demonstrated productive extensions to video analysis (Tseng, 2013 , 2019 ; Du & Cheong, 2025 ), particularly for institutionally produced content, which tends to exhibit compositional deliberateness and recurrent visual patterns that make segment-level analysis tractable. The present study operationalizes the metafunctional categories at the level of thematically coherent segments annotated through ELAN, incorporating a temporal dimension while preserving the framework’s analytical precision. The methodological implications are elaborated in Section 3 . 2.3. Authenticity as a Visual–Discursive Effect Authenticity has long been a central concept in tourism studies, beginning with MacCannell’s ( 1973 ) notion of “staged authenticity,” which foregrounds the mediated and curated nature of experiences presented to outsiders. Wang’s ( 1999 ) distinction between objective, constructed, and existential authenticity further emphasized that authenticity is not an inherent property of objects or practices but a socially produced and experientially negotiated phenomenon. While these perspectives emerged within tourism theory, they resonate with broader concerns in visual communication about how reality, credibility, and truthfulness are semiotically constructed. From a visual communication standpoint, authenticity can be reconceptualized as a visual–discursive effect: a meaning produced through recurrent semiotic patterns that make representations appear natural, spontaneous, or emotionally genuine. Rather than asking whether representations are truly authentic, this perspective shifts attention to how authenticity is made to look and feel authentic through visual strategies such as framing, modality, narrative positioning, and viewer alignment. Empirical studies of audiovisual discourse have increasingly shown that authenticity is closely tied to visual and multimodal design. Research on video-based communication demonstrates that depictions of everyday practices, embodied participation, and intimate social interaction play a crucial role in producing impressions of genuineness and emotional closeness (Chen & Chen, 2023 ; Du & Cheong, 2025 ). Similarly, studies of social media and influencer culture suggest that visual cues of ordinariness, immediacy, and affective engagement function as semiotic markers of authenticity in digital environments (Dong et al., 2023 ). Beyond individual experience, authenticity also operates as a symbolic resource in institutional communication. Visual representations that appear natural and self-evident can legitimize particular cultural meanings and normalize selective versions of reality. In this sense, authenticity is not simply perceived by viewers but strategically produced and circulated as part of institutional discourse, contributing to the construction of identities, values, and cultural hierarchies. Conceptualizing authenticity in this way aligns it with critical approaches to visual communication that foreground how images perform ideological work by presenting contingent representations as commonsense realities. This study adopts such a perspective by treating authenticity not as a property of destinations or experiences, but as a semiotic effect emerging from multimodal configurations in institutional video discourse. The focus therefore lies on identifying how multimodal resources are orchestrated to naturalize particular versions of “the real” for targeted audiences. 2.4. Visual Grammar in Intercultural and Institutional Communication The application of visual grammar in intercultural contexts has attracted increasing scholarly attention, particularly regarding the extent to which visual meanings are culturally situated. While the metafunctional framework offers a general model for analyzing visual discourse, the interpretation of specific features—such as color, symbolism, gaze, and spatial organization—is deeply embedded in culturally specific semiotic systems (Machin, 2014 ). This raises important questions about how visual communication is adapted when addressing audiences with different cultural repertoires of seeing and meaning-making. Studies of intercultural visual discourse suggest that institutions frequently recalibrate visual strategies to align with audience expectations and interpretive conventions. Gan et al.’s ( 2023 ) analysis of promotional videos illustrates how representational choices and interpersonal positioning are reconfigured to resonate with culturally distant viewers. Within European institutional communication, Bui and Trupp’s ( 2014 ) study of Vienna’s campaigns for Asian audiences further demonstrates that visual adaptation goes beyond surface symbolism to involve deeper adjustments in social distance, gaze, and narrative focus—underscoring that intercultural visual communication is a matter of reconfiguring semiotic relations, not merely content selection. From this perspective, institutional videos addressed to international publics are sites of cultural mediation, where visual discourse works to reduce symbolic distance and foster affective alignment. The present study situates itself within this line of research, foregrounding intercultural adaptation not as a background condition but as a central dimension of multimodal design in institutional visual discourse. A critical question, however, concerns whether such adaptations are received as intended. Hall’s ( 1980 ) encoding/decoding model reminds us that the preferred meanings producers encode in audiovisual texts are not transparently transmitted but remain subject to negotiation, resistance, or oppositional decoding on the part of audiences with different cultural positions and interpretive resources. This tension between institutional encoding and audience decoding is particularly acute in cross-cultural communication contexts, where the gap between producer intentions and viewer responses may be widened by divergent semiotic repertoires. 2.5. Visual Modality and the Naturalization of Authenticity Research on audiovisual discourse shows that institutional videos often manage modality strategically by combining cinematic, idealized imagery with scenes that index ordinariness and immediacy. Such blending allows producers to sustain aesthetic appeal while enhancing emotional plausibility. Du and Cheong’s ( 2025 ) analysis of sustainability-oriented videos demonstrates how polished visual styles are juxtaposed with culturally grounded practices to produce a sense of constructed yet convincing reality. Similarly, Adamus-Matuszyńska et al. ( 2021 ) show how visual codes associated with nature, heritage, and muted color palettes contribute to perceptions of trust and authenticity in European branding discourse. Modality thus functions as a key mechanism of naturalization, rendering particular representations self-evident through choices of lighting, color saturation, camera movement, and framing. In intercultural contexts, this dimension becomes especially consequential: producers must calibrate modality to align with how culturally different audiences evaluate realism and credibility. In institutional videos addressed to Chinese audiences, modality management can therefore be understood as a key semiotic strategy for aligning visual discourse with audience sensibilities while constructing the appearance of authenticity. In the analytical framework developed in Section 3.3 , visual modality is accordingly operationalized not as a property of individual images but as a sustained aesthetic register tracked across segments—one analytical dimension among five through which the multimodal construction of authenticity is examined. 3. Methodology 3.1. General Approach This study adopts a qualitative, descriptive–interpretative research design grounded in multimodal discourse analysis. The approach is informed by the premise that meaning in audiovisual communication emerges from the dynamic interplay of multiple semiotic modes—particularly visual, verbal, and auditory resources—unfolding across time. Rather than treating images as supplementary to language, the analysis foregrounds visual meaning-making as a central site where cultural values and national images are discursively constructed. The primary analytical lens is an adapted version of visual grammar (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006 ), complemented by tourism authenticity theory (MacCannell, 1973 ; Wang, 1999 ) and methodological principles from multimodal film and video analysis (Bateman & Schmidt, 2012 ; Tseng, 2013 ; Wildfeuer, 2014 ). As discussed in Section 2.2 , direct application of the original framework to audiovisual texts requires explicit adaptation. Three methodological decisions govern this study’s approach. First, the unit of analysis is the thematically coherent segment—a temporally bounded unit capturing the sequential unfolding of meaning across shots and scenes—rather than the individual frame. This segment-level approach operationalizes the discourse-level perspective advocated by Tseng ( 2013 ) and Bateman and Schmidt ( 2012 ). Second, the metafunctional categories are operationalized as recurring tendencies across segments rather than fixed properties of individual images. Gaze, social distance, and framing are treated as dominant patterns characterizing the semiotic logic of a sequence. Camera movement, shot transitions, and editing rhythm are incorporated as additional interpersonal and compositional resources, following Tseng ( 2019 ). Third, auditory resources—music, voiceover, and ambient sound—are treated as co-constitutive semiotic resources rather than supplementary accompaniments, recorded as a separate ELAN tier to enable systematic analysis of intersemiotic reinforcement and divergence. 3.2. Corpus The corpus consists of 20 institutional tourism promotion videos produced in Spain and explicitly targeting Chinese audiences, selected through purposive sampling. All videos were produced and/or disseminated by Turespaña or official regional tourism boards, ensuring they represent authorized destination discourse. They were released between 2019 and 2024, spanning pre-pandemic promotion, pandemic-period adjustment, and post-pandemic recovery, enabling analysis of potential shifts in visual rhetoric. All videos are narrated or subtitled in Chinese and were distributed through platforms such as WeChat and Bilibili, confirming a clear communicative orientation toward Sinophone publics. In terms of content, the corpus covers natural landscapes, historical heritage, urban spaces, everyday life, and cultural practices including flamenco, gastronomy, and local markets, providing a broad basis for identifying recurrent patterns across experiential domains. All selected videos explicitly frame Spain as offering “authentic,” “genuine,” or “in-depth” experiences aligned with discourses of experiential tourism prevalent in the Chinese outbound market, making them well suited for examining how authenticity is multimodally constructed for intercultural audiences. 3.3. Analytical Framework The analytical framework operationalizes the adapted approach outlined in Section 3.1 , addressing five dimensions derived from the metafunctional model (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006 ): representational, interpersonal, compositional, modal, and auditory/textual. Table 1 presents the full operationalization. The representational dimension examines which types of processes—narrative or conceptual—govern the visual construction of social actors, settings, and activities within a given segment. At the narrative level, attention is paid to whether sequences depict action, reaction, or transformation over time, rather than merely cataloguing participants in a static frame. The interpersonal dimension addresses how viewer positioning is constructed across a segment through patterns of gaze, social distance, camera angle, and camera movement. Following Tseng ( 2019 ), interpersonal meanings in video are understood as tendencies realized across multiple shots rather than properties of individual frames. Shot transitions and camera movement—tracking shots, zooms, aerial shots—are incorporated as dynamic interpersonal resources. The compositional dimension examines how visual elements are organized into coherent wholes within and across segments. In addition to the standard categories of salience, framing, and information value, compositional analysis here attends to editing rhythm and the sequencing of visual units, which constitute a temporal form of composition (Bateman & Schmidt, 2012 ). Visual modality is analyzed as a sustained aesthetic register maintained across a segment or across the video as a whole, rather than as a property of individual images. Modality markers—including color saturation, lighting quality, focus, camera stability, and production polish—are assessed as coherent stylistic choices that position the viewer to accept the represented world as naturalistic, idealized, or hybrid. Auditory and textual resources are incorporated as a fifth analytical tier, following van Leeuwen ( 2005 ). Music, voiceover, ambient sound, subtitles, and on-screen captions are analyzed in relation to the visual track, focusing on intersemiotic reinforcement, elaboration, or divergence. Table 1 Analytical categories used in the study (adapted from Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006 , with dynamic extensions) Dimension Analytical Categories Dynamic/Audiovisual adaptation Relation to Authenticity Representational Process types (narrative/conceptual); social actors; activities Sequential action and transformation analyzed across shots Constructs “real life,” lived culture, embodied participation Interpersonal Gaze; angle; social distance; emotional framing Realized as tendencies across segments; camera movement included Creates proximity, empathy, or symbolic distance over time Compositional Salience; framing; information value Editing rhythm, shot sequencing, and temporal juxtaposition included Guides attention and structures interpretive hierarchies across segments Visual Modality Color saturation; lighting; focus; visual clarity Assessed as sustained aesthetic register; modality shifts tracked Constructs visual credibility and realism; naturalization of authenticity Auditory/Textual Music; voiceover; ambient sound; subtitles; captions Analyzed as co-constitutive resources in intersemiotic interaction Modulates emotional tone, cultural address, and authenticity claims 3.4. Analytical Procedure The analysis proceeded in six stages, each designed to operationalize the adapted framework described above. First, viewing and segmentation. Each video was viewed at least three times to ensure familiarity with its narrative structure, visual rhythm, and multimodal organization. Segmentation was conducted in ELAN (EUDICO Linguistic Annotator), with the unit of analysis defined as a thematically coherent scene or visually salient activity. A minimum segment length of three seconds was applied to ensure sufficient temporal depth for multimodal analysis. Second, multi-tier annotation. Each segment was annotated in ELAN using a coding scheme corresponding to the five analytical dimensions described in Section 3.3 : representational processes, interpersonal positioning (including camera movement and shot patterns), compositional organization (including editing rhythm), visual modality (as a sustained register), and auditory/textual resources. Third, cross-coding and reliability check. To enhance analytical reliability, 20% of the corpus was independently coded by a second trained researcher using the same coding scheme. Inter-coder agreement reached 87%, with a Cohen's Kappa of 0.78, indicating substantial reliability across the five analytical dimensions. Discrepancies were resolved through discussion until consensus was reached, and the coding scheme was refined accordingly. Fourth, thematic categorization. Based on recurring multimodal patterns identified across the annotated corpus, an inductive thematic analysis identified four dominant strategies for constructing authenticity: (1) real participation, (2) scenic contemplation, (3) emotional narration, and (4) sensory engagement. Table 2 presents the operationalization of these categories. Table 2 Operationalization of thematic categories Thematic Category Primary Multimodal Features Authenticity Type Examples Real Participation Narrative processes; direct gaze; medium distance; everyday settings; dialogue and ambient sound Interactional/existential Market visits, guided encounters, local interactions Scenic Contemplation Conceptual processes; long distance; elevated angle; lyrical music; absence of narration Scenic/symbolic Natural parks, heritage panoramas Emotional Narration Introspective gaze; close-medium distance; voiceover; emotionally heightened music Affective/constructed Personal stories, cultural reflection, heritage narratives Sensory Engagement Extreme close-ups; high color saturation; ambient sound; embodied action Sensory/embodied Food preparation, wine tasting, artisanal craft Fifth, data management and synthesis. ELAN annotations were exported into Excel and organized by video, segment, analytical dimension, and thematic category. This facilitated systematic cross-case comparison and the identification of dominant multimodal patterns across the corpus. Sixth, ethical considerations. All materials analyzed are publicly available institutional videos. No human participants were directly involved, and no personal or sensitive data were collected. The study follows standard ethical guidelines for media discourse analysis and academic fair use. 4. Data Presentation 4.1. Macroscopic Overview of the Corpus 4.1.1. Methodological Justification and Procedure To capture general trends beyond in-depth interpretation, a quantitative analysis of all 20 videos was conducted using a structured Excel coding template. Variables covered thematic category, dominant shot type, camera movement, presence of voice and narration, local participants, music register, cultural and landscape focus, dominant emotion, and visual modality. Camera movement and music register were included as coding variables in keeping with the methodological adaptation described in Section 3.1 . To ensure reliability, two researchers independently annotated each video and resolved discrepancies through discussion until consensus was reached, consistent with the inter-coder procedure described in Section 3.4 . 4.1.2. General Findings The macroscopic analysis reveals several salient patterns across the corpus. First, in terms of thematic distribution, the corpus is strongly dominated by the Emotional Narration category, which accounts for over 60% of the videos. This is followed by Real Participation, Sensory Engagement, and Scenic Contemplation. The prominence of affective storytelling suggests that institutional producers consistently privilege emotional engagement and narrative immersion over purely informational or scenic representation when addressing Chinese audiences (see Fig. 1 ). Second, regarding visual modality, idealized modality emerges as the most frequent strategy across the corpus. High color saturation, carefully controlled lighting, and cinematic composition construct an aesthetically enhanced vision of Spain. This idealization is consistently reinforced at the auditory level through lyrical or orchestral music that sustains a contemplative or aspirational emotional register. However, videos categorized under Real Participation and Sensory Engagement display a higher proportion of realistic or mixed modality, characterized by handheld camera movement, natural lighting, ambient sound, and less polished framing. This indicates a strategic modulation of modality—across both visual and auditory channels—to balance aspirational imagery with cues of everyday realism (Fig. 2 ). Third, in terms of dominant emotions, positive affect overwhelmingly prevails across the corpus. Enthusiasm, serenity, admiration, and warmth are recurrent emotional tones, constructed through the co-deployment of visual warmth, smooth editing rhythms, and emotionally elevated musical scores. Nostalgia appears in emotionally charged narratives linked to history and heritage, frequently marked by slower editing pace, desaturated or golden color grading, and reflective voiceover narration. Negative emotions are virtually absent (Fig. 3 ). This affective profile underscores the role of multimodal orchestration in constructing Spain as an emotionally desirable and harmonious destination. 4.1.3. Cross-cutting Observations Beyond these distributions, several cross-cutting tendencies emerge from the macroscopic analysis. A first pattern concerns the visual and auditory homogeneity of the corpus. Despite thematic variation, most videos share a coherent institutional aesthetic: high-resolution imagery, smooth editing, warm natural lighting, and lyrical or ambient musical accompaniment. This stylistic consistency operates as a multimodal branding strategy, stabilizing Spain's image across diverse content types. A second trend relates to cultural representation and the co-deployment of visual and auditory modes. Local cultural elements—traditional music, dance, crafts, markets, and gastronomy—are most salient in Emotional Narration and Real Participation videos, where their presence is reinforced through ambient sound and culturally specific musical motifs. By contrast, Scenic Contemplation videos privilege monumental or sublime nature, while the auditory track shifts toward orchestral or minimalist music that accentuates spatial grandeur. A third pattern concerns differentiated modes of authenticity construction, realized multimodally across the four categories. When local people are present, authenticity is enacted through gestural interaction, eye contact, ambient dialogue, and the sounds of everyday life—a configuration that accumulates meaning across sequences rather than residing in any single image. When human presence is minimal, authenticity is projected through the visual grandeur of landscapes and the sonic elevation of the musical score. Finally, the corpus displays a clear and consistent orientation toward Chinese viewers. This is realized not only through Chinese subtitles and voiceover narration but also through recurrent narrative themes—family, friendship, harmony, and self-discovery—whose visual and auditory articulation is paced and composed to align with emotional repertoires associated with Chinese outbound tourism discourse. 4.2. In-depth Qualitative Analysis of Representative Cases This section presents a close analysis of four representative videos, each exemplifying one thematic category. Table 3 provides a synthetic comparison of the multimodal strategies across the four cases. Table 3 Comparison of Authenticity Strategies in the Institutional Videos Analyzed Category Core Authenticity Strategy Key Visual Features Key Auditory Features Viewer Engagement Real Participation Direct interaction and enacted spontaneity Eye contact; medium/close shots; handheld movement; everyday settings Ambient dialogue; natural sound; conversational voiceover High (direct identification, co-presence) Scenic Contemplation Aesthetic contemplation and spatial grandeur Aerial and long shots; elevated angle; absence of human figures Orchestral or minimalist music; absence of narration Medium-low (admiring distance) Emotional Narration Personalized affective trajectory Close-medium shots; introspective gaze; slow editing Emotive music; reflective voiceover; culturally resonant narration High (emotional empathy, narrative immersion) Sensory Engagement Embodied sensory immersion and convivial practice Extreme close-ups; high color saturation; stable or tracking shots Ambient food sounds; tactile audio; warm musical accompaniment Medium-high (imagined co-participation) 4.2.1. Real Participation In the Real Participation category, authenticity is constructed through the sequential accumulation of immersive encounters with everyday life and direct interpersonal engagement. Representationally, narrative processes dominate across segments, depicting tourists and locals jointly engaged in activities such as guided walks, market visits, and informal conversations. These activities are rendered not through isolated images but through sequences that develop across time: an initial establishing shot introduces a shared space, subsequent medium shots show participants in interaction, and close-ups on hands, faces, and objects ground the sequence in embodied detail. Interpersonally, the dominant pattern across segments is one of sustained proximity and inclusion. Medium and close shots, horizontal camera angles, and frequent direct gaze are maintained across multiple consecutive shots, constructing what Tseng ( 2019 ) terms an interpersonal tendency—a semiotic disposition that accrues meaning through repetition rather than through any single frame. Camera movement further reinforces this effect: handheld or gently tracking shots that follow participants through space enact a sense of co-presence and shared movement, positioning the viewer as a virtual participant rather than a distanced observer. The auditory dimension is equally constitutive of this authenticity regime. Ambient sound—market noise, conversational fragments, laughter—is maintained throughout these sequences, operating as an auditory marker of everyday realism. Where voiceover narration is present, it adopts a conversational rather than declarative register, further reinforcing the impression of informal, unmediated access to local life. As illustrated in Fig. 4 , a Chinese tourist interacts with a local guide in Madrid's Retiro Park. The medium shot and sustained eye contact across a sequence of cuts construct what Wang ( 1999 ) terms existential authenticity, grounded in lived experience and interpersonal connection. Although such scenes are institutionally staged, the incorporation of casual dialogue, ambient laughter, and handheld camera movement produces an effect of accessibility and “everydayness” that naturalizes the authenticity claim through multimodal orchestration across time. Note Chinese tourist engaging with official tour guide at Madrid’s Retiro Park. Medium shot and horizontal angle construct interactional authenticity through genuine participation in guided cultural experience. (Source: Madrid promotional video, 2023) 4.2.2. Scenic Contemplation By contrast, the Scenic Contemplation category constructs authenticity through aesthetic elevation and spatial grandeur, realized through a distinctly different multimodal configuration that unfolds across sequences. Representationally, conceptual processes prevail: landscapes, heritage sites, and architectural monuments are presented as timeless, stable, and self-evidently meaningful. The absence of human figures across extended sequences reinforces a mode of representation in which place itself is the protagonist. Interpersonally, the dominant pattern is one of sustained distancing and upward orientation. Long shots and aerial perspectives, maintained across multiple segments, position the viewer as an admiring but spatially removed observer. Elevated camera angles—drone shots that descend toward heritage sites, wide establishing shots that frame landscapes within monumental proportions—construct a power relation in which the represented space is elevated and the viewer positioned beneath it. The auditory register is equally central to this authenticity construction. The near-total absence of diegetic sound or human voice is a deliberate choice: it removes markers of everyday life and social interaction, purifying the represented space into an aesthetic ideal. In their place, orchestral or minimalist musical scores sustain a register of grandeur and timelessness, guiding the viewer’s emotional response toward admiration and awe. Figure 5 exemplifies this strategy through a panoramic view of Toledo at golden hour. The Alcázar dominates the frame across a slow aerial approach, while warm lighting, saturated color, and a swelling musical score co-deploy to project an idealized yet credible vision of place. This aligns with MacCannell's (1973) notion of staged authenticity, in which destinations are aestheticized to embody an ideal cultural essence. The resulting authenticity is scenic and symbolic—emotionally evocative yet interactionally distanced—and is produced through the temporal unfolding of the sequence rather than through any single compositional arrangement. Note Panoramic view of Toledo at golden hour with Alcázar fortress dominating the historic cityscape. Long shot, elevated angle, and high visual modality (warm lighting, color saturation) construct scenic/aspirational authenticity through idealized yet credible representation. Absence of human presence emphasizes contemplative engagement. (Source: Spain by Train promotional video, 2023) 4.2.3. Emotional Narration In Emotional Narration videos, authenticity is grounded in affective storytelling and cultural symbolism, constructed through a carefully orchestrated temporal progression. Representationally, sequences weave together iconic landmarks, artworks, seasonal scenes, and cultural practices into coherent narrative trajectories that develop across the video as a whole: openings establish mood and place, middle sections introduce cultural depth and personal resonance, and closings provide emotional resolution. This narrative architecture operates at the level of the whole text rather than the individual segment. Interpersonally, the dominant pattern shifts between introspective and invitational modes across the sequence. Close and medium shots of contemplative figures are interspersed with shots in which these figures address the camera directly, alternating between emotional interiority and viewer interpellation. This rhythmic oscillation between withdrawal and address, realized through editing patterns rather than individual shots, constructs an interpersonal dynamic of intimacy and invitation. The voiceover narration is a structurally central resource in this category. Operating as a continuous auditory thread that binds visual segments into a coherent affective trajectory, it adopts a reflective, poetic register that guides interpretation and supplies the emotional tone. Emotive musical scores—often building in intensity across the video's temporal arc—co-deploy with the voiceover to amplify the affective register, producing an intersemiotic crescendo in which visual, verbal, and musical modes converge toward emotional resolution. As shown in Fig. 6 , jacaranda blossoms framing Málaga Cathedral represent a compositionally dense moment within a longer emotional arc. The high color saturation and symbolic composition construct an aspirational atmosphere, but their full meaning is achieved only within the surrounding sequence. This configuration produces affective authenticity: Spain appears culturally genuine not through everyday ordinariness but through its capacity to resonate emotionally as historically rich, aesthetically enchanting, and personally meaningful. Note Jacaranda tree in full bloom framing Málaga Cathedral. High color saturation and symbolic composition construct emotional/aspirational authenticity by evoking romance and Mediterranean spring. (Source: Málaga promotional video, 2023) 4.2.4. Sensory Engagement The Sensory Engagement category constructs authenticity through embodied immersion and convivial practice, realized through a multimodal regime that foregrounds materiality, tactility, and social pleasure across time. Representationally, close-ups of ingredients, cooking processes, hands at work, and tasting moments dominate the visual track. These are not isolated images but sequential constructions: a close-up of raw ingredients gives way to a shot of preparation, which transitions to tasting, which resolves in shared enjoyment. This temporal chain enacts the experiential logic of sensory participation rather than merely illustrating it. Interpersonally, the pattern is one of progressive intimacy and imagined co-participation. The combination of extreme close-ups—which collapse physical distance between viewer and object—with medium shots that capture shared social interaction positions the viewer simultaneously as a sensory witness and an imagined co-diner. Camera movement in this category tends toward slow, deliberate tracking that follows the movement of hands, liquids, and food across surfaces, enacting a form of visual touch. The auditory dimension is particularly constitutive of sensory authenticity in this category. Ambient sound—the sizzle of food, the clink of glasses, the sound of pouring wine—is foregrounded and maintained across segments, functioning as an auditory analogue to the close-up visual strategy. This intersemiotic reinforcement of visual and auditory sensory cues produces a heightened sense of material presence and embodied access to Spanish food culture. Figure 7 illustrates this strategy in a wine-tasting scene in the Manchuela vineyard. The medium shot, embedded in a sequence that moves from vineyard landscape to close-up product detail to social ritual, integrates place, product, and community into a coherent sensory narrative. Authenticity here is sensory and embodied, rooted in the materiality of food and the social pleasure of sharing—produced through the temporal unfolding of the sequence and the co-deployment of visual and auditory modes. Note Wine tasting in Manchuela vineyard. Medium shot captures participants toasting amidst grapevines, constructing multidimensional gastronomic authenticity by connecting product, territory, and cultural practice. (Source: Manchuela promotional video, 2023) 5. Discussion This study has examined how Spanish institutional tourism videos targeting Chinese audiences construct authenticity through dynamic multimodal configurations and intercultural adaptation strategies. The findings demonstrate that authenticity is not an inherent property of places or practices but a mediated effect produced through the orchestrated deployment of visual, auditory, and compositional resources across time. Rather than functioning solely as promotional artefacts, these videos operate as instruments of nation branding and visual public diplomacy, in which Spain negotiates its national image for a culturally situated foreign public. 5.1. Authenticity as a Dynamic Multimodal Strategy The analysis reveals that authenticity in Spain's tourism videos is systematically organized through four distinct multimodal regimes, each mobilizing specific configurations of visual, auditory, and temporal resources. The four dominant patterns—interactional authenticity in Real Participation, scenic authenticity in Scenic Contemplation, affective authenticity in Emotional Narration, and sensory authenticity in Sensory Engagement—demonstrate that authenticity is not a singular construct but a multimodal repertoire strategically deployed across genres and experiential domains. Each regime mobilizes distinct configurations of metafunctional resources across time: sustained direct gaze and handheld movement construct interactional co-presence; elevated angles and orchestral scores monumentalize space; symbolic salience with reflective voiceover and ascending musical arcs condense cultural meaning into affective trajectories; and extreme close-ups with amplified ambient sound foreground sensory detail. Crucially, none of these effects resides in any single frame—they are produced through the sequential accumulation of semiotic choices across segments, underscoring the necessity of analyzing audiovisual discourse as a temporally unfolding text. This finding extends existing work on authenticity in digital tourism communication (Munar & Jacobsen, 2014 ; Dong et al., 2023 ) by demonstrating how institutions orchestrate entire multimodal regimes—integrating image, sound, movement, and narrative structure—to produce culturally legible and emotionally persuasive representations for specific foreign publics. 5.2. Practical Implications for Intercultural Communication Professionals The typology of four multimodal strategies—real participation, scenic contemplation, emotional narration, and sensory engagement—provides a practical, evidence-based toolkit for professionals engaged in cross-cultural audiovisual communication. This framework moves beyond vague notions of “visual storytelling” to offer specific, actionable guidance on how to construct different forms of authenticity for different communication goals, attending not only to what is shown but to how it is sequenced, paced, and sonically framed. For campaigns aiming to foster connection and relatability, the real participation strategy is most effective. Its key resources are not merely close-ups and direct gaze but the sustained orchestration of handheld camera movement, ambient diegetic sound, and conversational narrative structure across sequences—a multimodal configuration that enacts co-presence and everydayness over time. For campaigns oriented toward conveying cultural grandeur or national prestige, the scenic contemplation strategy is more appropriate: aerial perspectives, elevated angles, and the deliberate absence of human voice, replaced by orchestral musical elevation, construct a mode of aesthetic reverence. The emotional narration strategy offers a powerful resource for evoking nostalgia or shared human emotion, achieved through the temporal coordination of slow editing pace, reflective voiceover, and emotionally ascending musical scores that guide viewers through an affective arc toward resolution. Practitioners should note that this strategy's effectiveness depends on its temporal architecture—the emotional impact is produced by narrative build-up and resolution across the video's duration, not by any single image. Finally, for communicating embodied experiences such as cuisine or craftsmanship, the sensory engagement strategy achieves its effect through the intersemiotic reinforcement of extreme close-up imagery and amplified ambient sound, which together produce an impression of multisensory access that can transcend linguistic and cultural barriers. 5.3. Multimodal Homogeneity, Ideological Construction, and the Politics of Self-Representation Across the corpus, Spain is overwhelmingly represented through idealized multimodal registers: high-modality visuals, aesthetically elevated musical scores, positive emotional arcs, and polished cinematic composition. From a representation perspective (Hall, 1997 ), such configurations do not simply describe reality but actively produce a preferred version of it, positioning viewers to adopt an aspirational gaze and to identify with an imagined ideal tourist subject. The idealization operates not only visually but through the sustained co-deployment of emotionally uplifting auditory resources, which amplify and naturalize the visual construction of Spain as harmonious, beautiful, and culturally exceptional. This multimodal idealization entails relations of symbolic power. By privileging leisure, beauty, and cultural continuity across all semiotic channels simultaneously, institutional producers engage in what Hall ( 1997 ) terms a practice of selective representation—systematically excluding less marketable realities such as social tensions, environmental pressures, and contested histories. What counts as “authentic” Spain is institutionally authorized through coordinated multimodal choices, reflecting asymmetrical power relations between image producers, represented communities, and distant audiences. The concept of reverse strategic orientalism, introduced here to describe the self-curating logic observed in this corpus, warrants systematic theoretical grounding. Said's (1978) analysis of orientalism identified a representational regime through which Western institutions constructed the East as exotic, timeless, and Other for the purposes of epistemic and political domination. The dynamic observed in this corpus inverts this logic: rather than exoticizing the Other, Spain curates itself as a culturally digestible, emotionally resonant, and aesthetically appealing Other for the Chinese gaze. This process shares with classical orientalism its essentializing tendency—it constructs a simplified, idealized, and consumption-ready image of national identity—but its directionality is reversed, operating as a form of self-exoticization in the service of cultural diplomacy and economic attraction (Fung, 2007 ; Nye, 2004 ). This dynamic can also be situated within soft power theory (Nye, 2004 ), where cultural attraction operates through the voluntary alignment of foreign audiences with the values and aesthetics projected by a source nation. The multimodal strategies identified in this study function as soft power mechanisms at the level of everyday visual discourse: they do not coerce but invite, positioning Chinese viewers to identify with an aspirational version of Spain. The risk is that such strategies reinforce essentialized cultural imaginaries—of both Spain and China—rather than enabling genuinely dialogic intercultural engagement. Despite its thematic range, the corpus displays a striking degree of multimodal homogeneity—warm lighting, smooth editing, lyrical or orchestral music, and polished cinematic composition recur throughout. While this coherence serves brand consistency, it risks semiotic flattening: the reduction of cultural complexity to a standardized aesthetic formula that may, over time, undermine the credibility it seeks to construct. 5.4. Ethical Dimensions of Visualizing Authenticity The strategic multimodal packaging of authenticity raises important ethical questions about the audiovisual commodification of culture. When everyday practices, heritage, and social rituals are orchestrated primarily as consumable experiences—through the coordinated deployment of close-ups, ambient sound, and emotionally elevated musical framing—living cultures risk being reduced to symbolic resources for external audiences. From a multimodal ethics perspective, the ethical question is not merely one of content selection but of the semiotic work performed by the entire multimodal apparatus. For practitioners, this highlights the challenge of balancing economic imperatives with the cultural responsibilities inherent in public diplomacy. More ethically grounded audiovisual practices might include foregrounding a wider diversity of local actors beyond service and performance roles, incorporating moments of reflexivity or unscripted ordinariness that disrupt the polished aesthetic register, and engaging communities as co-creators of multimodal narratives. Such approaches would also constitute strategically effective responses to the growing media literacy of contemporary audiences. Importantly, ethical reflexivity in audiovisual communication is also a semiotic resource. Complexity, polyphony, and the strategic disruption of idealized registers can themselves function as markers of what might be termed reflexive authenticity—generating trust precisely because it resists the formulaic smoothness of institutional promotional discourse. 5.5. Intercultural Adaptation and the Politics of Multimodal Address As documented in the macroscopic analysis (Section 4.1.3 ), the corpus displays a consistent and deliberate orientation toward intercultural accommodation across multiple semiotic channels. What requires interpretation here is not merely the presence of these adaptations but their cumulative communicative logic: taken together, they constitute a carefully orchestrated politics of multimodal address, in which every semiotic choice—from shot distance to musical register to narrative theme—is calibrated to position Chinese viewers as the implied subjects of the discourse. Such multimodal adaptation can be understood as public diplomacy in practice, enacted not through formal institutional statements but through the accumulated weight of everyday semiotic choices. In this sense, the videos function as what Cull ( 2009 ) terms “listening” in public diplomacy—an attempt to demonstrate awareness of and responsiveness to the target audience’s cultural frame—but enacted through visual and auditory orchestration rather than through verbal discourse. Yet, following Hall’s ( 1980 ) encoding/decoding model, the preferred meanings encoded in these multimodal configurations remain open to negotiation and resistant decoding. What institutional producers encode as respectful cultural accommodation may be decoded by viewers as patronizing stereotyping, instrumental flattening, or cultural inauthenticity, depending on their individual experiences, media literacy, and relationship to the values being projected. The absence of empirical reception data in this study means that this tension cannot be resolved here, but it constitutes a critical question for future research. 5.6. Limitations and Future Research This study has several limitations that open productive avenues for future research. First, the corpus is restricted to institutionally produced videos and does not include user-generated, influencer-produced, or counter-institutional visual narratives. Future research could compare the multimodal strategies of institutional producers with those of Chinese travel influencers or everyday users on platforms such as Douyin and Bilibili. Second, the analysis remains a qualitative semiotic interpretation conducted by a small research team. Triangulating these findings with quantitative content analysis, corpus-based methods, or computational approaches to multimodal analysis could validate and extend the patterns identified here on a larger scale. Third, and most importantly, the study does not include empirical audience reception data. A critical next step is to conduct reception studies with Chinese audiences—using methods such as think-aloud protocols, focus groups, or eye-tracking—to examine how the visual, auditory, and temporal configurations identified here are actually processed and evaluated. Future research could also extend the comparative scope by examining how other European nations construct audiovisual authenticity for Chinese audiences, or how Chinese institutions address Western publics—comparisons that would further illuminate the dynamics of reverse strategic orientalism. Finally, interviews with institutional producers and policymakers would complement reception research by revealing the deliberate and tacit decisions that shape the multimodal choices documented in this study. 6. Conclusions This study addresses a central challenge in intercultural communication: how can institutions effectively communicate abstract cultural values like authenticity to a foreign public through audiovisual means? Our analysis demonstrates that authenticity is not an intrinsic quality but a communicative effect, strategically produced through the coordinated deployment of visual, auditory, and temporal resources across time—and that understanding this requires analytical frameworks capable of accounting for the dynamic, multimodal nature of audiovisual discourse. Our analysis reveals how authenticity is systematically constructed through four multimodal regimes—real participation, scenic contemplation, emotional narration, and sensory engagement—each constituting a coherent semiotic logic that unfolds across sequences. These regimes render Spain emotionally accessible and culturally legible for Chinese audiences through the interplay of interpersonal positioning, modality management, narrative architecture, and auditory co-deployment. For practitioners, this typology provides an evidence-based toolkit specifying not only what to show but how to sequence, pace, and sonically frame content to achieve specific authenticity effects. Theoretically, this research makes three interconnected contributions. First, it advances the methodological debate on applying visual grammar to dynamic audiovisual discourse. Operationalizing the metafunctional categories at the segment level and extending them to incorporate temporal, kinetic, and auditory dimensions demonstrates that the framework retains analytical purchase when appropriately adapted, offering a replicable model for future multimodal research on promotional video. Second, the study contributes to theorizing authenticity as a dynamic multimodal effect rather than a static visual property. Authenticity is produced through the temporal accumulation of semiotic choices across sequences—through the rhythm of editing, the arc of musical scoring, the sustained pattern of interpersonal address—and cannot be adequately analyzed through frame-level description alone. Third, the concept of reverse strategic orientalism introduced in this study offers a theoretically grounded framework for understanding how Western nations construct self-representations for non-Western audiences. Situated within the traditions of orientalism (Said, 1978 ) and soft power theory (Nye, 2004 ), it identifies a representational logic in which cultural self-curation for a foreign gaze reproduces essentializing tendencies analogous to classical orientalism despite its inverted directionality—with applicability beyond the Spanish-Chinese context to any situation in which a nation strategically curates its cultural image for a culturally distant public. This production-focused approach is necessarily limited by the absence of reception data; future research should incorporate audience studies, comparative national analyses, and ethnographic inquiry into production processes. In conclusion, this research contributes to understanding institutional audiovisual communication as a mediated, affective, temporal, and political practice. Promotional videos are not merely marketing tools: they are sites where intercultural relations are constructed, negotiated, and contested through the coordinated deployment of multimodal resources across time. Authenticity, in this view, is a locus of cultural mediation, symbolic power, and semiotic labor. Recognizing this complexity—and the methodological demands it places on researchers—is essential for both scholars and practitioners, calling for more analytically rigorous, ethically reflexive, and multimodally aware approaches to the study and design of global visual communication. Declarations Data availability The corpus of videos analyzed in this study consists of publicly available institutional promotional videos distributed through Chinese digital platforms (WeChat and Bilibili) by Turespaña and official tourism boards of Spanish autonomous communities. No proprietary or restricted datasets were used. The ELAN annotation files and Excel coding templates used in the analysis are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical statements Ethical approval was not required for this study. The research involved the analysis of publicly available institutional videos only. No human participants were recruited, interviewed, or observed, and no personal or sensitive data were collected or processed. Informed consent Informed consent was not applicable to this study. No human participants were involved. All materials analyzed are publicly available institutional videos that do not contain identifiable personal information requiring consent. Author contributions Author conceptualized the study, designed the analytical framework, led the multimodal annotation and analysis, and drafted the manuscript. Author supervised the research design, contributed to theoretical framing and critical interpretation, conducted cross-coding and reliability checks, and revised the manuscript for intellectual content. Both authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript. References Adamus-Matuszyńska A, Dzik P, Michnik J, Polok G (2021) Visual component of destination brands as a tool for communicating sustainable tourism offers. Sustainability 13(2):731. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020731 Bateman JA, Schmidt KH (2012) Multimodal film analysis: How films mean. Routledge Bui HT, Trupp A (2014) The development and diversity of Asian tourism in Europe: The case of Vienna. Int J Tourism Sci 14(2):1–17 Chen X, Chen Z (2023) Impact of video content on gastronomic image construction and tourists' intention to (re-)visit Macao. Tourism Recreation Res 50(4):506–520. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2023.2296812 Cull NJ (2009) Public diplomacy: Lessons from the past. Figueroa Dong Y, Yan L, Hai Y, Wei L (2023) Perceived tourism authenticity on social media: The consistency of ethnic destination endorsers. Tourism Manage Perspect 49:101176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2023.101176 Du S, Cheong CYM (2025) Beyond the scenic view: A multimodal discourse analysis of sustainable tourism imaginaries on TikTok in Anhui, China. Humanit Social Sci Commun 12:690. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05015-3 Fung A (2007) Western style, Chinese pop: Jay Chou's rap and hip-hop in Taiwan. Cult Stud 21(2–3):342–361. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601162500 Gan J, Shi S, Filieri R, Leung WK (2023) Short video marketing and travel intentions: The interplay between visual perspective, visual content, and narration appeal. Tour Manag 99:104795. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2023.104795 Hall S (1980) Encoding/decoding. In S. Hall, D. Hobson, A. Lowe, & P. Willis (Eds.), Culture, media, language (pp. 128–138). Hutchinson Hall S (1997) Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage & The Open University Halliday MAK (1978) Language as social semiotic: The social interpretation of language and meaning. Edward Arnold Kress G, van Leeuwen T (2006) Reading images: The grammar of visual design, 2nd edn. Routledge MacCannell D (1973) Staged authenticity: Arrangements of social space in tourist settings. Am J Sociol 79(3):589–603. https://doi.org/10.1086/225585 Machin D (2014) Visual communication. In: Hart C, Cap P (eds) Contemporary critical discourse studies. Bloomsbury Academic, pp 385–408 Munar AM, Jacobsen JKS (2014) Motivations for sharing tourism experiences through social media. Tour Manag 43:46–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.01.012 Nye JS (2004) Soft power: The means to success in world politics. Public Affairs Said EW (1978) Orientalism. Pantheon Books Tseng C (2013) Cohesion in film: Tracking film elements. Palgrave Macmillan Tseng C (2019) Analysing multimodal cohesion in film and audio-description: The role of identity chains. Multimodal Communication 8(2):20180016. https://doi.org/10.1515/mc-2018-0016 van Leeuwen T (2005) Introducing social semiotics. Routledge Wang M (2025) Virtual ethnography of China travel content: An empirical study across short video platforms. Int Communication Chin Cult. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40636-025-00317-2 Wang N (1999) Rethinking authenticity in tourism experience. Annals Tourism Res 26(2):349–370. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-7383(98)00103-0 Wildfeuer J (2014) Film discourse interpretation: Towards a new paradigm for multimodal film analysis. Routledge Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 07 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 07 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 06 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 06 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 06 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9209670","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":619290768,"identity":"51614875-3066-4486-9b8e-c504ed0ad4fe","order_by":0,"name":"Yu Zeng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"South China Business College Guangdong University of Foreign Studies","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yu","middleName":"","lastName":"Zeng","suffix":""},{"id":619290783,"identity":"1fd177e7-124c-47be-bb72-6b0e0ef75b73","order_by":1,"name":"Anqi Liu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3klEQVRIie3OOwrCQBCA4QkL2oykHUE8w1ZplOQqGwKmSWFlHZvYeICAl/AIG7YN0XIhFooXsFPwgYjaxrUT3L8bmI8ZAJvtB3MZK/YXHL7GlgHpzrKIY2/0BeFl6REO1RcEtOBEycpf1rM1HCYK3EXaLJxcCM7LOlpuyrGTVwpoI5sJIyFFOK8jTyeCdTIFnEQzaVGYyuJWPcnVhCAqZ5qi9D0dS+aYEGpnjAFGItAJFPMqRtIfSKDc4xnQD7p5vNueJoO+m38g78IUkMvHp2b7j2sA7a3xts1ms/1Xd2JMR3CGbPKXAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Central South University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Anqi","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-24 09:23:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9209670/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9209670/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106979379,"identity":"aaa38a8c-3ebb-4926-8331-29ca8b84a3ef","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 11:27:12","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":21314,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThematic category distribution\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9209670/v1/b146b163a8cc184d4335c2e6.png"},{"id":106979351,"identity":"831ea7e8-86bc-47aa-9fa2-0fb93a49c0e0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 11:27:05","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":26923,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eVisual modalities\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9209670/v1/6d6243524f2a9cba4e1de0fe.png"},{"id":106979378,"identity":"3f003a6c-7d99-4007-abbf-1f0c87adb860","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 11:27:12","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":24516,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eDistribution of Dominant Emotions\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9209670/v1/4b65873e8c70756d339a2b42.png"},{"id":106979352,"identity":"715eea58-1523-45aa-b057-a3243bd1c1cb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 11:27:05","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":610314,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eReal Participation\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote: Chinese tourist engaging with official tour guide at Madrid’s Retiro Park. Medium shot and horizontal angle construct interactional authenticity through genuine participation in guided cultural experience. (Source: Madrid promotional video, 2023)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9209670/v1/2ccd9e8a26ae61262880a502.png"},{"id":106979299,"identity":"eb6b896d-8773-4071-82af-af43ffeadd96","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 11:26:48","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":530772,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eScenic Landscape\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote: Panoramic view of Toledo at golden hour with Alcázar fortress dominating the historic cityscape. Long shot, elevated angle, and high visual modality (warm lighting, color saturation) construct scenic/aspirational authenticity through idealized yet credible representation. Absence of human presence emphasizes contemplative engagement. (Source: Spain by Train promotional video, 2023)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9209670/v1/3897de626733f39f97692d75.png"},{"id":106979296,"identity":"e124ab5e-9315-48c0-9da9-7274925e3113","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 11:26:46","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":806263,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEmotional Narrative\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote: Jacaranda tree in full bloom framing Málaga Cathedral. High color saturation and symbolic composition construct emotional/aspirational authenticity by evoking romance and Mediterranean spring. (Source: Málaga promotional video, 2023)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9209670/v1/8ca07ff3b83c0073ee20c072.png"},{"id":106979345,"identity":"a1aea477-51e6-464b-8558-726bbe428b6d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 11:27:01","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":613835,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eFood Culture\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote: Wine tasting in Manchuela vineyard. Medium shot captures participants toasting amidst grapevines, constructing multidimensional gastronomic authenticity by connecting product, territory, and cultural practice. (Source: Manchuela promotional video, 2023)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9209670/v1/324c4f0a3c5b75ca97e5d0d1.png"},{"id":106979401,"identity":"51bf42f2-c3b9-403a-911c-309d286564dd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 11:27:39","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":4617575,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9209670/v1/b94fe26e-2d63-47b6-b3be-875a148e6c32.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Performing Authenticity for the Chinese Gaze: Multimodal Strategies in Spanish Institutional Tourism Videos","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn the competitive global landscape, attracting the attention of the rapidly growing Chinese market has become a strategic priority for many Western nations. Spanish institutions, for example, invest heavily in promotional videos to convey a sense of Spain's unique cultural \u0026ldquo;authenticity.\u0026rdquo; Yet, how can such an abstract, culturally specific value be effectively communicated to an audience with different aesthetic preferences, media habits, and cultural understandings? Audiovisual texts are not merely illustrations but powerful tools that can either bridge or widen this cultural gap. Understanding the practical semiotic strategies embedded in these videos is therefore crucial for effective intercultural communication.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile practitioners are producing this content, they often lack a systematic understanding of which specific visual choices resonate with non-Western audiences and why. Previous academic research has shown that visual elements such as gaze and framing construct ideological stances, but much of this work has focused on static images or has not specifically addressed the dynamics of cross-cultural video communication. This leaves a critical knowledge gap: how do institutions adapt their visual language to make cultural values like authenticity tangible and appealing to a specific international public?\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe concept of authenticity is particularly challenging in this context. What is perceived as a \u0026ldquo;genuine\u0026rdquo; cultural experience in Spain may be interpreted very differently through a Chinese cultural lens, requiring a strategic process of cultural mediation where visual communication is carefully calibrated to align with the target audience's expectations. Addressing this gap, this study investigates the multimodal strategies used to construct authenticity in Spanish institutional videos for Chinese audiences.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnalytically, the study draws on visual grammar (Kress \u0026amp; van Leeuwen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e) as its primary theoretical framework, critically adapted for dynamic audiovisual discourse. Since the framework was originally designed for static images, its application here requires explicit methodological justification\u0026mdash;an issue addressed in depth in Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2.2\u003c/span\u003e. The metafunctional categories of representation, interpersonal positioning, and modality are operationalized to account for temporal unfolding, camera movement, and multimodal orchestration across time.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe conceptualize authenticity not as an inherent property but as a communicative effect, produced through recurrent multimodal configurations. Empirically, the study analyzes 20 institutional videos produced by Spanish public organizations (2019\u0026ndash;2024) for Chinese digital platforms. A combined micro\u0026ndash;macro approach, using fine-grained annotation (ELAN) of four representative videos alongside a macro-level analysis of the full corpus, allows for a systematic exploration of both local meaning-making and broader institutional tendencies.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe article proceeds as follows: Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e reviews the theoretical framework, Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e details the methodology, Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec13\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e presents the analysis, Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec23\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e discusses the findings, and Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec30\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e concludes. As the study focuses on production rather than reception, it is necessarily limited by the absence of audience data\u0026mdash;a gap identified as a priority for future research.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Literature Review","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1. Visual Grammar as a Framework for Multimodal Meaning-Making\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eContemporary communication research increasingly recognizes that meaning is produced not solely through verbal language but through the interaction of multiple semiotic modes, including visual, auditory, and embodied resources. Halliday\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1978\u003c/span\u003e) systemic functional linguistics laid the groundwork for understanding language as a social semiotic system organized around metafunctions that realize experiential, interpersonal, and textual meanings. Building on this tradition, Kress and van Leeuwen (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e) developed visual grammar as a framework for theorizing how images and visual compositions function as structured resources for meaning-making across diverse social and institutional contexts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisual grammar proposes that images, like language, are organized through three metafunctions. The representational metafunction concerns how visual discourse constructs versions of reality by depicting social actors, actions, and settings, thereby shaping what is made visible and meaningful. The interpersonal metafunction addresses how images position viewers in relation to represented participants through gaze, perspective, social distance, and angle, thus organizing relations of involvement, power, and affect. The compositional metafunction focuses on how visual elements are arranged into coherent wholes through salience, framing, and information value, guiding attention and structuring interpretive hierarchies. Together, these metafunctions offer a systematic account of how visual communication operates as a socially situated semiotic practice.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA central concept within this framework is visual modality, which refers to the degree of credibility or \u0026ldquo;truth value\u0026rdquo; an image claims. Importantly, modality is not an objective feature of images but a culturally and socially conditioned judgement: what counts as realistic, natural, or authentic depends on shared conventions within specific communities (Kress \u0026amp; van Leeuwen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e). From a visual communication perspective, modality thus becomes a key resource through which images naturalize particular representations and invite viewers to accept them as plausible or self-evident.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2. Extending Visual Grammar to Dynamic Audiovisual Discourse: Critical Debates and Methodological Adaptations\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe application of visual grammar to dynamic audiovisual texts has been the subject of sustained critical debate in multimodal studies. Originally calibrated for the analysis of static images, the framework has been challenged by scholars who argue that dynamic, time-based artefacts introduce dimensions of meaning-making that require either substantial adaptation or altogether different theoretical tools (Bateman \u0026amp; Schmidt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Wildfeuer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA central concern is the problem of temporality. Static image analysis operates on the assumption of a simultaneously perceivable visual field, whereas film and video unfold through time: meaning emerges not from a single frame but from the sequential accumulation of shots, transitions, camera movements, and rhythmic editing patterns. Bateman and Schmidt (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e) argue that this temporal dimension requires an account of how multimodal meaning is constructed across narrative sequences rather than within individual images\u0026mdash;a challenge the original framework is structurally ill-equipped to address. Wildfeuer (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) similarly demonstrates that audiovisual meaning-making is governed by sequential and inference-driven logic rather than by compositional arrangement within a single frame.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA second concern relates to the co-deployment of multiple modes. Film and video integrate moving images with sound, music, voiceover, and ambient noise in ways that produce meaning through intersemiotic interaction across time. Tseng (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) has shown that the metafunctional categories of visual grammar can be extended to account for such intersemiotic dynamics when appropriately adapted, but stresses that relationships between modes in video are qualitatively different from the image-text relations the original framework was designed to address.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA third line of critique concerns the unit of analysis. In static image analysis, the frame or the page provides a natural analytical boundary. In video, the selection of an appropriate analytical unit\u0026mdash;whether the shot, the scene, the sequence, or the segment\u0026mdash;is itself a theoretical and methodological decision with significant consequences for the analysis (Tseng, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Bateman \u0026amp; Schmidt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). The adoption of annotation tools such as ELAN, which allows analysts to define and synchronize multiple tiers of meaning across time, represents a practical response to this challenge, but does not in itself resolve the theoretical question of which unit best captures the semiotic logic of audiovisual discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite these limitations, the visual grammar framework retains significant analytical purchase for promotional video when its application is explicitly methodologically grounded. Several studies have demonstrated productive extensions to video analysis (Tseng, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Du \u0026amp; Cheong, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e), particularly for institutionally produced content, which tends to exhibit compositional deliberateness and recurrent visual patterns that make segment-level analysis tractable. The present study operationalizes the metafunctional categories at the level of thematically coherent segments annotated through ELAN, incorporating a temporal dimension while preserving the framework\u0026rsquo;s analytical precision. The methodological implications are elaborated in Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3. Authenticity as a Visual\u0026ndash;Discursive Effect\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthenticity has long been a central concept in tourism studies, beginning with MacCannell\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1973\u003c/span\u003e) notion of \u0026ldquo;staged authenticity,\u0026rdquo; which foregrounds the mediated and curated nature of experiences presented to outsiders. Wang\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1999\u003c/span\u003e) distinction between objective, constructed, and existential authenticity further emphasized that authenticity is not an inherent property of objects or practices but a socially produced and experientially negotiated phenomenon. While these perspectives emerged within tourism theory, they resonate with broader concerns in visual communication about how reality, credibility, and truthfulness are semiotically constructed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom a visual communication standpoint, authenticity can be reconceptualized as a visual\u0026ndash;discursive effect: a meaning produced through recurrent semiotic patterns that make representations appear natural, spontaneous, or emotionally genuine. Rather than asking whether representations are truly authentic, this perspective shifts attention to how authenticity is made to look and feel authentic through visual strategies such as framing, modality, narrative positioning, and viewer alignment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmpirical studies of audiovisual discourse have increasingly shown that authenticity is closely tied to visual and multimodal design. Research on video-based communication demonstrates that depictions of everyday practices, embodied participation, and intimate social interaction play a crucial role in producing impressions of genuineness and emotional closeness (Chen \u0026amp; Chen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Du \u0026amp; Cheong, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Similarly, studies of social media and influencer culture suggest that visual cues of ordinariness, immediacy, and affective engagement function as semiotic markers of authenticity in digital environments (Dong et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeyond individual experience, authenticity also operates as a symbolic resource in institutional communication. Visual representations that appear natural and self-evident can legitimize particular cultural meanings and normalize selective versions of reality. In this sense, authenticity is not simply perceived by viewers but strategically produced and circulated as part of institutional discourse, contributing to the construction of identities, values, and cultural hierarchies. Conceptualizing authenticity in this way aligns it with critical approaches to visual communication that foreground how images perform ideological work by presenting contingent representations as commonsense realities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study adopts such a perspective by treating authenticity not as a property of destinations or experiences, but as a semiotic effect emerging from multimodal configurations in institutional video discourse. The focus therefore lies on identifying how multimodal resources are orchestrated to naturalize particular versions of \u0026ldquo;the real\u0026rdquo; for targeted audiences.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.4. Visual Grammar in Intercultural and Institutional Communication\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe application of visual grammar in intercultural contexts has attracted increasing scholarly attention, particularly regarding the extent to which visual meanings are culturally situated. While the metafunctional framework offers a general model for analyzing visual discourse, the interpretation of specific features\u0026mdash;such as color, symbolism, gaze, and spatial organization\u0026mdash;is deeply embedded in culturally specific semiotic systems (Machin, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). This raises important questions about how visual communication is adapted when addressing audiences with different cultural repertoires of seeing and meaning-making.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudies of intercultural visual discourse suggest that institutions frequently recalibrate visual strategies to align with audience expectations and interpretive conventions. Gan et al.\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) analysis of promotional videos illustrates how representational choices and interpersonal positioning are reconfigured to resonate with culturally distant viewers. Within European institutional communication, Bui and Trupp\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) study of Vienna\u0026rsquo;s campaigns for Asian audiences further demonstrates that visual adaptation goes beyond surface symbolism to involve deeper adjustments in social distance, gaze, and narrative focus\u0026mdash;underscoring that intercultural visual communication is a matter of reconfiguring semiotic relations, not merely content selection.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom this perspective, institutional videos addressed to international publics are sites of cultural mediation, where visual discourse works to reduce symbolic distance and foster affective alignment. The present study situates itself within this line of research, foregrounding intercultural adaptation not as a background condition but as a central dimension of multimodal design in institutional visual discourse. A critical question, however, concerns whether such adaptations are received as intended. Hall\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1980\u003c/span\u003e) encoding/decoding model reminds us that the preferred meanings producers encode in audiovisual texts are not transparently transmitted but remain subject to negotiation, resistance, or oppositional decoding on the part of audiences with different cultural positions and interpretive resources. This tension between institutional encoding and audience decoding is particularly acute in cross-cultural communication contexts, where the gap between producer intentions and viewer responses may be widened by divergent semiotic repertoires.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.5. Visual Modality and the Naturalization of Authenticity\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eResearch on audiovisual discourse shows that institutional videos often manage modality strategically by combining cinematic, idealized imagery with scenes that index ordinariness and immediacy. Such blending allows producers to sustain aesthetic appeal while enhancing emotional plausibility. Du and Cheong\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e) analysis of sustainability-oriented videos demonstrates how polished visual styles are juxtaposed with culturally grounded practices to produce a sense of constructed yet convincing reality. Similarly, Adamus-Matuszyńska et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) show how visual codes associated with nature, heritage, and muted color palettes contribute to perceptions of trust and authenticity in European branding discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eModality thus functions as a key mechanism of naturalization, rendering particular representations self-evident through choices of lighting, color saturation, camera movement, and framing. In intercultural contexts, this dimension becomes especially consequential: producers must calibrate modality to align with how culturally different audiences evaluate realism and credibility.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn institutional videos addressed to Chinese audiences, modality management can therefore be understood as a key semiotic strategy for aligning visual discourse with audience sensibilities while constructing the appearance of authenticity. In the analytical framework developed in Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec11\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3.3\u003c/span\u003e, visual modality is accordingly operationalized not as a property of individual images but as a sustained aesthetic register tracked across segments\u0026mdash;one analytical dimension among five through which the multimodal construction of authenticity is examined.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Methodology","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1. General Approach\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study adopts a qualitative, descriptive\u0026ndash;interpretative research design grounded in multimodal discourse analysis. The approach is informed by the premise that meaning in audiovisual communication emerges from the dynamic interplay of multiple semiotic modes\u0026mdash;particularly visual, verbal, and auditory resources\u0026mdash;unfolding across time. Rather than treating images as supplementary to language, the analysis foregrounds visual meaning-making as a central site where cultural values and national images are discursively constructed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe primary analytical lens is an adapted version of visual grammar (Kress \u0026amp; van Leeuwen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e), complemented by tourism authenticity theory (MacCannell, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1973\u003c/span\u003e; Wang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1999\u003c/span\u003e) and methodological principles from multimodal film and video analysis (Bateman \u0026amp; Schmidt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Tseng, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Wildfeuer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). As discussed in Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2.2\u003c/span\u003e, direct application of the original framework to audiovisual texts requires explicit adaptation. Three methodological decisions govern this study\u0026rsquo;s approach.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst, the unit of analysis is the thematically coherent segment\u0026mdash;a temporally bounded unit capturing the sequential unfolding of meaning across shots and scenes\u0026mdash;rather than the individual frame. This segment-level approach operationalizes the discourse-level perspective advocated by Tseng (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e) and Bateman and Schmidt (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond, the metafunctional categories are operationalized as recurring tendencies across segments rather than fixed properties of individual images. Gaze, social distance, and framing are treated as dominant patterns characterizing the semiotic logic of a sequence. Camera movement, shot transitions, and editing rhythm are incorporated as additional interpersonal and compositional resources, following Tseng (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThird, auditory resources\u0026mdash;music, voiceover, and ambient sound\u0026mdash;are treated as co-constitutive semiotic resources rather than supplementary accompaniments, recorded as a separate ELAN tier to enable systematic analysis of intersemiotic reinforcement and divergence.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2. Corpus\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe corpus consists of 20 institutional tourism promotion videos produced in Spain and explicitly targeting Chinese audiences, selected through purposive sampling. All videos were produced and/or disseminated by Turespa\u0026ntilde;a or official regional tourism boards, ensuring they represent authorized destination discourse. They were released between 2019 and 2024, spanning pre-pandemic promotion, pandemic-period adjustment, and post-pandemic recovery, enabling analysis of potential shifts in visual rhetoric. All videos are narrated or subtitled in Chinese and were distributed through platforms such as WeChat and Bilibili, confirming a clear communicative orientation toward Sinophone publics.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of content, the corpus covers natural landscapes, historical heritage, urban spaces, everyday life, and cultural practices including flamenco, gastronomy, and local markets, providing a broad basis for identifying recurrent patterns across experiential domains. All selected videos explicitly frame Spain as offering \u0026ldquo;authentic,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;genuine,\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;in-depth\u0026rdquo; experiences aligned with discourses of experiential tourism prevalent in the Chinese outbound market, making them well suited for examining how authenticity is multimodally constructed for intercultural audiences.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3. Analytical Framework\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe analytical framework operationalizes the adapted approach outlined in Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec9\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3.1\u003c/span\u003e, addressing five dimensions derived from the metafunctional model (Kress \u0026amp; van Leeuwen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e): representational, interpersonal, compositional, modal, and auditory/textual. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e presents the full operationalization.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe representational dimension examines which types of processes\u0026mdash;narrative or conceptual\u0026mdash;govern the visual construction of social actors, settings, and activities within a given segment. At the narrative level, attention is paid to whether sequences depict action, reaction, or transformation over time, rather than merely cataloguing participants in a static frame.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe interpersonal dimension addresses how viewer positioning is constructed across a segment through patterns of gaze, social distance, camera angle, and camera movement. Following Tseng (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e), interpersonal meanings in video are understood as tendencies realized across multiple shots rather than properties of individual frames. Shot transitions and camera movement\u0026mdash;tracking shots, zooms, aerial shots\u0026mdash;are incorporated as dynamic interpersonal resources.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe compositional dimension examines how visual elements are organized into coherent wholes within and across segments. In addition to the standard categories of salience, framing, and information value, compositional analysis here attends to editing rhythm and the sequencing of visual units, which constitute a temporal form of composition (Bateman \u0026amp; Schmidt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisual modality is analyzed as a sustained aesthetic register maintained across a segment or across the video as a whole, rather than as a property of individual images. Modality markers\u0026mdash;including color saturation, lighting quality, focus, camera stability, and production polish\u0026mdash;are assessed as coherent stylistic choices that position the viewer to accept the represented world as naturalistic, idealized, or hybrid.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuditory and textual resources are incorporated as a fifth analytical tier, following van Leeuwen (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e). Music, voiceover, ambient sound, subtitles, and on-screen captions are analyzed in relation to the visual track, focusing on intersemiotic reinforcement, elaboration, or divergence.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnalytical categories used in the study\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Credit\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(adapted from Kress \u0026amp; van Leeuwen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e, with dynamic extensions)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDimension\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnalytical Categories\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDynamic/Audiovisual adaptation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRelation to Authenticity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRepresentational\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProcess types (narrative/conceptual); social actors; activities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSequential action and transformation analyzed across shots\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstructs \u0026ldquo;real life,\u0026rdquo; lived culture, embodied participation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInterpersonal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGaze; angle; social distance; emotional framing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRealized as tendencies across segments; camera movement included\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCreates proximity, empathy, or symbolic distance over time\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCompositional\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSalience; framing; information value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEditing rhythm, shot sequencing, and temporal juxtaposition included\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGuides attention and structures interpretive hierarchies across segments\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisual Modality\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eColor saturation; lighting; focus; visual clarity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAssessed as sustained aesthetic register; modality shifts tracked\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstructs visual credibility and realism; naturalization of authenticity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuditory/Textual\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMusic; voiceover; ambient sound; subtitles; captions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnalyzed as co-constitutive resources in intersemiotic interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModulates emotional tone, cultural address, and authenticity claims\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.4. Analytical Procedure\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe analysis proceeded in six stages, each designed to operationalize the adapted framework described above.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst, viewing and segmentation. Each video was viewed at least three times to ensure familiarity with its narrative structure, visual rhythm, and multimodal organization. Segmentation was conducted in ELAN (EUDICO Linguistic Annotator), with the unit of analysis defined as a thematically coherent scene or visually salient activity. A minimum segment length of three seconds was applied to ensure sufficient temporal depth for multimodal analysis.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond, multi-tier annotation. Each segment was annotated in ELAN using a coding scheme corresponding to the five analytical dimensions described in Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec11\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3.3\u003c/span\u003e: representational processes, interpersonal positioning (including camera movement and shot patterns), compositional organization (including editing rhythm), visual modality (as a sustained register), and auditory/textual resources.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThird, cross-coding and reliability check. To enhance analytical reliability, 20% of the corpus was independently coded by a second trained researcher using the same coding scheme. Inter-coder agreement reached 87%, with a Cohen's Kappa of 0.78, indicating substantial reliability across the five analytical dimensions. Discrepancies were resolved through discussion until consensus was reached, and the coding scheme was refined accordingly.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFourth, thematic categorization. Based on recurring multimodal patterns identified across the annotated corpus, an inductive thematic analysis identified four dominant strategies for constructing authenticity: (1) real participation, (2) scenic contemplation, (3) emotional narration, and (4) sensory engagement. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e presents the operationalization of these categories.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOperationalization of thematic categories\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThematic Category\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrimary Multimodal Features\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthenticity Type\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExamples\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eReal Participation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNarrative processes; direct gaze; medium distance; everyday settings; dialogue and ambient sound\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteractional/existential\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarket visits, guided encounters, local interactions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eScenic Contemplation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConceptual processes; long distance; elevated angle; lyrical music; absence of narration\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eScenic/symbolic\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural parks, heritage panoramas\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotional Narration\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntrospective gaze; close-medium distance; voiceover; emotionally heightened music\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAffective/constructed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePersonal stories, cultural reflection, heritage narratives\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSensory Engagement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExtreme close-ups; high color saturation; ambient sound; embodied action\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSensory/embodied\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFood preparation, wine tasting, artisanal craft\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFifth, data management and synthesis. ELAN annotations were exported into Excel and organized by video, segment, analytical dimension, and thematic category. This facilitated systematic cross-case comparison and the identification of dominant multimodal patterns across the corpus.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSixth, ethical considerations. All materials analyzed are publicly available institutional videos. No human participants were directly involved, and no personal or sensitive data were collected. The study follows standard ethical guidelines for media discourse analysis and academic fair use.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4. Data Presentation","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1. Macroscopic Overview of the Corpus\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1.1. Methodological Justification and Procedure\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo capture general trends beyond in-depth interpretation, a quantitative analysis of all 20 videos was conducted using a structured Excel coding template. Variables covered thematic category, dominant shot type, camera movement, presence of voice and narration, local participants, music register, cultural and landscape focus, dominant emotion, and visual modality. Camera movement and music register were included as coding variables in keeping with the methodological adaptation described in Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec9\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3.1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo ensure reliability, two researchers independently annotated each video and resolved discrepancies through discussion until consensus was reached, consistent with the inter-coder procedure described in Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec12\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3.4\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1.2. General Findings\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe macroscopic analysis reveals several salient patterns across the corpus.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst, in terms of thematic distribution, the corpus is strongly dominated by the Emotional Narration category, which accounts for over 60% of the videos. This is followed by Real Participation, Sensory Engagement, and Scenic Contemplation. The prominence of affective storytelling suggests that institutional producers consistently privilege emotional engagement and narrative immersion over purely informational or scenic representation when addressing Chinese audiences (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond, regarding visual modality, idealized modality emerges as the most frequent strategy across the corpus. High color saturation, carefully controlled lighting, and cinematic composition construct an aesthetically enhanced vision of Spain. This idealization is consistently reinforced at the auditory level through lyrical or orchestral music that sustains a contemplative or aspirational emotional register. However, videos categorized under Real Participation and Sensory Engagement display a higher proportion of realistic or mixed modality, characterized by handheld camera movement, natural lighting, ambient sound, and less polished framing. This indicates a strategic modulation of modality\u0026mdash;across both visual and auditory channels\u0026mdash;to balance aspirational imagery with cues of everyday realism (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThird, in terms of dominant emotions, positive affect overwhelmingly prevails across the corpus. Enthusiasm, serenity, admiration, and warmth are recurrent emotional tones, constructed through the co-deployment of visual warmth, smooth editing rhythms, and emotionally elevated musical scores. Nostalgia appears in emotionally charged narratives linked to history and heritage, frequently marked by slower editing pace, desaturated or golden color grading, and reflective voiceover narration. Negative emotions are virtually absent (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). This affective profile underscores the role of multimodal orchestration in constructing Spain as an emotionally desirable and harmonious destination.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1.3. Cross-cutting Observations\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeyond these distributions, several cross-cutting tendencies emerge from the macroscopic analysis.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA first pattern concerns the visual and auditory homogeneity of the corpus. Despite thematic variation, most videos share a coherent institutional aesthetic: high-resolution imagery, smooth editing, warm natural lighting, and lyrical or ambient musical accompaniment. This stylistic consistency operates as a multimodal branding strategy, stabilizing Spain's image across diverse content types.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA second trend relates to cultural representation and the co-deployment of visual and auditory modes. Local cultural elements\u0026mdash;traditional music, dance, crafts, markets, and gastronomy\u0026mdash;are most salient in Emotional Narration and Real Participation videos, where their presence is reinforced through ambient sound and culturally specific musical motifs. By contrast, Scenic Contemplation videos privilege monumental or sublime nature, while the auditory track shifts toward orchestral or minimalist music that accentuates spatial grandeur.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA third pattern concerns differentiated modes of authenticity construction, realized multimodally across the four categories. When local people are present, authenticity is enacted through gestural interaction, eye contact, ambient dialogue, and the sounds of everyday life\u0026mdash;a configuration that accumulates meaning across sequences rather than residing in any single image. When human presence is minimal, authenticity is projected through the visual grandeur of landscapes and the sonic elevation of the musical score.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinally, the corpus displays a clear and consistent orientation toward Chinese viewers. This is realized not only through Chinese subtitles and voiceover narration but also through recurrent narrative themes\u0026mdash;family, friendship, harmony, and self-discovery\u0026mdash;whose visual and auditory articulation is paced and composed to align with emotional repertoires associated with Chinese outbound tourism discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2. In-depth Qualitative Analysis of Representative Cases\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis section presents a close analysis of four representative videos, each exemplifying one thematic category. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e provides a synthetic comparison of the multimodal strategies across the four cases.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eComparison of Authenticity Strategies in the Institutional Videos Analyzed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCategory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCore Authenticity Strategy\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eKey Visual Features\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eKey Auditory Features\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eViewer Engagement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eReal Participation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDirect interaction and enacted spontaneity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEye contact; medium/close shots; handheld movement; everyday settings\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmbient dialogue; natural sound; conversational voiceover\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh (direct identification, co-presence)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eScenic Contemplation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAesthetic contemplation and spatial grandeur\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAerial and long shots; elevated angle; absence of human figures\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrchestral or minimalist music; absence of narration\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedium-low (admiring distance)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotional Narration\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePersonalized affective trajectory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eClose-medium shots; introspective gaze; slow editing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotive music; reflective voiceover; culturally resonant narration\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh (emotional empathy, narrative immersion)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSensory Engagement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmbodied sensory immersion and convivial practice\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExtreme close-ups; high color saturation; stable or tracking shots\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmbient food sounds; tactile audio; warm musical accompaniment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedium-high (imagined co-participation)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2.1. Real Participation\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the Real Participation category, authenticity is constructed through the sequential accumulation of immersive encounters with everyday life and direct interpersonal engagement. Representationally, narrative processes dominate across segments, depicting tourists and locals jointly engaged in activities such as guided walks, market visits, and informal conversations. These activities are rendered not through isolated images but through sequences that develop across time: an initial establishing shot introduces a shared space, subsequent medium shots show participants in interaction, and close-ups on hands, faces, and objects ground the sequence in embodied detail.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInterpersonally, the dominant pattern across segments is one of sustained proximity and inclusion. Medium and close shots, horizontal camera angles, and frequent direct gaze are maintained across multiple consecutive shots, constructing what Tseng (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) terms an interpersonal tendency\u0026mdash;a semiotic disposition that accrues meaning through repetition rather than through any single frame. Camera movement further reinforces this effect: handheld or gently tracking shots that follow participants through space enact a sense of co-presence and shared movement, positioning the viewer as a virtual participant rather than a distanced observer.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe auditory dimension is equally constitutive of this authenticity regime. Ambient sound\u0026mdash;market noise, conversational fragments, laughter\u0026mdash;is maintained throughout these sequences, operating as an auditory marker of everyday realism. Where voiceover narration is present, it adopts a conversational rather than declarative register, further reinforcing the impression of informal, unmediated access to local life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs illustrated in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, a Chinese tourist interacts with a local guide in Madrid's Retiro Park. The medium shot and sustained eye contact across a sequence of cuts construct what Wang (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1999\u003c/span\u003e) terms existential authenticity, grounded in lived experience and interpersonal connection. Although such scenes are institutionally staged, the incorporation of casual dialogue, ambient laughter, and handheld camera movement produces an effect of accessibility and \u0026ldquo;everydayness\u0026rdquo; that naturalizes the authenticity claim through multimodal orchestration across time.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eNote\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eChinese tourist engaging with official tour guide at Madrid\u0026rsquo;s Retiro Park. Medium shot and horizontal angle construct interactional authenticity through genuine participation in guided cultural experience. (Source: Madrid promotional video, 2023)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2.2. Scenic Contemplation\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy contrast, the Scenic Contemplation category constructs authenticity through aesthetic elevation and spatial grandeur, realized through a distinctly different multimodal configuration that unfolds across sequences. Representationally, conceptual processes prevail: landscapes, heritage sites, and architectural monuments are presented as timeless, stable, and self-evidently meaningful. The absence of human figures across extended sequences reinforces a mode of representation in which place itself is the protagonist.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInterpersonally, the dominant pattern is one of sustained distancing and upward orientation. Long shots and aerial perspectives, maintained across multiple segments, position the viewer as an admiring but spatially removed observer. Elevated camera angles\u0026mdash;drone shots that descend toward heritage sites, wide establishing shots that frame landscapes within monumental proportions\u0026mdash;construct a power relation in which the represented space is elevated and the viewer positioned beneath it.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe auditory register is equally central to this authenticity construction. The near-total absence of diegetic sound or human voice is a deliberate choice: it removes markers of everyday life and social interaction, purifying the represented space into an aesthetic ideal. In their place, orchestral or minimalist musical scores sustain a register of grandeur and timelessness, guiding the viewer\u0026rsquo;s emotional response toward admiration and awe.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e exemplifies this strategy through a panoramic view of Toledo at golden hour. The Alc\u0026aacute;zar dominates the frame across a slow aerial approach, while warm lighting, saturated color, and a swelling musical score co-deploy to project an idealized yet credible vision of place. This aligns with MacCannell's (1973) notion of staged authenticity, in which destinations are aestheticized to embody an ideal cultural essence. The resulting authenticity is scenic and symbolic\u0026mdash;emotionally evocative yet interactionally distanced\u0026mdash;and is produced through the temporal unfolding of the sequence rather than through any single compositional arrangement.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eNote\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003ePanoramic view of Toledo at golden hour with Alc\u0026aacute;zar fortress dominating the historic cityscape. Long shot, elevated angle, and high visual modality (warm lighting, color saturation) construct scenic/aspirational authenticity through idealized yet credible representation. Absence of human presence emphasizes contemplative engagement. (Source: Spain by Train promotional video, 2023)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec21\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2.3. Emotional Narration\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Emotional Narration videos, authenticity is grounded in affective storytelling and cultural symbolism, constructed through a carefully orchestrated temporal progression. Representationally, sequences weave together iconic landmarks, artworks, seasonal scenes, and cultural practices into coherent narrative trajectories that develop across the video as a whole: openings establish mood and place, middle sections introduce cultural depth and personal resonance, and closings provide emotional resolution. This narrative architecture operates at the level of the whole text rather than the individual segment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInterpersonally, the dominant pattern shifts between introspective and invitational modes across the sequence. Close and medium shots of contemplative figures are interspersed with shots in which these figures address the camera directly, alternating between emotional interiority and viewer interpellation. This rhythmic oscillation between withdrawal and address, realized through editing patterns rather than individual shots, constructs an interpersonal dynamic of intimacy and invitation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe voiceover narration is a structurally central resource in this category. Operating as a continuous auditory thread that binds visual segments into a coherent affective trajectory, it adopts a reflective, poetic register that guides interpretation and supplies the emotional tone. Emotive musical scores\u0026mdash;often building in intensity across the video's temporal arc\u0026mdash;co-deploy with the voiceover to amplify the affective register, producing an intersemiotic crescendo in which visual, verbal, and musical modes converge toward emotional resolution.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e, jacaranda blossoms framing M\u0026aacute;laga Cathedral represent a compositionally dense moment within a longer emotional arc. The high color saturation and symbolic composition construct an aspirational atmosphere, but their full meaning is achieved only within the surrounding sequence. This configuration produces affective authenticity: Spain appears culturally genuine not through everyday ordinariness but through its capacity to resonate emotionally as historically rich, aesthetically enchanting, and personally meaningful.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eNote\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eJacaranda tree in full bloom framing M\u0026aacute;laga Cathedral. High color saturation and symbolic composition construct emotional/aspirational authenticity by evoking romance and Mediterranean spring. (Source: M\u0026aacute;laga promotional video, 2023)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec22\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2.4. Sensory Engagement\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Sensory Engagement category constructs authenticity through embodied immersion and convivial practice, realized through a multimodal regime that foregrounds materiality, tactility, and social pleasure across time. Representationally, close-ups of ingredients, cooking processes, hands at work, and tasting moments dominate the visual track. These are not isolated images but sequential constructions: a close-up of raw ingredients gives way to a shot of preparation, which transitions to tasting, which resolves in shared enjoyment. This temporal chain enacts the experiential logic of sensory participation rather than merely illustrating it.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInterpersonally, the pattern is one of progressive intimacy and imagined co-participation. The combination of extreme close-ups\u0026mdash;which collapse physical distance between viewer and object\u0026mdash;with medium shots that capture shared social interaction positions the viewer simultaneously as a sensory witness and an imagined co-diner. Camera movement in this category tends toward slow, deliberate tracking that follows the movement of hands, liquids, and food across surfaces, enacting a form of visual touch.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe auditory dimension is particularly constitutive of sensory authenticity in this category. Ambient sound\u0026mdash;the sizzle of food, the clink of glasses, the sound of pouring wine\u0026mdash;is foregrounded and maintained across segments, functioning as an auditory analogue to the close-up visual strategy. This intersemiotic reinforcement of visual and auditory sensory cues produces a heightened sense of material presence and embodied access to Spanish food culture.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e illustrates this strategy in a wine-tasting scene in the Manchuela vineyard. The medium shot, embedded in a sequence that moves from vineyard landscape to close-up product detail to social ritual, integrates place, product, and community into a coherent sensory narrative. Authenticity here is sensory and embodied, rooted in the materiality of food and the social pleasure of sharing\u0026mdash;produced through the temporal unfolding of the sequence and the co-deployment of visual and auditory modes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eNote\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eWine tasting in Manchuela vineyard. Medium shot captures participants toasting amidst grapevines, constructing multidimensional gastronomic authenticity by connecting product, territory, and cultural practice. (Source: Manchuela promotional video, 2023)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5. Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study has examined how Spanish institutional tourism videos targeting Chinese audiences construct authenticity through dynamic multimodal configurations and intercultural adaptation strategies. The findings demonstrate that authenticity is not an inherent property of places or practices but a mediated effect produced through the orchestrated deployment of visual, auditory, and compositional resources across time. Rather than functioning solely as promotional artefacts, these videos operate as instruments of nation branding and visual public diplomacy, in which Spain negotiates its national image for a culturally situated foreign public.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec24\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.1. Authenticity as a Dynamic Multimodal Strategy\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe analysis reveals that authenticity in Spain's tourism videos is systematically organized through four distinct multimodal regimes, each mobilizing specific configurations of visual, auditory, and temporal resources. The four dominant patterns\u0026mdash;interactional authenticity in Real Participation, scenic authenticity in Scenic Contemplation, affective authenticity in Emotional Narration, and sensory authenticity in Sensory Engagement\u0026mdash;demonstrate that authenticity is not a singular construct but a multimodal repertoire strategically deployed across genres and experiential domains.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEach regime mobilizes distinct configurations of metafunctional resources across time: sustained direct gaze and handheld movement construct interactional co-presence; elevated angles and orchestral scores monumentalize space; symbolic salience with reflective voiceover and ascending musical arcs condense cultural meaning into affective trajectories; and extreme close-ups with amplified ambient sound foreground sensory detail. Crucially, none of these effects resides in any single frame\u0026mdash;they are produced through the sequential accumulation of semiotic choices across segments, underscoring the necessity of analyzing audiovisual discourse as a temporally unfolding text.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis finding extends existing work on authenticity in digital tourism communication (Munar \u0026amp; Jacobsen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Dong et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) by demonstrating how institutions orchestrate entire multimodal regimes\u0026mdash;integrating image, sound, movement, and narrative structure\u0026mdash;to produce culturally legible and emotionally persuasive representations for specific foreign publics.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec25\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.2. Practical Implications for Intercultural Communication Professionals\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe typology of four multimodal strategies\u0026mdash;real participation, scenic contemplation, emotional narration, and sensory engagement\u0026mdash;provides a practical, evidence-based toolkit for professionals engaged in cross-cultural audiovisual communication. This framework moves beyond vague notions of \u0026ldquo;visual storytelling\u0026rdquo; to offer specific, actionable guidance on how to construct different forms of authenticity for different communication goals, attending not only to what is shown but to how it is sequenced, paced, and sonically framed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor campaigns aiming to foster connection and relatability, the real participation strategy is most effective. Its key resources are not merely close-ups and direct gaze but the sustained orchestration of handheld camera movement, ambient diegetic sound, and conversational narrative structure across sequences\u0026mdash;a multimodal configuration that enacts co-presence and everydayness over time. For campaigns oriented toward conveying cultural grandeur or national prestige, the scenic contemplation strategy is more appropriate: aerial perspectives, elevated angles, and the deliberate absence of human voice, replaced by orchestral musical elevation, construct a mode of aesthetic reverence.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe emotional narration strategy offers a powerful resource for evoking nostalgia or shared human emotion, achieved through the temporal coordination of slow editing pace, reflective voiceover, and emotionally ascending musical scores that guide viewers through an affective arc toward resolution. Practitioners should note that this strategy's effectiveness depends on its temporal architecture\u0026mdash;the emotional impact is produced by narrative build-up and resolution across the video's duration, not by any single image. Finally, for communicating embodied experiences such as cuisine or craftsmanship, the sensory engagement strategy achieves its effect through the intersemiotic reinforcement of extreme close-up imagery and amplified ambient sound, which together produce an impression of multisensory access that can transcend linguistic and cultural barriers.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec26\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.3. Multimodal Homogeneity, Ideological Construction, and the Politics of Self-Representation\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcross the corpus, Spain is overwhelmingly represented through idealized multimodal registers: high-modality visuals, aesthetically elevated musical scores, positive emotional arcs, and polished cinematic composition. From a representation perspective (Hall, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e), such configurations do not simply describe reality but actively produce a preferred version of it, positioning viewers to adopt an aspirational gaze and to identify with an imagined ideal tourist subject. The idealization operates not only visually but through the sustained co-deployment of emotionally uplifting auditory resources, which amplify and naturalize the visual construction of Spain as harmonious, beautiful, and culturally exceptional.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis multimodal idealization entails relations of symbolic power. By privileging leisure, beauty, and cultural continuity across all semiotic channels simultaneously, institutional producers engage in what Hall (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e) terms a practice of selective representation\u0026mdash;systematically excluding less marketable realities such as social tensions, environmental pressures, and contested histories. What counts as \u0026ldquo;authentic\u0026rdquo; Spain is institutionally authorized through coordinated multimodal choices, reflecting asymmetrical power relations between image producers, represented communities, and distant audiences.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe concept of reverse strategic orientalism, introduced here to describe the self-curating logic observed in this corpus, warrants systematic theoretical grounding. Said's (1978) analysis of orientalism identified a representational regime through which Western institutions constructed the East as exotic, timeless, and Other for the purposes of epistemic and political domination. The dynamic observed in this corpus inverts this logic: rather than exoticizing the Other, Spain curates itself as a culturally digestible, emotionally resonant, and aesthetically appealing Other for the Chinese gaze. This process shares with classical orientalism its essentializing tendency\u0026mdash;it constructs a simplified, idealized, and consumption-ready image of national identity\u0026mdash;but its directionality is reversed, operating as a form of self-exoticization in the service of cultural diplomacy and economic attraction (Fung, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e; Nye, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis dynamic can also be situated within soft power theory (Nye, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e), where cultural attraction operates through the voluntary alignment of foreign audiences with the values and aesthetics projected by a source nation. The multimodal strategies identified in this study function as soft power mechanisms at the level of everyday visual discourse: they do not coerce but invite, positioning Chinese viewers to identify with an aspirational version of Spain. The risk is that such strategies reinforce essentialized cultural imaginaries\u0026mdash;of both Spain and China\u0026mdash;rather than enabling genuinely dialogic intercultural engagement.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite its thematic range, the corpus displays a striking degree of multimodal homogeneity\u0026mdash;warm lighting, smooth editing, lyrical or orchestral music, and polished cinematic composition recur throughout. While this coherence serves brand consistency, it risks semiotic flattening: the reduction of cultural complexity to a standardized aesthetic formula that may, over time, undermine the credibility it seeks to construct.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec27\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.4. Ethical Dimensions of Visualizing Authenticity\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe strategic multimodal packaging of authenticity raises important ethical questions about the audiovisual commodification of culture. When everyday practices, heritage, and social rituals are orchestrated primarily as consumable experiences\u0026mdash;through the coordinated deployment of close-ups, ambient sound, and emotionally elevated musical framing\u0026mdash;living cultures risk being reduced to symbolic resources for external audiences. From a multimodal ethics perspective, the ethical question is not merely one of content selection but of the semiotic work performed by the entire multimodal apparatus.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor practitioners, this highlights the challenge of balancing economic imperatives with the cultural responsibilities inherent in public diplomacy. More ethically grounded audiovisual practices might include foregrounding a wider diversity of local actors beyond service and performance roles, incorporating moments of reflexivity or unscripted ordinariness that disrupt the polished aesthetic register, and engaging communities as co-creators of multimodal narratives. Such approaches would also constitute strategically effective responses to the growing media literacy of contemporary audiences.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eImportantly, ethical reflexivity in audiovisual communication is also a semiotic resource. Complexity, polyphony, and the strategic disruption of idealized registers can themselves function as markers of what might be termed reflexive authenticity\u0026mdash;generating trust precisely because it resists the formulaic smoothness of institutional promotional discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec28\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.5. Intercultural Adaptation and the Politics of Multimodal Address\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs documented in the macroscopic analysis (Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec17\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4.1.3\u003c/span\u003e), the corpus displays a consistent and deliberate orientation toward intercultural accommodation across multiple semiotic channels. What requires interpretation here is not merely the presence of these adaptations but their cumulative communicative logic: taken together, they constitute a carefully orchestrated politics of multimodal address, in which every semiotic choice\u0026mdash;from shot distance to musical register to narrative theme\u0026mdash;is calibrated to position Chinese viewers as the implied subjects of the discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSuch multimodal adaptation can be understood as public diplomacy in practice, enacted not through formal institutional statements but through the accumulated weight of everyday semiotic choices. In this sense, the videos function as what Cull (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e) terms \u0026ldquo;listening\u0026rdquo; in public diplomacy\u0026mdash;an attempt to demonstrate awareness of and responsiveness to the target audience\u0026rsquo;s cultural frame\u0026mdash;but enacted through visual and auditory orchestration rather than through verbal discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eYet, following Hall\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1980\u003c/span\u003e) encoding/decoding model, the preferred meanings encoded in these multimodal configurations remain open to negotiation and resistant decoding. What institutional producers encode as respectful cultural accommodation may be decoded by viewers as patronizing stereotyping, instrumental flattening, or cultural inauthenticity, depending on their individual experiences, media literacy, and relationship to the values being projected. The absence of empirical reception data in this study means that this tension cannot be resolved here, but it constitutes a critical question for future research.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec29\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.6. Limitations and Future Research\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study has several limitations that open productive avenues for future research. First, the corpus is restricted to institutionally produced videos and does not include user-generated, influencer-produced, or counter-institutional visual narratives. Future research could compare the multimodal strategies of institutional producers with those of Chinese travel influencers or everyday users on platforms such as Douyin and Bilibili.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond, the analysis remains a qualitative semiotic interpretation conducted by a small research team. Triangulating these findings with quantitative content analysis, corpus-based methods, or computational approaches to multimodal analysis could validate and extend the patterns identified here on a larger scale.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThird, and most importantly, the study does not include empirical audience reception data. A critical next step is to conduct reception studies with Chinese audiences\u0026mdash;using methods such as think-aloud protocols, focus groups, or eye-tracking\u0026mdash;to examine how the visual, auditory, and temporal configurations identified here are actually processed and evaluated. Future research could also extend the comparative scope by examining how other European nations construct audiovisual authenticity for Chinese audiences, or how Chinese institutions address Western publics\u0026mdash;comparisons that would further illuminate the dynamics of reverse strategic orientalism. Finally, interviews with institutional producers and policymakers would complement reception research by revealing the deliberate and tacit decisions that shape the multimodal choices documented in this study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"6. Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study addresses a central challenge in intercultural communication: how can institutions effectively communicate abstract cultural values like authenticity to a foreign public through audiovisual means? Our analysis demonstrates that authenticity is not an intrinsic quality but a communicative effect, strategically produced through the coordinated deployment of visual, auditory, and temporal resources across time\u0026mdash;and that understanding this requires analytical frameworks capable of accounting for the dynamic, multimodal nature of audiovisual discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur analysis reveals how authenticity is systematically constructed through four multimodal regimes\u0026mdash;real participation, scenic contemplation, emotional narration, and sensory engagement\u0026mdash;each constituting a coherent semiotic logic that unfolds across sequences. These regimes render Spain emotionally accessible and culturally legible for Chinese audiences through the interplay of interpersonal positioning, modality management, narrative architecture, and auditory co-deployment. For practitioners, this typology provides an evidence-based toolkit specifying not only what to show but how to sequence, pace, and sonically frame content to achieve specific authenticity effects.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTheoretically, this research makes three interconnected contributions. First, it advances the methodological debate on applying visual grammar to dynamic audiovisual discourse. Operationalizing the metafunctional categories at the segment level and extending them to incorporate temporal, kinetic, and auditory dimensions demonstrates that the framework retains analytical purchase when appropriately adapted, offering a replicable model for future multimodal research on promotional video.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond, the study contributes to theorizing authenticity as a dynamic multimodal effect rather than a static visual property. Authenticity is produced through the temporal accumulation of semiotic choices across sequences\u0026mdash;through the rhythm of editing, the arc of musical scoring, the sustained pattern of interpersonal address\u0026mdash;and cannot be adequately analyzed through frame-level description alone.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThird, the concept of reverse strategic orientalism introduced in this study offers a theoretically grounded framework for understanding how Western nations construct self-representations for non-Western audiences. Situated within the traditions of orientalism (Said, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1978\u003c/span\u003e) and soft power theory (Nye, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e), it identifies a representational logic in which cultural self-curation for a foreign gaze reproduces essentializing tendencies analogous to classical orientalism despite its inverted directionality\u0026mdash;with applicability beyond the Spanish-Chinese context to any situation in which a nation strategically curates its cultural image for a culturally distant public.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis production-focused approach is necessarily limited by the absence of reception data; future research should incorporate audience studies, comparative national analyses, and ethnographic inquiry into production processes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn conclusion, this research contributes to understanding institutional audiovisual communication as a mediated, affective, temporal, and political practice. Promotional videos are not merely marketing tools: they are sites where intercultural relations are constructed, negotiated, and contested through the coordinated deployment of multimodal resources across time. Authenticity, in this view, is a locus of cultural mediation, symbolic power, and semiotic labor. Recognizing this complexity\u0026mdash;and the methodological demands it places on researchers\u0026mdash;is essential for both scholars and practitioners, calling for more analytically rigorous, ethically reflexive, and multimodally aware approaches to the study and design of global visual communication.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eData availability\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe corpus of videos analyzed in this study consists of publicly available institutional promotional videos distributed through Chinese digital platforms (WeChat and Bilibili) by Turespaña and official tourism boards of Spanish autonomous communities. No proprietary or restricted datasets were used. The ELAN annotation files and Excel coding templates used in the analysis are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthical statements\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthical approval was not required for this study. The research involved the analysis of publicly available institutional videos only. No human participants were recruited, interviewed, or observed, and no personal or sensitive data were collected or processed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInformed consent\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInformed consent was not applicable to this study. No human participants were involved. All materials analyzed are publicly available institutional videos that do not contain identifiable personal information requiring consent.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAuthor contributions\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAuthor conceptualized the study, designed the analytical framework, led the multimodal annotation and analysis, and drafted the manuscript. Author supervised the research design, contributed to theoretical framing and critical interpretation, conducted cross-coding and reliability checks, and revised the manuscript for intellectual content. Both authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAdamus-Matuszyńska A, Dzik P, Michnik J, Polok G (2021) Visual component of destination brands as a tool for communicating sustainable tourism offers. Sustainability 13(2):731. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.3390/su13020731\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.3390/su13020731\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBateman JA, Schmidt KH (2012) Multimodal film analysis: How films mean. Routledge\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBui HT, Trupp A (2014) The development and diversity of Asian tourism in Europe: The case of Vienna. Int J Tourism Sci 14(2):1\u0026ndash;17\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChen X, Chen Z (2023) Impact of video content on gastronomic image construction and tourists' intention to (re-)visit Macao. Tourism Recreation Res 50(4):506\u0026ndash;520. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2023.2296812\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1080/02508281.2023.2296812\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCull NJ (2009) Public diplomacy: Lessons from the past. Figueroa\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDong Y, Yan L, Hai Y, Wei L (2023) Perceived tourism authenticity on social media: The consistency of ethnic destination endorsers. Tourism Manage Perspect 49:101176. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2023.101176\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.tmp.2023.101176\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDu S, Cheong CYM (2025) Beyond the scenic view: A multimodal discourse analysis of sustainable tourism imaginaries on TikTok in Anhui, China. Humanit Social Sci Commun 12:690. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05015-3\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1057/s41599-025-05015-3\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFung A (2007) Western style, Chinese pop: Jay Chou's rap and hip-hop in Taiwan. Cult Stud 21(2\u0026ndash;3):342\u0026ndash;361. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601162500\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1080/09502380601162500\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGan J, Shi S, Filieri R, Leung WK (2023) Short video marketing and travel intentions: The interplay between visual perspective, visual content, and narration appeal. Tour Manag 99:104795. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2023.104795\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.tourman.2023.104795\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHall S (1980) Encoding/decoding. In S. Hall, D. Hobson, A. Lowe, \u0026amp; P. Willis (Eds.), Culture, media, language (pp. 128\u0026ndash;138). Hutchinson\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHall S (1997) Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage \u0026amp; The Open University\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHalliday MAK (1978) Language as social semiotic: The social interpretation of language and meaning. Edward Arnold\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKress G, van Leeuwen T (2006) Reading images: The grammar of visual design, 2nd edn. Routledge\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMacCannell D (1973) Staged authenticity: Arrangements of social space in tourist settings. Am J Sociol 79(3):589\u0026ndash;603. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1086/225585\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1086/225585\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMachin D (2014) Visual communication. In: Hart C, Cap P (eds) Contemporary critical discourse studies. Bloomsbury Academic, pp 385\u0026ndash;408\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMunar AM, Jacobsen JKS (2014) Motivations for sharing tourism experiences through social media. Tour Manag 43:46\u0026ndash;54. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.01.012\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.tourman.2014.01.012\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNye JS (2004) Soft power: The means to success in world politics. Public Affairs\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSaid EW (1978) Orientalism. Pantheon Books\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTseng C (2013) Cohesion in film: Tracking film elements. Palgrave Macmillan\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTseng C (2019) Analysing multimodal cohesion in film and audio-description: The role of identity chains. Multimodal Communication 8(2):20180016. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1515/mc-2018-0016\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1515/mc-2018-0016\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003evan Leeuwen T (2005) Introducing social semiotics. Routledge\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWang M (2025) Virtual ethnography of China travel content: An empirical study across short video platforms. Int Communication Chin Cult. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1007/s40636-025-00317-2\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1007/s40636-025-00317-2\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWang N (1999) Rethinking authenticity in tourism experience. Annals Tourism Res 26(2):349\u0026ndash;370. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-7383(98)00103-0\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/S0160-7383(98)00103-0\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWildfeuer J (2014) Film discourse interpretation: Towards a new paradigm for multimodal film analysis. Routledge\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"intercultural communication, visual communication, multimodality, authenticity, nation branding","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9209670/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9209670/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAs Western institutions increasingly target Chinese audiences, they face the significant challenge of communicating abstract cultural values across different semiotic and affective repertoires. Authenticity, a cornerstone of cultural promotion, is particularly difficult to translate. This study examines how this challenge is addressed in practice, asking: what multimodal strategies do institutions use to construct and mediate authenticity for the Chinese market? The study analyzes a corpus of 20 promotional videos released by Spanish public institutions for Chinese digital platforms. Drawing on visual grammar \u0026mdash;critically adapted to account for temporality, camera movement, and multimodal orchestration\u0026mdash;fine-grained annotation of four representative videos is combined with a macro-level corpus analysis to identify recurring semiotic patterns. The findings reveal that authenticity is not an inherent quality but is systematically produced through multimodal configurations that foreground emotional narration, idealized modality, and culturally adapted forms of viewer positioning. Four recurrent strategies are identified\u0026mdash; \u0026ldquo;real participation\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;scenic contemplation\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;emotional narration\u0026rdquo;, and \u0026ldquo;sensory engagement\u0026rdquo;\u0026mdash;each mobilizing specific combinations of gaze, social distance, framing, narrative structure, and auditory co-deployment to naturalize particular versions of \u0026ldquo;genuine\u0026rdquo; experience for a Chinese audience. The study further demonstrates how institutional audiovisual discourse selectively foregrounds desirable cultural meanings while marginalizing less marketable realities, a dynamic theorized here as reverse strategic orientalism. Theoretically, this research proposes a methodologically grounded model for understanding how abstract cultural values are operationalized in audiovisual communication. Practically, it provides a typology of multimodal strategies that can inform the work of intercultural communication professionals.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Performing Authenticity for the Chinese Gaze: Multimodal Strategies in Spanish Institutional Tourism Videos","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-15 11:24:45","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9209670/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-29T15:17:07+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"290041449994434887963518488469293609968","date":"2026-04-29T13:24:41+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"71784602193395676177595113356766369869","date":"2026-04-21T23:48:54+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-08T02:23:21+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-04-08T02:15:52+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-06T18:09:23+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-04-06T09:31:25+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","date":"2026-04-06T09:03:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b5ba1c57-6b68-4d30-8209-f4023b4f3ec7","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 15th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-29T15:17:07+00:00","index":35,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"290041449994434887963518488469293609968","date":"2026-04-29T13:24:41+00:00","index":34,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":65897822,"name":"Humanities/Cultural and media studies"},{"id":65897823,"name":"Social science/Cultural and media studies"},{"id":65897824,"name":"Humanities/Language and linguistics"},{"id":65897825,"name":"Social science/Language and linguistics"},{"id":65897826,"name":"Humanities/Literature"},{"id":65897827,"name":"Biological sciences/Psychology"},{"id":65897829,"name":"Social science/Psychology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-15T11:24:45+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-15 11:24:45","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9209670","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9209670","identity":"rs-9209670","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}