Audiovisual Discourse Research Articles

Volumetric filmmaking, new mediums and formats for digital audiovisual storytelling

Currently, VR and AR film practice are expanding through the use of new techniques capable of producing footage that can be implemented in interactive audiovisual virtual discourses. Volumetric video is one of these resources, with which some authors have begun to create the very first interactive VR and AR movies. Many of these works have a prosocial purpose, as means to move the audience having an impact on society.This work is based on a methodology structured in three phases. The results presented have been obtained from the study of Terminal 3, the first interactive augmented documentary, through an analysis model focused on these audiovisual productions.

The audiovisual recreation of operas filmed in theaters: An analysis of Don Giovanni by W. A. Mozart

This article analyzes select opera films produced during the 20th and 21st centuries by international opera houses in order to determine whether, when the diegesis of these films is recreated, there is also an attempt made for the films to reflect the conventions of operatic performance. We performed content analysis of the end of the first act in 29 filmed versions of the opera Don Giovanni by W.A. Mozart by evaluating 44 variables related to three categories that are central to translating the original story to the new audiovisual discourse: recreation of time and space and use of scenery. The main results reveal that in translating Don Giovanni to audiovisual media, the films continue to be influenced by the institutional conventions of operatic theater. In relying on the original performance, these films, even in the 21st century, do not exhibit full narrative autonomy. Our article proposes several ways to better adapt—from a cinematographic perspective—these scenic representations based on elements such as depth of field or scenery, without the need for greater resources than those already available to opera houses.

Audiovisual Representation in Spanish and European Election Debates

The presence of ever more conflicting stances between Europhiles and Eurosceptics has revealed some audiovisual discourses unknown until now. The fragmentation of inconclusive narrative discourse and staged situations with a clear intent to clash all make it necessary to analyse in detail the role given by the audiovisual media to the European process of democratisation. This study addresses the audiovisual discourse in Spanish public television (TVE) with the intention of discovering how the different topics addressed in debates are dealt with in audiovisual production, and whether those topics have benefited from certain decisions by the production team that are subjective a priori. Using external codifiers, the intensity of each question has been checked and the result has been correlated with the dependent variables “[camera] shot with question while listening” and “shot with question with split screen”. The variables have been subjected to descriptive analyses, correlation with hypotheses, and bivariate analyses using Pearson’s correlation (Rx-y). The results indicate a clear difference in the modes of television representation between national Spanish and European debates. It is discussed whether this audiovisual differentiation may condition the perception that the audience may have of European politics.

Metodologías aplicadas a la crítica de Música de Cine: El uso del leitmotiv y su funcionalidad y articulación en “El Imperio Contraataca”

Este artículo trata sobre la aplicación de un método de análisis que sirva como protocolo para medir la eficacia de la música extradiegética de cine, en cuanto a su papel narrativo para con la imagen, de forma que el periodista especializado pueda así establecer un análisis que permita la realización de una crítica lo más objetiva posible. En concreto, se trata de analizar una de las herramientas del compositor cinematográfico, el leitmotiv, y ver como ejemplo el trabajo de John Williams, uno de los compositores más influyentes de los últimos cincuenta años: Cómo gestiona sus leitmotivs, desde su concepción hasta su sincronización con la imagen en una de las películas donde desarrolla esta herramienta: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Basándonos en sus bocetos, se analizarán los distintos elementos musicales y narrativos según el protocolo metodológico propuesto, y cómo estos son articulados con la imagen en función de su papel como parte del discurso audiovisual.

Machado de Assis em minissérie

Particularidades estéticas do romance Dom Casmurro e da minissérie Capitu revelam a capacidade de discursos literário e audiovisual de representar singularidades da vida social brasileira do passado, bem como apontam problemas existenciais do representante de classe que conduz o enredo, provocando reflexões no presente. O tratamento oferecido à luta de classes pela narrativa de Machado de Assis e pela transcriação, assim como o modo através do qual o drama existencial é exposto, promovem um tipo de recepção entre leitores/espectadores capazes de rever o passado histórico em tempos que pedem tal revisão, ainda que a série televisiva aposte forçosamente no anticonvencional das imagens bem tratadas e da narrativa não linear. Machado apresentou a tensão entre representação e verdade (bem como entre produção de emoção e de reflexão) com a transfiguração do pathos de tragédia e a mobilização da figura patriarcal para o viés melodramático. Embora acrescidas de uma ironia orquestrada pelos elementos cênicos na versão audiovisual, tais soluções machadianas tenderiam a perder a força de desmascaramento dos sujeitos sociais, contudo a intensificação do melodrama pode evidenciar o que Machado disfarçou com intenções narrativas menos óbvias.

The spatial-temporal fragmentation of live television video clips: analysis of the television production of the Eurovision Song Contest

Multicamera television production’s similarity to the video clip has become evident in the production of the EBU’s Eurovision Song Contest, where various musical numbers representing public television stations from the organizing countries compete against each other in terms of spectacularity and originality. The main objective of this research is to analyze several acts to identify such appropriation. We will apply a textual analysis to the audiovisual discourse of a sample chosen through subjective sampling. We divide our analysis into four sections: preliminary phase, formal audiovisual analysis, staging and performance. The investigation leads to the conclusion that the characteristic fragmentation of space and time of video clips can also be identified in live music videos. This fragmentation is seen in the break in spatial continuity, resulting from recreating sets on stage and the abstraction of the stage thanks to screens and an avant-garde composition shot. We also consider that the production imitates the time fragmentation and fast shot speed of the video clip.

Communicative functions of visual metonymies in picture books targeted at children in two different age groups. A multimodal analysis

This article aims to examine how visual metonymies, in combination with verbal language, contribute to the representation of characters in a sample of six picture books written and illustrated by Anthony Browne and intended for children in two different age groups: 0–6 year-olds (also known as early readers) and children over six years of age. Social semiotic (Kress, Gunther, and Theo van Leeuwen. 2006 [1996]. Reading images: The grammar of visual design. London: Routledge; Painter, Clare, James Martin, and Len Unsworth. 2013. Reading visual narratives: Image analysis of children’s picture books. London: Equinox), and multimodal cognitive approaches (Forceville, Charles. 2009. Metonymy in visual and audiovisual discourse. In Eija Ventola and Arsenio J. Moya-Guijarro (eds.), The world told and the world shown: Multisemiotic Issues, 57–74. Basingstoke & New York: Palgrave Macmillan; Forceville, Charles, and Eduardo Urios-Aparisi. (eds.). 2009. Multimodal metaphor. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter) have been adopted to carry out this research. The results reveal that the proportions of metonymies and complete representations are significantly different across the tales intended for 0–6 and 7–9 year-old children. In addition, the analysis shows that source-in-target metonymic depictions (Ruiz de Mendoza, Ibáñez, F. J., and Velasco O. I. Díez. 2002. Patterns of conceptual interaction. In René Dirven and Ralf Pörings (eds.), Metaphor and metonymy in comparison and contrast, 489–532. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter) are essentially used by illustrators to highlight some essential aspects of the characters and the plots.

Farocki, el gesto que resiste. Sobre Fuego inextinguible y Respite

El cine de Harun Farocki nos exige una mirada crítica sobre la imagen y sus efectos de sentido. Una reflexión teórica sobre el estatuto de la imagen, la violencia simbólica que puede ejercer sobre las víctimas así como su potencia. En este artículo nos proponemos indagar, a través de sus películas Fuego inextinguible (1969) y Respite (2003), ciertos gestos en que el cineasta alemán pone en tensión y examina los usos de la imagen para constituirse como formas de resistencia y de intervención crítica a los discursos audiovisuales.

Reconhecimento como categoria de crítica cultural

Neste artigo objetivo investigar as articulações entre política do reconhecimento e crítica cultural. Examino como a crítica jornalística de ficção audiovisual manifesta aspectos desse paradigma por meio de três relações não excludentes: a identificação e análise do reconhecimento como perspectiva estruturante da obra; o reconhecimento como valor de aferição; e como demanda mais complexa por paridade imagética. Para isso, analiso a crítica de filmes como Pantera Negra e O estranho que nós amamos. Os resultados apontam para a emergência de uma crítica menos estética do que ética, que privilegia aspectos identitários das personagens e questões de representatividade na indústria audiovisual. O artigo propõe, ao final, o desafio de se articular o valor de reconhecimento a fatores estéticos para uma análise mais ampla do discurso audiovisual.

El videoensayo como recurso pedagógico en la búsqueda y construcción de identidades en enseñanza secundaria desde la educación artística.

INTRODUCCIO: Aquesta recerca preten demostrar el valor i la capacitat pedagogica d’actituds artistiques audiovisuals contemporanies dins del paradigma de l’educacio artistica. Dins del nostre estudi, utilitzem el videoassaig com a vehicle per a la construccio i cerca d’identitats en el periode de l’ensenyament secundari. METODE: En aquesta indagacio s’utilitza una combinacio de la metodologia qualitativa i la metodologia artistica basada en l’observacio i la interpretacio de les experiencies artistiques acompanyades per les narratives desenvolupades per l’alumnat implicat. Encara que s’han seleccionat tres experiencies, la participacio ha estat de vint-i-dos estudiants. RESULTATS: Les experiencies artistiques generades a partir del videoassaig ens permeten noves produccions audiovisuals on l’alumnat indaga sobre la seva identitat personal de la mateixa manera que vincula art contemporani i mitja audiovisual. L’alumnat aconsegueix realitzar discursos audiovisuals a traves del video i la seva propia reflexio personal. DISCUSSIO: El videoassaig es confirma com a recurs pedagogic amb gran capacitat expressiva i reflexiva en la cerca i construccio d’identitats en l’etapa adolescent.

Re-building the Idea of Being a Woman. The Audiovisual Legacy of Lila Crane

This article gives a historical perspective on the route traced by women investigators in Hollywood audiovisual narrative. The starting point and main focus of the thrilling detective story at the heart of the enigma regarding being a woman is the character of Lila Crane (Hitchcock’s Psycho, 1960). The split structure of this horror film masterpiece, defined by literary reviews as a classic example of a tale of modernity, offers a subversive view of women’s issues in audiovisual discourse. To assess the audiovisual legacy of Lila, we selected a series of audiovisual texts which draw attention to a cultural dialogue with this modern character. A two-fold trend can be seen in these references: the confrontation between a progressive audiovisual narrative and a retro-narrative aimed at restraining the progress of this rule-breaking archetype.

Lyric vídeos: el encuentro del videoclip con el diseño gráfico y la composición tipográfica

Este artículo tiene por objeto principal el análisis del lyric vídeo a fin de definir el formato como creación audiovisual comercial, describir el uso de los recursos formales relacionados con el uso del texto y, en un segundo paso, realizar una clasificación de los lyric vídeos en función de las variables consideradas en la metodología de análisis. El lyric vídeo es un subgénero dentro del vídeo musical que representa a través de códigos textuales íntegramente el contenido verbal de una canción, por lo general de manera sincronizada con aquella. Incluso como un formato de producción muy económica en cuanto a presupuestos, el lyric vídeo se ha convertido en un fenómeno popular gracias a su distribución a través de YouTube y otras plataformas de vídeo online. Para lograr los objetivos propuestos, realizaremos un análisis de contenido en una muestra de lyric videos, a partir de una metodología basada en las propuestas de diversos autores que atienda a la relación del discurso audiovisual con los códigos textuales y el diseño gráfico. Los resultados a los que llevan nuestro análisis destacan la naturaleza gráfica y digital del formato, en el que raramente se utiliza como recurso formal la imagen fílmica grabada de forma previa a la edición. De igual modo, los textos escritos aparecerían integrados en el discurso de manera extradiegética y alternaría diversas fuentes tipográficas, por lo general en movimiento, con objeto de lograr un alto dinamismo y así seducir al espectador.

La metáfora del discurso cinematográfico

A través de su historia, las teorías y metodologías del análisis del audiovisual han recurrido a explicaciones metafóricas tomadas de disciplinas como la lingüística, la semiología y la narratología literaria, haciendo extensivo el uso de las nociones de éstas. El análisis del discurso audiovisual o cinematográfico se ha convertido en un tópico habitual. Con la finalidad de explorar los límites disciplinarios, metodológicos y conceptuales que permiten este uso, presento un recorrido que explicita los puntos de contacto de teorías específicas del discurso audiovisual y las metodologías de análisis que las sustentan. Finalmente, me remito a los aportes de Charles Sanders Peirce y Umberto Eco para pensar el audiovisual como un discurso retórico basado en la metáfora.

Viajar para encontrarse a uno mismo. El turismo como estructura narrativa en el cine japonés contemporáneo realizado por mujeres

This communication aims to study three contemporary Japanese films directed by female filmmakers, analysing the connection between cinema and tourism as an emergent research topic in Communication Studies. The plots of these films rely on tourist travel as a structural device for the development of the characters and seem to convey a critical discourse regarding conventional lifestyles of present Japan. Using a methodological approach based on the qualitative analysis of the audio visual discourse as well as concepts from Intercultural Communication, Cultural Studies and Film Studies, four variables will be analysed: characters, spaces, effects of the tourist travel, and audio visual style. The corpus of films is composed by the following works: Kamome Diner (かもめ食堂, Naoko Ogigami, 2006), Glasses (めがね, Naoko Ogigami, 2007) and Bread of Happiness (しあわせのパン, Yukiko Mishima, 2012).

Multimodal communication in academic oral presentations by L2 Spanish students

ABSTRACTPresenting in a second language (L2) is perhaps the greatest challenge for international students in a foreign academic context. In this study, we examine the multimodal (verbal and non-verbal) oral performances of two L2 and two L1 groups of Spanish students enrolled in a university Applied Linguistics course. To determine the specific demands and challenges that each group faces, we conducted a questionnaire with 16 participants and carried out an audiovisual discourse analysis of the presentations based on a multimodal framework applied to the use of academic Spanish. It was discovered in the analysis of the data that multimodal competence, the ability to make use of and combine verbal and non-verbal modes of communication to construct and communicate meaning, can compensate for L2 students’ linguistic deficiencies. The article concludes with guidelines to support the development of multimodal competence of L2 students.

Vigilante Publics: Orientalism, Modernity and Hindutva Fascism in India

This paper explores the interconnections of Hindutva fascist repertoires in India and quasi-orientalist discourses. History and common sense are re-written through audiovisual communications to appeal to one section of a dangerously split Indian public and a neoliberal-touristic sensibility elsewhere. Enlightenment rhetorics of progress, democracy and technological development are apparently embodied by WhatsApp groups, electronic voting machines and laws to protect cows. Voting—as a marker of democratic citizenship—becomes a masquerade protecting a resurgent far right Hindutva (Hindu fascist) regime under the aegis of Narendra Modi and the BJP. Caste Hinduism’s association of cows with deities, and the proscription on meat-eating in certain versions of religious practice, are used as pretexts for unimaginable violence against Muslims, Christians, Dalits, and working class/lower caste Hindus. Violence against those who dissent is rationalised as patriotic. Hindutva’s banal and spectacular audiovisual discourse overwhelms public communication. Its consequences are a form of vigilante citizenship that is marked on the bodies of dead victims and of vigilante publics ready to be mobilised either in ethno-cultural violence or its defence and disavowal. Meanwhile, attracted to India as an enormous market, Western governments and corporations have colluded with the Hindutva regime’s self-promotion as a bastion of development.

La memoria en el discurso audiovisual de las juntas militares en Argentina (1976-1983)

Desde los años ochenta, la historia reciente concebida como una anomalía que es imperativo “recordar para no repetir” es un argumento asociado a la violación de los derechos humanos por parte de los militares. El análisis del noticiero cinematográfico Sucesos Argentinos y de films propagandísticos producidos durante la dictadura (1976-1983) muestra que la “necesidad de memoria” había sido un argumento utilizado con anterioridad en los discursos audiovisuales de las juntas militares contra la guerrilla.

Familia homoparental en Cuba: una realidad no contada

La investigación aborda las temáticas relacionadas con la comunidad LGTBI, y dentro ellas el tratamiento a la familia homoparental en Cuba, a fin de develar sus rasgos en la producción audiovisual cubana, y los factores socio-culturales y jurídicos que así lo determinan. A partir de este resultado, el estudio propone un acercamiento al proceso de producción del documental Sí, quiero, realizado en la carrera de Periodismo de la Universidad de La Habana, que desarrolla su discurso audiovisual con una construcción de género inclusiva para promover el debate público sobre los derechos de la familia homoparental, tradicionalmente invisibilizada en los contenidos mediáticos y de las industrias culturales en Cuba y otras partes del mundo.

Gone Girl (David Fincher, 2014) : Médias, mensonges et manipulation

Fincher’s film appears as a violent attack on a media system which raises accusations against a man whose wife tries to get him indicted for her murder, but the more general tenor of the film lies in an examination of our relation to images and the unstable meanings they are attributed in a hyper-media society. Through his staging of the illegibility of images, Fincher calls upon his spectators to take critical distance with representations. To that effect, he draws on a set of references which include both the filmic tradition and the status of images as “proofs” in the media and audiovisual discourses.

Pragmatic Language Development and Correlation with Vocabulary Ability of 4- to 10-Year-Old Typically Developing Korean Children using Audio-Visual Discourse Tasks

배경 및 목적 : 아동은 사회적인 상호작용속에서 언어를 사용하는 화용능력을 기르게 된다. 이러한 화용능력은 의미론적 발달이나 전반적인 언어습득과도 상관이 높다고 알려져 있다. 그러나 우리나라에서는 평가도구의 제한으로 인해 화용능력에 대한 세부적인 연구가 매우 부족하다. 이에 본 연구에서는 대화나 이야기 화면을 보면서 화용적인 적절성을 판단하고 수정하는...