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M1/M2 Course:
Understanding people’s views and visions.
A semiotic approach of audiovisual productions.
University of Utrecht
Department of Modern Languages
10th of November 2010
Group Work
General instructions
1/ Creation of groups of two (max.) three students.
2/ Each group chooses one video corpus (free choice of type, theme, …).
However, a video corpus should be composed of:

Five to six different videos;

Two videos at least should be “amateur” videos;
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Two videos should be short – no longer than 1 minute (they should be used for a
detailed analysis – shot by shot);
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Two videos should be – if possible - “archive” videos (i.e. historically “out-dated”);

The videos should have different (geographic, cultural, linguistic, …) origins.
3/ Undertake a global comparison of the videos (a “top down analysis of your corpus”)
(use for this the analytical grid for a “top-down analysis”)
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What are the principal, most important, central, … types of audiovisual scenes in your
corpus that stress the purpose (identify, classify and describe them, reference each
scene in your corpus)
o Try to establish a simple classification of types of scenes and produce a short
description for each type of scenes;
o Exemplify each identified type with a set of characteristic concrete visual
(audiovisual) scenes in your corpus
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o Produce a short summary of each identified concrete scene
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Identify further the most relevant objects (humans, artifacts, activities, locations, …)
 in using the techniques of (visual) object staging (the rendering of
visual objects);
 and in detecting also specific “synchronisation effects” for
foregrounding a visual object (in/off music; in/off noise; in/off voice;
…)
 and proceeding with a “mental experiment” of substituting/replacing
or commutating existing objects

(eventually) produce a small list or class of iconic objects which seems not to be
relevant (or less relevant) in your corpus

Only once you have established the class of relevant objects, produce an
“interpretation” of them in trying to understand what they figure out, for what
theme or topic (or common place, stereotype, …) they “stand”

Try to determine the proprioceptive (emotional, esthetic, moralistic, …) character of
the identified scenes.
4/ Choose one video and undertake one “bottom-up analysis” (i.e. “shot by short”)
(use for this the analytical grid for a “bottom-up analysis”)

Argue why you have chosen this video and not an other one

How many shots?

What are the visual (audiovisual) scenes?

Provide an analysis of the narrative timeline of the identified shots/scenes and make
clear their narrative function in your video (for doing this, refer and adapt the basic
narrative timeline model/the storyboard)

What types of visual scenes are concerned (cf. point 2)

What are the principle relevant iconic objects?

How they principal relevant objects are staged (“mis en scène”)?

What figurative/proprioceptive meaning?

Which place in your corpus (i.e. in your “top down analysis”)?
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4/ Provide a global analysis of the montage (linear) structure of your videos
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What are the recurrent narrative montage instructions?
o examples: reportage, documentary, chronology, interest relationship,
movement in space?, etc.

Identify them in your corpus (which shots, scenes are concerned in which film?)

What are the principles of the montage in your corpus;

Do you have explanations for these principles?
5/ Analyse the audiovisual discourse of your corpus
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What are, following you, the main purposes in your corpus? Try to explain the
“auctorial instructions of how to read, to understand your videos or specific parts of
your videos …
Message/purpose
Filmic elements that are arguments for this + short
explanation
(“auctorial instructions”)
(Film N°): VS, scene, object(s), …
Ex.:
“Look on and admire the
exterior architecture of
this place …”
Film 1:
 Scene type 1 (= showing of exterior facades)
 VS1, VS2, VS3, VS4, (= …)
 Repeated framing on exterior facades,
 Irrelevancy of other visual objects (especially
people, …)
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What can you say about the potential public, the destine,… of your corpus?
Intended Public
Filmic elements that are arguments for this + short
explanation
(Film N°): VS, scene, object(s), …
Ex.:
People who have an
esthetic sense for
classical architecture
People how may be
attracted to

Film 1:
 Scene type 1 (= showing of exterior facades)
 VS1, VS2, VS3, VS4, (= …)
 Repeated framing on exterior facades,
 Irrelevancy of other visual objects (especially
people, …)
What is your own position with respect to your corpus of videos?