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European Master of Intercultural Communication (EMICC)

Facultat de Ciencies Humanes I Socials - Universitat Jaume I, Castellón de la Plana / Castelló - España / Espanya

09th of November 2011

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;
  • Two videos should be short – no longer than 1 minute (they should be used for a detailed analysis – shot by shot);
  • 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”)

  • 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)
  • Try to establish a simple classification of types of scenes and produce a short description for each type of scenes;
  • Exemplify each identified type with a set of characteristic concrete visual (audiovisual) scenes in your corpus
  • Produce a short summary of each identified concrete scene
  • 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 theirnarrative 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”)?

4/ Provide a global analysisof the montage (linear) structure of your videos

  • What are the recurrent narrative montage instructions?
  • 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

  • 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
(“auctorial instructions”) / Filmic elements that are arguments for this + short explanation
(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, …)

  • 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?