Synchronicity = Simplicity?

It may seem simplistic and obvious to suggest that events occurring at the same time seem more connected, but the idea of synchronicity becomes more interesting when explored further. Temporal relationships between auditory and visual events are the building blocks of an audiovisual composition, and understanding how these can be created and the way we perceive simultaneous events can help towards a more effective combination of audio and visual material.

The arrangement of an audiovisual sequence, much like with musical composition, can be based upon rhythmic phrases or patterns existing between what is seen and what is heard. Stronger events occurring within auditory or visual phenomena will give more emphasis to certain aspects of the perceived material, demanding more attention from the perceiver. These accentuated points are defined as an increased prominence or salient ascribed to a given event1. The creation of an audiovisual rhythm relies on the connection and interactivity between auditory and visual accents, and this relationship is at the heart of audiovisual composition2. Points of synchronization within an audiovisual sequence occur when certain aspects of auditory and visual events are perceived at the same time, and these points are more prominent when accents from each perception are aligned. The effect that is produced at these conjunctures has been termed ‘synchresis’ by Michel Chion, who describes it as the ‘irresistible weld produced between an auditory and visual phenomena when they occur at the same time3’.

Synchresis is created anytime auditory and visual events are perceived simultaneously, and this effect helps build and secure the overall audiovisual experience by creating undeniable, instantaneous connections between specific parts of auditory and visual events. The effect is undeniable in the automatic, natural sense, as the ability of synchresis to be easily produced means the effect can be stretched to its limits. This can be seen when a pairing of two widely disparate auditory and visual events occurs, as there will still be a significant, perceived connection between them even though the content of each stimulus could be loosely or completely unrelated. The connection remains due to the fact that the two sensory events are synchronized.

Synchronicity has been proven to be one of the major factors that increase the effectiveness of audiovisual material. Research carried out by S. Lipscomb4 proposes that there are two judgments made by an observer when presented with audio and visual stimuli that define the effectiveness of the combined material. These consist of an association judgment, which is a subjective decision made that determines the suitability of the combined material, and a judgment made on whether the emphasized points in each stimuli match. The importance of these two decisions resides in how they influence the attention and focus of an observer. If both judgments are in the positive, then the focus of the observer will be more on the audio and visual material as a whole rather than as separate entities. Results from this study show that there is a high, positive correlation between synchronization and effectiveness. The definition of ‘effectiveness’ within this study relates to the concept of synchresis, as both are based on the focus on whole audiovisual forms instead of single sensory perceptions in isolation.

The simple power that synchronicity has at joining together auditory and visual events is often unnoticed, but it is one of the main factors that contribute towards a successful audiovisual composition. The strength of synchronized material lies in its ability to make us forget that we are hearing and seeing two separate sensorial events, but rather we perceive the combined material as a one whole sensory event, and it is this focus on whole audiovisual forms that makes a believable and effective audiovisual composition.

References:

1.   Lipscomb, S. D. (2005) ‘The Perception of Audio-visual Composites: Accent   Structure Alignment of Simple Stimuli’.

2.   Grierson, M. (2007) ‘Audiovisual Composition’.

3.   Chion, M. (1994) Audio-vision: Sound on Screen. New York: Columbia University Press.

4.   Lipscomb, S. D. (2005) ‘The Perception of Audio-visual Composites: Accent   Structure Alignment of Simple Stimuli’.