Sébastien Balanger

This course introduces the fundamental principles of audiovisual grammar through six complementary modules: CUT, OBSERVE, HEAR, CONNECT, SHOW / HIDE and CHOOSE. Combining original video episodes, detailed analyses, key concepts and practical activities, it explores how editing, framing, sound, association, off-screen space and selection shape meaning and guide the viewer’s perception. Designed for teachers, trainers and anyone interested in image education, the course supports both critical analysis and audiovisual experimentation.

This module explores how framing, off-screen space and visible traces shape what viewers see, infer and imagine. Through contrasting variations of the same domestic situation, learners examine how audiovisual language can reveal a presence, suggest an absence or withhold information. Analysis, collaborative annotation and practical activities provide tools for exploring the relationship between the visible and the unseen.

This module explores how framing, camera distance and point of view shape the viewer’s relationship to a scene. Through five variations of the same situation, learners compare documentary, subjective, fragmented, object-centred and selfie perspectives. Analyses, key concepts, collaborative annotation and practical activities provide adaptable tools for observing and experimenting with audiovisual point of view.

This module explores how sounds, silences and points of audition shape the meaning of audiovisual sequences. Through analysis and practical activities, learners examine how different sound choices can transform their perception and interpretation of the same images.

This module explores how editing shapes audiovisual meaning through cuts, duration and rhythm. Using a short original video, learners examine how shot length and transitions organise time, guide attention and create emotional effects. Conceptual explanations, close analysis and practical activities provide adaptable tools for teaching, discussing and experimenting with audiovisual grammar.

This module explores how meaning emerges through the juxtaposition and sequencing of images. By comparing shots, gestures, objects and fragments of action, learners examine how audiovisual sequences create expectation, causality, contrast and continuity. Analysis, collaborative annotation and practical activities provide tools for understanding how viewers actively construct relationships between images.

This module explores how selection, classification and juxtaposition shape audiovisual meaning. Through five variations of the same shared sorting activity, learners examine how framing, editing, repetition, facial expression and the arrangement of objects can transform a practical decision into different narratives and interpretations.