Introduction
Hearing: How Sound Shapes Perception
In this third module, audiovisual language is approached through a dimension that is often perceived as secondary: sound. Sound does more than accompany images. It directs attention, changes the atmosphere of a scene, brings invisible spaces into existence and influences the viewer’s emotions.
The video presents a couple spending their first night in an apartment. While the images and editing remain unchanged, variations in the soundtrack produce different interpretations of the same situation. The module invites learners to explore a fundamental principle: audiovisual images are never only seen; they are also heard.
Part of the Exploring Audiovisual Grammar curriculum, this module offers a practical exploration built around an original video and five audiovisual variations.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
Understand how sound transforms the perception of an image.
Identify different uses of sound, including ambience, noise, music, voice-over and bodily sounds.
Distinguish between what is seen, heard and imagined.
Analyse the effects created by the presence, absence or intensification of sound.
Understand how the point of audition contributes to the construction of a scene.
Watch the Video
HEAR Click the link below to watch the video once without taking notes. Pay attention to how the soundtrack changes your perception of the same images. What do the sounds suggest about the space, the characters and the situation? When do you feel reassured, unsettled, close to the characters or distanced from them?
Watch “Video 3 - HEAR” on PeerTube A still from “Video 3 - HEAR”.
Video Analysis
Comparing Five Sound Experiences
The five variations organise the soundtrack in contrasting ways: reassuring ambience, intrusive off-screen noises, music, a regulatory voice-over and amplified bodily sounds. Comparing them reveals how sound constructs space beyond the frame, directs emotion and changes the viewer’s relationship to the characters. Each soundtrack brings different elements to the foreground and encourages a different interpretation of the visual sequence.
Five Variations
Explore the Five Variations The Reassuring Place Discreet, continuous and familiar sounds accompany the scene. The apartment seems calm, habitable and almost protective.
To observe: The continuity, low intensity and familiarity of the sounds.
Concepts: Ambient sound, direct sound, sound continuity.
The Intrusive Place Sounds from the neighbourhood, the building and the outside become more prominent. The apartment no longer feels entirely private, but appears to be crossed by other presences.
To observe: The increasing presence of sounds whose sources remain outside the frame.
Concepts: Off-screen sound, ambient sound, acoustic space.
The Romanticised Place Music transforms the scene into an emotional and intimate moment. It gives the images a particular tone and strongly guides their interpretation.
To observe: How music changes the atmosphere without altering the images.
Concepts: Non-diegetic music, emotional framing, audiovisual relationship.
The Normalised Place An administrative or regulatory voice-over accompanies the images. The intimate scene is reframed by an external discourse that feels colder, more collective and almost impersonal.
To observe: The contrast between the private visual situation and the institutional discourse.
Concepts: Voice-over, audiovisual contrast, interpretive framing.
The Place Internalised in the Body Breathing, rubbing sounds and other bodily micro-sounds become more prominent. The point of audition moves closer to the character, creating an intimate and almost internal experience.
To observe: The proximity and amplification of bodily sounds.
Concepts: Bodily sound, close listening, subjective point of audition.
What the Video Explores
What is shown: A visually stable and restrained situation provides a constant basis for comparison.What is heard: Each variation foregrounds a different layer of sound: ambience, off-screen noise, music, voice-over or bodily sounds.The effect produced: The space may feel reassuring, intrusive, romantic, impersonal or intimate, depending on the soundtrack.
Key Takeaway
Sound does not merely accompany an image. It constructs space, directs attention and shapes what the viewer feels and imagines. Changing the soundtrack therefore changes the meaning of a scene, even when the images remain identical.
Key Concepts
The following sections examine two complementary dimensions of sound. The first explores how sound interacts with images to construct space, atmosphere, attention and emotion. The second focuses on points of audition and off-screen sound, which determine where listening seems to take place and how sound extends the visible world.
Explore the Key Concepts Sound: Transforming the Perception of Images Viewers do not perceive images and sounds separately. Even when it remains discreet, sound influences how a scene is understood, felt and interpreted. It may confirm what the image shows, but it can also redirect, contradict or intensify its meaning.
Sound therefore provides access to information that is not necessarily visible. It can suggest a space beyond the frame, reveal an unseen presence or alter the emotional significance of an ordinary situation. Hearing is not simply receiving an accompaniment to the image; it is engaging with another layer of audiovisual meaning.
What Sound Brings to Images
It constructs space: Sounds from another room, the street or the surrounding building extend the represented space beyond the limits of the frame.It creates an atmosphere: A scene may feel calm, tense, intimate, cold, strange or reassuring depending on its sound treatment.It directs attention: A particular sound can draw attention to an object, gesture or unseen presence. Silence can also create expectation or tension.It transforms emotion: Music, voices, breathing and environmental sounds can profoundly change how viewers experience a scene. Key Takeaway
Sound transforms the perception of images by constructing space, creating atmosphere, directing attention and shaping emotion. Audiovisual meaning emerges not only from what viewers see, but also from what they hear, do not hear and imagine through sound.
Point of Audition and Off-Screen Sound: Hearing from a Position Just as an image organises a point of view, sound organises a point of audition. Viewers never hear a scene neutrally: sounds may seem close or distant, clear or muffled, realistic or amplified, external or internal.
The point of audition is the position from which sounds seem to be perceived. It may correspond to the camera’s position, a character’s location, a space outside the frame or a subjective inner experience. These choices place the viewer in a particular relationship to the scene.
Point of View and Point of Audition
Point of view concerns the position from which images are shown, while point of audition concerns the position from which sounds seem to be heard. The two may coincide, but they can also diverge. A scene may be shown from a distance while its sounds are heard very close up, or a character may be seen from the outside while their inner perception dominates the soundtrack. This dissociation can create immersion, unease, distance, irony, tension or intimacy.
Several Forms of Point of Audition
External point of audition: Sound seems to be heard from outside the scene. The viewer listens like a witness, which can create distance or an impression of objectivity.Situated point of audition: Sound seems to be heard from a specific place, such as beside a body, object, window or wall. The viewer does not hear everything, but hears from somewhere.Subjective point of audition: Sound is linked to a character’s perception. It may be amplified, muffled, distorted or isolated, bringing the viewer closer to an inner experience.Bodily point of audition: Breathing, heartbeats, rubbing, swallowing and other bodily sounds seem to be heard from within the body, producing intimacy, sensory proximity or strangeness. Off-Screen Sound
Off-screen sound comes from a source that is not visible in the image: a neighbour, a voice in another room, street noise, a door closing or a body outside the frame. It extends the represented space and reminds viewers that the frame reveals only part of the audiovisual world. What is heard without being seen can be as significant as what appears on screen.
Music and Point of Audition
Music may originate within the world of the scene or be added for the viewer. It can change the perceived rhythm and make a scene feel more tender, dramatic, unsettling, ironic or distant. When analysing music, consider whether its source belongs to the scene, whether the characters can hear it and how it directs interpretation.
Key Takeaway
The point of audition organises the viewer’s listening position, while off-screen sound brings invisible spaces and presences into existence. Understanding sound means asking where listening seems to occur, what remains unheard and what viewers imagine through the sounds they cannot locate visually.
Activities
These activities move from comparative listening to collaborative annotation and audiovisual production. They invite learners to identify, analyse and experiment with the ways sound transforms the perception and meaning of images.
Explore the Activities Activity 1 — Same Image, Five Sound Experiences
Type: Group analysisDuration: 45 minutesObjective: Understand how sound transforms the perception of the same scene, even when the images remain identical or very similar.
Materials
Video of the video HEAR
Projector or shared screen
Board or collaborative tool
Module concepts
Procedure
Viewing without technical instructions: Screen the video once without interruption. Ask learners simply to note how each variation makes them feel: calm, tense, intimate, uneasy, distant, strange or moved.Sharing impressions: Gather the group’s responses before introducing technical concepts. Begin with a simple question: What changes when the images change very little?Second viewing, variation by variation: Watch the video again, stopping after each variation. For each one, ask learners to identify three elements: what they see, what they hear and what the sound produces.Collective synthesis: Construct a summary sentence with the group showing that sound does more than accompany images: it creates space, atmosphere, emotion and a point of audition for the viewer.
Trainer’s Role
Help learners move from impression to analysis: first expressing what they feel, then identifying the sound choices that create this effect. Gradually introduce the concepts of direct sound, ambient sound, off-screen sound, music, voice-over, silence and point of audition.
Variant or Extension
Play selected variations without showing the images, then ask learners to imagine the place, action or atmosphere. Compare their ideas with the images to demonstrate that sound can construct a representation before the scene is even seen.
Activity 2 — Annotating Sounds: What the Image Does not Show
Type: Collaborative annotation with Celluloid Duration: 1 hourObjective: Use Celluloid to identify moments when sound transforms the perception of the scene through ambient sound, off-screen sound, music, voice-over, silence or bodily sounds.
Celluloid Preparation
Before the session, add the video HEAR to Celluloid and create the following annotation prompt: “Annotate the moments when sound modifies your perception of the image. First describe what you hear, then explain what it produces: atmosphere, tension, intimacy, distance, strangeness or emotion”.
Procedure
Launch: Explain that the aim is not only to identify sounds, but also to understand their effects on the images. Briefly recall the five variations: the reassuring place, the intrusive place, the romanticised place, the normalised place and the place internalised in the body.Individual or pair annotation: Each learner adds several annotations. Every annotation should answer two questions: What do I hear? How does it change what I see?Sharing and grouping: Project the annotations and organise them collectively into categories such as visible sound sources, off-screen sounds, ambient sound, music, voice-over and bodily sounds.Synthesis: Ask the group to formulate a short conclusion explaining the effect produced by sound in each variation.
Trainer’s Role
Support the transition from listening to analysis. Help learners not only to identify sounds, but also to explain how they construct space, atmosphere and a point of audition.
Variant or Extension
Compare two annotations relating to the same moment. Ask which one describes what is heard most precisely and which one provides the clearest analysis of its effect on the images.
Activity 3 — Change the Sound, Change the Meaning
Type: Group productionDuration: 1.5 to 2 hoursObjective: Experiment with how different soundtracks transform the perception of the same images.
Materials
Smartphones or cameras
Tripods, supports or objects that can stabilise the shot
A simple filming space
A few objects to manipulate
A simple editing application, if needed
Screen or projector for sharing the work
Procedure
Choosing and filming the scene: Each group selects a short, easily understood action. Keep the scene simple so that the activity remains focused on sound.Creating the soundtracks: Create two sound versions of the same visual sequence. Learners may use direct sound, ambient sound, off-screen sound, music, silence, voice-over or sounds recorded separately.Editing: Assemble both versions while keeping the images identical or almost identical. Only the soundtrack should change the perception of the scene.Collective screening: Show the different versions to the group. Discuss how the atmosphere, imagined space, emotion, tension, distance or intimacy changes.
Trainer’s Role
Help each group treat sound as an audiovisual writing choice. Encourage learners to pursue a precise effect rather than merely illustrate the images: reassuring or unsettling the viewer, creating distance or proximity, producing intimacy or strangeness, or shifting the apparent meaning of the scene.
Variant or Extension
Give every group the same silent sequence, but assign a different sound intention to each one. Comparing the completed versions will demonstrate how the same images can produce contrasting experiences depending on the chosen soundtrack.
Further Viewing and Reading
The following references extend the HEAR module by examining sound-image relationships, ambience, off-screen sound, music, voice, silence and points of audition. Short extracts can be used to introduce a question, compare different approaches or provide material for analysis after the activities.
Explore the References Classic and Landmark Films
M — Fritz Lang, 1931. A whistled melody makes a character present before he becomes visible. To observe: Off-screen sound, expectation, threat and recognition.A Man Escaped — Robert Bresson, 1956. Footsteps, doors, keys, breathing and silence construct the prison beyond the frame. To observe: Off-screen space, micro-sounds and tension.Mon Oncle — Jacques Tati, 1958. Highly constructed noises and ambiences contribute to comedy, social criticism and the characterisation of places. To observe: Sound effects, rhythm and soundscape.The Conversation — Francis Ford Coppola, 1974. Listening and recording become central to an investigation in which sounds remain incomplete and ambiguous. To observe: Recorded sound, interpretation and uncertainty.Blow Out — Brian De Palma, 1981. Sound recording and editing are used to reconstruct an event. To observe: Relationships between images, recorded sounds and investigative interpretation. Popular and Contemporary Films
Gravity — Alfonso Cuarón, 2013. Restricted sound in space and embodied vibrations create a particular sensory experience. To observe: Silence, bodily perception and subjective audition.Under the Skin — Jonathan Glazer, 2013. Music and sound design create a strange, sensory and unsettling atmosphere. To observe: Sound texture, music and perceptual disorientation.Whiplash — Damien Chazelle, 2014. Musical gestures, sound intensity and visual editing combine to produce rhythm and tension. To observe: Synchronisation, acceleration and sound dynamics.A Quiet Place — John Krasinski, 2018. Silence and micro-sounds become central narrative elements. To observe: Listening, anticipation and the dramatic function of noise.Sound of Metal — Darius Marder, 2019. Subjective sound treatment conveys changes in a character’s hearing. To observe: Subjective point of audition, sensory immersion and altered perception.Aftersun — Charlotte Wells, 2022. Music, ambience and fragmented sounds contribute to the construction of affective memory. To observe: Sound fragments, memory and deferred emotion. Bibliography
Chion, M. (1994). Audio-vision: Sound on screen (C. Gorbman, Trans.). Columbia University Press.
Chion, M. (1985). Le son au cinéma . Cahiers du cinéma / Éditions de l’Étoile.
Chion, M. (1982). La voix au cinéma . Cahiers du cinéma.
Altman, R. (Ed.). (1992). Sound theory, sound practice . Routledge.
Gorbman, C. (1987). Unheard melodies: Narrative film music . Indiana University Press.
Schafer, R. M. (1994). The soundscape: Our sonic environment and the tuning of the world . Destiny Books.
Suggestions for Trainers
Choose two or three short, clearly readable extracts rather than taking an encyclopaedic approach.
Compare contrasting sound treatments instead of presenting a complete history of film sound.
Ask learners to distinguish what they see, hear and imagine.
Identify where sounds appear to come from and whether their sources are visible.
Compare a classic example with a contemporary one where possible.
Use the extracts as extensions of the HEAR video rather than as fixed illustrations of a rule.
Conclusion
Sound is an active component of audiovisual language. Through ambience, off-screen sounds, music, voices, silence and bodily sounds, it extends visible space, organises a point of audition and influences how viewers interpret a scene. Listening closely therefore means identifying not only what can be heard, but also where sounds seem to come from and what they lead us to imagine.
By comparing the five variations of HEAR and experimenting through annotation or production, learners can describe more precisely how sound choices shape audiovisual meaning. The next module moves from listening to connection, exploring how the association and sequencing of images create relationships, ideas and interpretations.
The ‘Exploring Audiovisual Grammar’ Curriculum
If you would like to explore more within this ‘Exploring Audiovisual Grammar’ curriculum, click here to go to the next module: “Exploring Audiovisual Grammar - CONNECT ”
