About Synchresis
Synchresis is described as “the irresistible and mental fusion, completely free of any logic, that happens between a sound and a visual when they occur at exactly the same time” [Chion 1994]. This means that a footstep, for example could be any of 100 sounds if timed correctly, thanks to our brain naturally recognizing the synchrony between the image and sound. This project highlights all the various different synchresis techniques such as Added Value, and how applying these techniques in film sound can affect the viewers experience. The purpose of this research is to examine the importance of sound in film, and explore the effect is has on the audio-visual relationships that we form.
The below image attempts to highlight added value:
Aims/objectives
The first aim going into this project was to study Chion’s concept of Synchresis and learn about how and why it works. This led to the construction of different areas of focus, such as manipulation and psychology and this allowed for a better understanding of the concept.
With better knowledge, the next aim was to study the effect that synchresis can have on the viewer, and this I felt was best portrayed by doing a video comparison. A scene from an original film piece (Tombstone 1993) was recreated using Pro Tools, the video was kept the same but the sound entirely changed. The objective here was that each video would illicit different emotions/concepts/perceptions from one another, and that the recreated version (Video B) would draw more attention as well in terms of sound design. Research groups and survey analysis’ followed in order to collect data on how the change in sound affected viewers, and it was fascinating to see the array of varied answers.
Project outcome
The survey questions gave a wide range of results, with answers that were both constructive and destructive to the research question. For the most part, the results were successful, with the majority of the answers going in favour of video B. Viewers thought video B’s intro gave off a more ‘panicked’ impression than Video A, for example. This is perhaps due to the added value used to replace a very music – synchresis orientated scene. The dark music overtone was replaced with diegetic screams of the people that were running across screen, giving it a terrifyingly real effect and adding value. Although people didn’t necessarily think Video B was better in terms of sound design, the answers showed how drastically their opinions changed between videos.
Method
The first stage of this project was the research process. Michel Chion’s book ‘Audio Vision – Sound on Screen’ was the main source of literature and gave me a good understanding of what synchresis is and how to use it. Manipulation and Psychology were two large areas of focus. Synchresis is sometimes accused of manipulation and suspected of hijacking the image and giving it a whole new meaning – covering over or even replacing a hidden natural sound. Chion even considers film music a con and that “sound, much more than the image, can become an insidious means of effective and semantic manipulation” (Chion 1994). It is important to realise how much power synchresis actually has, knowing how much a sound can enrich a given image was vital to my design process later on.
During the research process, I was able to further categorise the various different types, which prepared me better for my actual sound design process. The following is a list I have created, with some of the synchresis techniques used in film today.
Perceptual Synchresis: When the movement of an image on screen is exaggerated in order to elicit a more dramatic response from the viewer. For example a knife ‘swoosh’.
Emotional Synchresis: When the sound is worked in a way that allows the viewer to create emotional associations with the given scene. E.g voice harshening/sweetening. Whistle/scream. (project, vador)
Music Synchresis: When music is used to add a dramatic effect to a given scene and to try and give off a certain feeling, such as anxiety. E.g piano chords in movie Jaws. Another modern example could be a cartoon character falling on screen, a whistling pipe in a descending glissando might be heard in order to signal the joke.
Humour synchresis: When synchresis is used in a way to make a scene more comical, often by using sounds that are quite improbable to the visual action, perhaps being over the top or unexpected. E.g in John Abraham’s Hot Shots, 1991, when a jet plane slams on the brakes in the air to the sound of screaming tires or (character falling again to descending glissando whistling pipe)
Horror Synchresis: When Synchresis is used in a way to try and scare the audience and evoke fear within them, usually with sharp, unexpected noises as well as a dark tone throughout. Unsettling music to add suspense in a horror is also a technique. E.g the agitated, jumbled up strings that can be heard in the ‘Here’s Johnny’ scene in The Shining or any sound in a horror that elicit instinctive dodging reactions.
This research was vital for the next stage to begin in which the test film was developed. This recreated video included a scene from Tombstone 1993 and pro tools was used as the software for completing this task. The scene clip was firstly cut to size, the audio deleted and then the sound design process began. Much of the sound for this project was recorded using a Zoom H1 portable audio recording device, in order to gather sounds such as the crackling of a fire or the beating of a radiator. It was important to keep the research findings in mind throughout this process. For example, I wanted to make a character sound funnier in Video B. Research told me that strengthening/harshening the timbre of characters voices makes for a funnier effect. This along with some foley changes allowed this to happen and the survey results showed likewise.
When this video was complete, survey questions were formed based on both videos, in order to find out peoples reactions. These clips were presented to participants, along with these survey questions, in order to get an overall idea of what people thought. Below is a screenshot from both Video A and Video B (as they are the same).
Despite both videos displaying the same image, when asked whether the approaching character (seen on right side of the screen) had a positive or a negative attitude to their arrival, the majority answer for A was negative and B was positive, as shown in the pie chart analysis pictures below.
This demonstrates the drastic change in opinion that most people had and shows the true power that added value had in this instance, in which the foley was changed and the voice timbre was changed to sound more harmless sound for video B.
The aim of the focus group was to see what the effects of synchresis were on the senses, and to see how the viewers perception could be changed by a simple change in sounds. It’s interesting to see based on the answers that the change in audio led to different understandings of both videos when compared. Although there was no pre existing soundtrack in Video B, participants still took meaning from the it, even if it was a completely different meaning to Video A.
Lee Garvin - Music Media and Performance 