Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen

by Michel Chion

In "Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen," French critic and composer Michel Chion reassesses audiovisual media since the revolutionary 1927 debut of recorded sound in cinema, shedding crucial light on the mutual relationship between sound and image in audiovisual perception.

Chion argues that sound film qualitatively produces a new form of perception: we don't see images and hear sounds as separate channels, we "audio-view" a trans-sensory whole. Expanding on arguments made in his influential books The "Voice in Cinema" and "Sound in Cinema," Chion provides lapidary insight into the functions and aesthetics of sound in film and television. He considers the effects of such evolving technologies as widescreen, multitrack, and Dolby; the influences of sound on the perception of space and time; and the impact of such contemporary forms of audio-vision as music videos, video art, and commercial television. Chion concludes with an original and useful model for the audiovisual analysis of film.

Genres: Film, Music, Nonfiction, Art, Media Tie In, School, Textbooks

239 pages, Hardcover

First published February 17, 1993

Reviews

[Alialiarya · Rating 4 out of 5]

در بخشی از کتاب می‌خوانیم: به یاد آریم که بتهوون سونات‌های پیانوی خود را برای پیانویی که از پیانوهای امروزی کوچک‌تر بود نوشت: آن‌جا که او در کلاویه‌هایش با محدودیت روبه‌رو شد ما دو یا سه اکتاو دیگر داریم. بدین اعتبار شاید نواختن آثار بتهوون روی پیانوهای دوره خودش درست‌تر باشد. اما مشاهده‌ی آهنگسازان معاصر که قطعاتی را برای پیانوهای امروزی با همان محدودیت‌هایی که خالق پاته‌تیک را محدود می‌کرد می‌نویسد بی‌معناست. باید داد بزنیم که چشمانتان را بسته‌اید؛ اکثر فیلمسازان این روزها نیز چشمانتان را بسته‌اند، بدون این‌که اصلا مسئله‌ی بودجه در میان باشد.(درباره‌ی امکانات امروز حوزه صدا)

صدا-تصویر هم‌چنان از مهم‌ترین آثاری‌ست که به صدا در سینما می‌پردازد. شیون در چهارمین کتابش که همانند سه اثر دیگرش در انتشارات کایه‌دو سینما در دهه ۸۰ منتشر شده سعی دارد نظرات پیشین خود را به جمع‌بندی‌ برساند. شیون بعد از بررسی تحلیلی ساختار شنوایی و اهمیت و تفاوت آن با دیگر حواس نشان می‌دهد چگونه صدا در سینما همواره مغفول مانده و مورد بررسی قرار نگرفته. شیون با اشارات متعدد به سینمای اروپا و آمریکا نشان می‌دهد صدا در فیلم‌هایی که به قدرت آن واقف‌اند نقشی حیاتی و مهم دارد. شیون در دهه هشتاد معتقد است هم‌چنان حتی جوان‌های سینما در مقابل درک و استفاده‌ی درست از صدا مقاوت می‌کنند. بی‌شک از جذاب‌ترین کتاب‌های سینمایی‌ای بود که تا به حال خوانده‌ام... ترجمه‌ی کتاب هم بسیار قابل تقدیر است.

[Raul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been avoiding this book for ages because the people on my course made it look obsolete and very beginner-like, and no one wants to be seen as an amateur, but I'm so glad I finally read it.

Michel Chion's writing is full of neologisms which makes it look slightly pretentious, but looking back to when the book was written and knowing that probably only a few people were writing about audiovisual sound, them being Rick Altman, David Bordwell (I think), and possibly no one else prior, his writing is pretty much pioneering. I prefer Jay Beck because he analyses films thoroughly and has much more context and perspectives than other film sound theorists and directors. Michel Chion's writings are way more speculatory in comparison to Beck's.

Chapter after chapter conveys new terms made up by Michel, and the reader is bombarded by all these new ideas that he developed throughout the years as a practitioner and experimentalist of sound in GRM and elsewhere, which sometimes are ambiguous (and even sometimes Michel Chions does confess it does sound ambiguous), but most of the times the ideas are intriguing and challenging, and that is why I think it is worth to read.

Discussing this book with other people who also read it is also interesting. When talking to my mate Travis, they were using this book to contextualise their writing with the concept of time, and even though Chion doesn't explicitly develop a theory about time in art and anthropology, the book managed to provide some inspiration to them.

I think this book should be read to seek inspiration to develop new ideas when making art or films.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important work in cinema theory, largely ignored until recent years. In contrast with mainstream film theorists, Chion treats film sound as of primary importance in the phenomenology of cinema. Audio-Vision is not intended to be a phenomenology of film; Chion provides a framework and taxonomy within which film sound might be studied critically. A classic and highly accessible treatment.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both academic and accessible, Chion's text not only identifies and names many of the aspects and effects of cinematic sound, it also argues for and encourages a more directed and active form of audition. Valuable as both an introduction and a reference.

[Pate Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chion’s book is pleasantly readable, yet at times it feels that there’s a particular sidetracking with terminology, at times redundant or overly precious, that feels like it oversells a certain necessity to the work. Chion’s work is foundational in the study of film sound, to be sure, but the proliferation of synonymous or cognate terminology makes it difficult to distinguish signal from noise. Still, the work has a great many concepts and arguments to enjoy and is especially laudable in its descriptive rather than hermeneutic approach, something especially important for sound’s potential abstraction.

[Noah Lederman Greis]

"We must counterbalance this overdose of often disturbing or violent sensations [in advertising and on the internet] by acquiring a richer vocabulary for sensations, emotions, and forms."

It is strange, for how much time I've spent analyzing films, and how many times I've agreed with the principle that sound is at least half the picture, that I've never succeeded at or honestly even attempted in-depth analysis and description of sound in film. Hopefully this is the first step toward something. I think it will be.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, it's like Michel is looking at sound and image from every possible angle but without it feeling bogged down and heavy. If anything it feels like the book could have been extended into a series of books as ideas aren't laboured over that much. Almost reads like a dictionary of all the different ways sound can be used as a device without it ever getting repetitive or boring.

My only real complaint is that towards the end of the book everything moves towards putting forward a proposal for audio-visual analysis before then putting this proposal into practice for a deep dive into Bergman's Persona. This whole section whilst solid and interesting can read pretty dry. When all is said and done words can only do so much do get across sound and image. It's a little disappointment as everything leads to this point which ends up making you think that film is just something you have to experience, it's all in that moment to moment. Still, an incredible book that is very inspirational when thinking of how to situate sound in a mix and the devices and relations it can take on when put together images.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish the class I took in college on film sound was half as good as this book. Michel Chion is a French musique-concrete composer and film theorist specializing in sound. In one of the only English translations of his work, Audio-Vision summarizes Chion's attempts to systematize the devices of film sound and come up with a kind of working grammar that can be used to "read" a film soundtrack. Really interesting stuff.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me think about sound in a whole different way, but I thought it got quite technical and obscure for me in parts. Maybe I wasn't patient enough to really get the full meaning out of it. Definitely worth reading if you are interested in movies or making movies at all, unique perspective we don't often talk about.

[SeaOfSound · Rating 5 out of 5]

*THE* book on sound for film. Chion's acute observations of sound design and music and their use in films to reinforce stories and to suspend the audience's disbelief is unlike any other book on the subject.

[Grig O' · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that dude's a composer and director as well as a film sound academic gives the book a systemic and comprehensive quality. A great book that will enrich the way you experience and think about films.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book on sound as it applies to film.

[FRR]

chion is an abnormal sound theorcian which whole books make any reader keen on sound theme even if he never studied sound
I deeply recommand

[Casey Browne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both academic and accessible, Chion's text not only identifies and names many of the aspects and effects of cinematic sound it also argues for and encourages a more directed and active form of audition. Valuable as both an introduction and a reference. I enjoyed this book. It's like Michel is looking at sound and image from every possible angle but without it feeling bogged down and heavy. If anything, it feels like the book could have been extended into a series of books as ideas aren't laboured over that much. It almost reads like a dictionary of all the different ways sound can be used as a device without it ever getting repetitive or boring.
My only real complaint is that towards the end of the book, everything moves towards putting forward a proposal for audio-visual analysis before then putting this proposal into practice for a deep dive into Bergman's Persona. This whole section, whilst solid and exciting, can read pretty dry. Words can only do so much to get across sound and image when all is said and done. It's a bit of disappointment as everything leads to this point, which makes you think that film is just something you have to experience, it's all from that moment to moment. Still, it is an inspirational book when thinking of how to situate sound in a mix and the devices and relations it can take on when putting together images.

[Nick Bentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great and novel concepts regarding the importance of sound in film, and how we hear-see film. Most striking to me are the ways in which Chion shows that audio effects our perception of imagery on a very deep level. The last section gets a little didactic for me, but the theoretical sections in the front of the book are well-done.

[Peter Llantua · Rating 4 out of 5]

A veces técnico, pero en general, muy amigable para explicarnos toda la importancia del sonido -un actor de suma importancia y que solemos tratar como secundario- en el cine, y cómo funciona éste para que las películas sean lo que son: Más que sólo imágenes, Audiovisuales.

[lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

when your final paper is a film sound analysis you really don’t want to skip the last chapter. Idk why i stopped reading halfway through thinking “oh, this’ll do” . WRONG. Anyway, very cool if you’re interested in sound and/or film.

[Valerie Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un gran libro para aprender sobre sonido en el cine!

[Abraham Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una muy buena introducción al análisis sonoro en la audiovision

[Cassandra Piester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super complex but very accessible. Chion is a freaking legend. Off to read Walter Murch’s book next !

[Matteo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vendibile

[Recensioni in tre parole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Specifico. Specialistico. Accurato.

[Elzira Rai · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little too inventorial and anecdotal in the first sections, much better when Chion lets the pen flow.

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly groundbreaking.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

only adding this b/c golan told me too.

i had to read this for class and its pretty dry. if you're interested in the topic - sound in film - you'll really enjoy it. if not, skip it.

[malic · Rating 4 out of 5]

while it's sometimes a bit boring, it is excellent audio theory, particularly for the moving image. yes, tech theory- not tech instruction! wish there were more good books like this.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty intriguing. Any French scholar is good to read, and when the material is as interesting as this is... you simply can't go wrong.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating overview of Chion's film sound theory concepts. Useful terminology with a clean and easily comprehensible translation by Gorbman.

[Fernando Morán · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de los mejores libros que leí en la universidad, sin dudas.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pretty clear summary of some major ways that image and sound work together. I found the ideas around added value and animation especially useful.