Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Besides the fact that an audiovisual text is an object made up of a series of
characteristic strata, it is also an object which can be broken down into smaller units.
These include, on the one hand,
general textual units
such as the unit [Segment], the
unit [Transition] or the narrative unit [Sequence] and, on the other hand,
named and
typed textual units
(i.e. which represent a specific genre of units) such as the unit
[Opening credits], [Closing credits], [Insert], etc.
However, along with the potential to break an audiovisual text into smaller units,
analyzing these different strata is the main task of this first category of analytical
activities represented by the conceptual term [Procedure of structural analysis of the
textual object].
A second class of procedures (Figure 14.1) is represented by the root conceptual
term [Procedure of analysis of the textual object using the ASW thesaurus]. It
includes all analytical activities which are carried out using one or more micro-
thesauruses belonging to the ASW shared thesaurus (also see Chapters 10 and 15).
The next category - the third (Figure 14.1), represented by the conceptual term
[Procedure of analysis using an ASW external reference] - is given over to all
analytical activities which use thesauruses, terminologies, ontologies or indeed
standards which are external to the ASW system. In summary, these allow the
analyst, if he so desires, to carry out analyses of an audiovisual corpus using not the
ASW shared thesaurus but another thesaurus, a terminology of his own choosing.
The fourth and final category of procedures (Figure 14.1) includes all analytical
activities which enable us to adapt the textual object to a particular audience
(addressee) or use. It begins with the root conceptual term [Procedure of pragmatic
analysis of the textual object].
In the next section, we shall give a more detailed discussion of these four major
classes which, currently, are rather unequally developed. The activities of the first
two classes - [Procedure of structural analysis of the textual object] and [Procedure
of analysis of the textual object using the ASW thesaurus] - are the most advanced.
As regards the activities of the third class - [Procedure of analysis using an ASW
external reference] - we have contented ourselves with a few isolated tests of
practical feasibility rather than actually developing a whole arsenal of specific
activities. Finally, the fourth class did not constitute a central issue for research and
development as part of the ASW-HSS project.
