Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
16.2.Analysisofanaudiovisualtextandmodelsofdescription
As has already been mentioned, a
model of description*
of an audiovisual text or
corpus is made up of at least one, but usually several, local
sequences*
. Each
sequence, in turn, is made up of at least one
schema
defining the
object of analysis*
(of the descriptive sequence) and one
schema
defining the
procedureofanalysis*
.
The schema defining the object of analysis is specified by at least one conceptual
term denoting the type of objects or domains belonging to the ASW
universe of
discourse*
. The schema specifying the
procedure of analysis*
is made up of at least
one
descriptive activity*
in the ASW universe of discourse according to which the
object of analysis*
should be indexed (in the broad sense of the term; see Chapters 1
and 14).
We can clearly see that a model of description has an organization which is
simultaneously
hierarchical
,
modular
and
configurational
:
‒
a
hierarchical organization
in the sense that it is made up of more local units
which are, in particular, the
sequences
and
schemas
;
‒
a
modular organization
in the sense that each sequence and schema forms an
autonomous structural unit
which may belong to various models of description (for
the sequences) or to various sequences (for the schemas of definition);
‒
a
configurational organization
in the sense that a conceptual term denoting
either a
type of object*
to be analyzed (and therefore stemming from the meta-
lexicon of conceptual terms beginning with the root term [Object of analysis]) or an
activity of analysis*
(and therefore belonging to the meta-lexicon of conceptual
terms beginning with the root term [Procedure of analysis]) can only integrate a
model of description as an
entity positioned in relation to all the other entities
selected
by the model
via
its schemas of definition (of analytical objects and
procedures) and sequences of description.
This very particular, sophisticated and restrictive organization of a model of
description relates directly to our conception of
analysis*
of an audiovisual text or
corpus as outlined in Chapter 4.
Remember that we distinguished between four main levels of analysis (see
Figure 4.3; section 4.4). The first and most general level is that of choosing a certain
typeofanalysis
. In this topic, we have favored the analysis of the audiovisual
content, which is one type among many. The second level is determined by the
choice made at the first level (i.e. by the choice of the type of analysis). This second
level identifies the different
analytical tasks
to be carried out in order to perform a
chosen type of analysis. For instance, as Figure 4.3 shows, analyzing audiovisual
content includes, amongst other tasks,
referential description*
or
description of the
discourse production*
around an object thematized in an audiovisual text or corpus.
