Temporal relations of audiovisual sound

In audiovisual language, sound can be presented with different relationships with respect to the image.Bordwell and Thompson , very important theorists, known for their essential work The cinematographic art , presented this correct and complete description of the temporal relations of sound in cinema, or in other words, how they interact in audiovisual language, in a work, the sound and image.

According to this classification, there can be three possible temporal relationships between sound and image , and in turn, in each relationship, two subtypes:

1. Sound earlier in history than in the image (not simultaneous): there can be two forms depending on the space of the source, that is, the space of history and the space of non-history.
   1. Diegetic: we are referring to a sound flashback , an image flashfoward or a sound overlay.
   2. Non-diegetic: when a sound considered as past meets a present image. For example, when a narration of 40 years ago is emitted on images registered today.
2. Simultaneous sound in the story and in the image
   1. Diegetic: it can be of two types.
      1. External: dialogues, effects, music, …
      2. Internal: thoughts of the character that are heard.
   2. Non-diegetic: when a sound marked as simultaneous appears next to the images. That is, for example, a narrator describing the events in the present tense.
3. Later sound in the story than in the image (not simultaneous): there can be two forms depending on the space of the source.
   1. Diegetic: we are referring to a sound flashfoward , an image flashback with sound that continues in the present, a character narrating events that occurred in the past, overlapping the sound, …
   2. Non-diegetic: when a sound designated as posterior converges with a certain image, that is, for example, a narrator describes past events that are reflected in the image.

As we can see, the use of the image together with the sound can provide us with numerous resources within the audiovisual language, enriching it and bringing new and interesting dimensions to it.