identité visuelle / identité sonore

English translation: visual / sound identity

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:identité visuelle / identité sonore
English translation:visual / sound identity
Entered by: suzanneb111

13:09 Jul 29, 2018
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
French term or phrase: identité visuelle / identité sonore
bonjour,

je traduis une note d'intention d'un réalisateur de film, et je souhaite traduire le terme "identité" dans les expressions suivantes : "identité visuelle" et identité sonore" -- il s'agit de titres de paragraphes qui développent les approches et les choix en termes d'image et de son du film.

j'hésite entre "visual/sound design" et "visual/sound identity".

qu'en pensez-vous, et avez-vous une meilleure expression à me proposer ?

thanks a million for your precious help :)
suzanneb111
France
Local time: 11:57
visual / sound identity
Explanation:
Glossaire du numérique
Selected response from:

GILOU
France
Local time: 11:57
Grading comment
merci beaucoup !!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +2visual / sound identity
GILOU
3 +3visual / aural identity
Tony M
4 +1Visual/sound (or audio) theme
Lara Barnett
4 -1visual identity and leitmotif
Jennifer Levey
2 +1audio/visual identity
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
4 -5Sameness viewing / visible or vision similarly
Mohamed Hosni
Summary of reference entries provided
http://www.labbrand.com/brandsource/issue-article/sound-branding-building-sound-identity
polyglot45

Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
identité visuelle / sonore
visual / aural identity


Explanation:
I think this is probably the best pair of adjectives to use — though 'aural identity' is probably a less commonly used term in EN than 'visual...'

I would caution against using 'sound design', as that is a quite specific discipline that is quite a lot more complex. Think of 'aural identity' as being those audio signatures that cohesively identify a particular TV series or series of films — the minute you hear them, you start, even subconsciously, to have an idea where you are. On its simplest level, this can include things like signature tunes, jingles, stings, etc. — analagouse with the corporate logo / type-face / colour scheme one might find in a visual identity.

'Sound design', on the other hand, is the entire soundscape of the film (etc.) — just as we might talk about the 'look' of a particular film, englobing the distinctive work of a particular Director of Photography like say Nick Roeg or Vittorio Storaro. So you can see it is a much broader, and ultimately complex, area.

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Note added at 24 mins (2018-07-29 13:33:35 GMT)
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If you baulk as I did at using 'aural', then I feel you could get away with twisting it to be 'audio'.

Tony M
France
Local time: 11:57
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 402
Notes to answerer
Asker: thank you very much, this is most helpful -- I will go with visual/sound identity" in the end


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Melissa McMahon: "signature" could work as well as "identity" I think
10 hrs
  -> Thanks, Melissa! It could thoiugh i feel that 'visual identity' is such a well-established term, it's nice to mirror it in the sound domaine.

agree  Daryo: visual and sonic?
14 hrs
  -> Thanks, Daryo! 'sonic' doesn't really complement 'visual' — 'operates by sound', cf. 'sonic boom' and 'sonic screwdriver' ;-) I think 'aural' is the excat complement, as in 'visual and aural stimulation'; but 'audio' or 'sound' could replace it.

agree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: As the question is about the term "identité", then I agree that the same term can be used in English.
1 day 21 hrs
  -> Thanks, Nikki!
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
visual identity and leitmotif


Explanation:
I don't think there's any special term in English for "identité visuelle", so it can safely be translated literally.

An "identité sonore", in contrast, is known in several areas of the performing arts as a "leitmotif": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitmotif

Although the term has its origins in classical music (think Prokofiev's "Pierre et le loup"), "leitmotif" is also used in the context of film scores to refer to particular themes and harmonies that are "attached" to specific characters (and can be used to make those characters a part of the story even when the actual character is off-screen).

In the case of TV shows, the same idea may be used either to draw viewers' attention on the entire programme (usually known as a "theme tune" marking the start of the programme or its resumption after a commercial break) or to represent individual charcacters, where it is called a "leitmotif" as in the cinema.

Jennifer Levey
Chile
Local time: 07:57
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 46
Notes to answerer
Asker: thank you for your input -- a "note d'intention" in cinema/TV is a short "statement" drafted by the "réalisateur," and generally sent to the producers, to outline the director's filming approach based on the actual screenplay


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: I fear 'leitmotif' is too specific here — the 'sound identity' is a much more all-embracing term, of which leitmotifs are only one subset.
6 hrs
  -> Asker only says this is in a "une note d'intention" (whatever that is!), so I don't think we have enough context to know quite how "all-embracing" the expression "identité visuelle/sonore" is supposed to be.

neutral  Daryo: it also be called a "jingle", but it could also take other forms // not quite right
13 hrs
  -> Asker's context is "une note d'intention d'un réalisateur de film" - a movie director wouldn't call it a "jingle" (unless the film happened to be about a radio station).

disagree  Pablo Cruz: Leitmotif has nothing to do with this, see also 1st meaning, it is normally a theme associated with one character or situation.... A dominant and recurring theme, as in a novel... https://www.thefreedictionary.com/leitmotif
8 days
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -5
Sameness viewing / visible or vision similarly


Explanation:
Hope it helps.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 hrs (2018-07-29 22:55:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

For "identité sonore" it should be translate into " similarly audio, sound or tono.

Mohamed Hosni
Morocco
Local time: 10:57
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
Notes to answerer
Asker: thank you for your input but "identité" is about "thème, genre", not about "similarité"


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Jennifer Levey: No it doesn't (help). And neither "sameness viewing" nor "vision similarity" is even proper grammatical English.
29 mins

disagree  Tony M: Nonsense in EN — and this is 'identité' as in ID card, not the idea of 2 things being identical = sameness
1 hr

disagree  Daryo: "hope" doesn't seem to be a reliable method ...
8 hrs

disagree  Kevin Oheix: "Sameness viewing"?
1 day 8 mins

disagree  Debora Blake: This suggestion makes no sense whatsoever.
1 day 15 hrs
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16 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
visual / sound identity


Explanation:
Glossaire du numérique

GILOU
France
Local time: 11:57
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
merci beaucoup !!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  mchd: "sonic" fait référence à l'acoustique
56 mins

agree  writeaway: Visual/Sound Identity https://www.adforum.com/agency/5066/insights/perspectives-mo...
4 hrs
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22 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
audio/visual identity


Explanation:
Not my area, but it seems logical to express it this way. Note I am suggesting use of a "/" rather than "-" here.

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 11:57
Does not meet criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: thank you for your help


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: Yes, although even with '/' there is still a danger of its being read as 'audio-visual; I think it would be best to either change the word order, or retain both 'identity' as in the S/T.
5 mins
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23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Visual/sound (or audio) theme


Explanation:
I think "theme" is a safe choice as it is widely used in descriptions of all art forms, i.e. visual image, sound & music etc.

The two examples below describe "audio/sound" themes and then visual themes respectively.

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Note added at 23 hrs (2018-07-30 12:55:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"GRAND RUE is strikingly classical in form, yet full of vital human interest. The narrative is based on the principles of titmotif and the musical rondo, whereby the episodes return to their starting, while the VISUAL AND SOUND THEMES are repeated."
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=m3NgfE9xwmkC&pg=PT145&lp...

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Note added at 23 hrs (2018-07-30 12:56:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

TYPO: The quote in added note should contain "leitmotif", not "titmotif", as I have typed in error.

Example sentence(s):
  • "Films often have different THEMES for important characters, events, ideas or objects, an idea often associated with Wagner's use of leitmotif. These may be played in different variations depending on the situation they represent, scattered ..."
  • "It’s really important that you have a THEME or guideline for yourself when setting out to shoot any project. An example of a visual theme or motif that you might choose to explore would be empty space."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_score
    https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/simple-framing-tips-to-dramatically-improve-your-cinematography/
Lara Barnett
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:57
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 32
Notes to answerer
Asker: thank you, this is very interesting


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jennifer Levey: Yes, that's a good "catch all" option, covering lots of the more-specific terms mentioned elsewhere (leitmoitif in particular).
1 hr
  -> Thank you.

neutral  Tony M: But we talk about a company's (etc.) "visual identity" — a "visual theme" is quite different, and is likely to be only a subset of the whole notion that is the 'identity'. But we use the same terms when talking about a film too. 'Identity' is key here.
1 hr
  -> Yes, but this is not about a company, this is about a film.
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Reference comments


2 hrs peer agreement (net): +4
Reference: http://www.labbrand.com/brandsource/issue-article/sound-branding-building-sound-identity

Reference information:
worth reading

polyglot45
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
Note to reference poster
Asker: thank you for the reference


Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  writeaway: http://www.labbrand.com/brandsource/issue-article/sound-bran... (ça ne marche pas dans le titre de votre réf)
2 hrs
neutral  Jennifer Levey: Not entirely without interest - but "sound branding" has (had for a long time) other names in the movie industry. A film-maker would usually refer to the "James Bond theme", whereas a marketing specialist might prefer "The James Bond (sound) brand".
4 hrs
agree  Daryo: yes, worth reading!
12 hrs
agree  mchd
14 hrs
agree  Tony M
20 hrs
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