Visualizing Rhythms Through Digital Annotations: Challenges and Issues in the Performing Arts

Théo Heugebaert, Université Rennes 2 (France)

The rhythm of a performance, as an aesthetic and temporal sensation, although easily perceptible at first glance, becomes, upon closer examination, a complex object to apprehend : despite the striking impressions it may leave, it does not leave traces other than those in memory. While audio or video recordings allow us to access a reproduction of movements, our interest in rhythm lies in what moves within the movement. Moreover, as we seek to understand the evolution of rhythms during the creative process, our focus shifts to the mutations of what moves within the movement. With the help of audio and video recordings annotations, we can precisely attempt to overcome these challenges by detecting new traces and indicative clues revealing the nature of rhythms and their mutations during the creative process. Here, we will present the method that led us to deduce two indicators from the concept of rhythm, which are exploitable through the annotation of audio and video recordings and allow us to visualize and analyze the rhythms and their mutations during the creative process : speaking rate and a typology of rhythms performed by the actors.

Under the supervision of Sophie Lucet and Clarisse Bardiot, Théo Heugebaert is a PhD candidate in theater studies at the University of Rennes 2. His involvement in dance, acting, and directing has gradually led him to focus on the question of rhythm. His studies aim to understand and visualize how rhythms develop during the creative process, particularly through an approach oriented towards the digital humanities. Among other roles, he has been an assistant director for Arthur Nauzyciel’s mises en scènes since 2020.