Abstract

Communication produces very short utterances whose syncretic organization on a screen intimately combines images, verbal text, graphics and sound. These audio-visual mass mediaforms (TikTok, Instagram, in particular) have a particular syncretic density and contraction and are disseminated within the framework of a routine amateur practice. Both well-known properties could mask a less often mentioned characteristic, which relates to the solidarity of the image and its digital support. This article will examine this dependence of brief forms on their digital support to consider the problem not only from the image, but also from the point of view of the object and its design. This will allow us to consider several paradoxes to which these utterances expose us and in particular that which consists in combining complexity of production and easy reading.