Synaesthetic Editing

n editorial approach, championed by Sergei Eisenstein, that seeks to unify different sensory inputs—image, sound, color, and rhythm—to create a single, overwhelming physiological experience. The goal is for the audience to 'hear' the image and 'see' the sound, blurring the lines between senses to achieve a state of 'organic unity' where the audiovisual elements are inseparable. Eisenstein's exploration of this concept was influenced by the 'Synthetic art' movement and painters like Paul Klee, who experimented with creating visual equivalents for aural structures like the fugue. This can also involve creating deliberate counterpoints or non-correlations between different sensory tracks, such as allowing the rhythm of motion to be independent of the rhythm of luminance changes, to create a richer, more complex perceptual experience. Editor Jeffrey Ford describes this sensory crossover in the context of action scenes: 'You can almost hear the music as you see the cuts, like synesthesia, where you can see music and hear visuals.' He views percussive sounds like punches, body falls, and door kicks as 'musical events' that are integral to the visual rhythm, creating a 'song that is visual and sonic that tells a story.' A key component of this can be the translation of visual movement into a felt, physical sensation for the audience, a phenomenon explained by theories of kinesthetic empathy and embodied simulation.