Caméras en interaction: Le travail collaboratif des monstrations visiophoniques

The purpose of this paper is to look at how participants in video-calls (on mobile terminals or laptops) manage to launch sequences in which one participant shows some details of his or her environment to the other. The practice of getting away from the 'talking heads'-configuration – which is oriented to as the default configuration in video communication – relies on a specific kind of interactional work validating the relevance of the video-mediated 'showing', to manage potential sense-making problems induced by transitory shots produced as the camera is being moved, and to recognise the first relevant image of the 'showing' sequence. By analogy with story-telling and extended turns-at-talk in conversation, we will show that prefaces constitute an effective resource in managing the change from the 'talking heads'-configuration to a first relevant image (related to what is supposed to be shown). Video images-in-interaction are scrutinised with respect to their relevance to the ongoing interaction, this analysis extending beyond the openings of 'showing' sequences. The person who shows and his or her recipient continuously adjust what is being shown to what is being said and vice versa. While the showing person is in charge of the camera, we will show that his or her recipient actively collaborates in the production of the shots.