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The clatter of cutlery, the hum and steamy hiss of the coffee machine, gentle jazz sounds, the sea rushes in the background.
Much more will not happen that afternoon in a beach café anywhere in the world.
The scenery can be enjoyed in peace, for a brief moment the viewer loses himself in the surroundings.
And he didn't even have to break the pandemic-related requirements, he just had to open his laptop.
So-called ambience videos are currently very popular on the YouTube platform.
You could also say animated still images with a corresponding background noise.
Those who want to distance themselves from the same everyday life can beam themselves into fireplace rooms, cafés, bookshops, wintery snowy landscapes, rustic garden sheds.
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These supposedly authentic soundscapes are not entirely new.
Just think of all the digital fireplace statues that were supposed to make the living room more cozy in the course of an incomprehensible hype, but in the end only became a testimony to bad taste.
"Sex and the City" fans will have an unforgettable memory of the sound machine, without whose frog noises the hypersensitive Jack Berger could not find his way to sleep.
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Ambience videos want to achieve a little more.
Through the combination of auditory and visual impressions, it is possible to enter a world that is clearly different from the everyday environment.
Some people can do this solely through their imagination, others need support and inspiration to escape into alternative worlds.
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"Ambience videos are a genre of YouTube videos," says media scientist Helle Breth Klausen from Aarhus University in Denmark.
“They are related to ASMR videos, which combine soundscapes with visual animation to create a certain relaxing atmosphere.” The videos are often created in such a way that it appears as if the viewer / listener is immersed in a very specific scene.
As if he had made himself comfortable in a dimly lit library or as if he were sitting in a small jazz café in Paris by candlelight during a rainstorm.
Although the term ASMR is often used in connection with the ambience videos, both genres can be used very differently.
The so-called Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response experience creates certain stimulating and exciting reactions in the listener, such as goose bumps or a tingling sensation on the skin.
That is why it has recently also been used in the porn industry.
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Ambience videos also serve this purpose, for example when it comes to creating a feeling of company or comfort, but they should also be able to relax the viewer / listener: He enjoys the scenery, lets himself be carried away, his Thoughts wander, he feels carefree.
"Some people use the videos as an audiovisual backdrop while they are working, writing or concentrating on a task," says Klausen.
"Others turn on an ambience video before bed to get a sense of company and comfort."
At first, according to Klausen, it may be irritating to stare for minutes at a screen on which nothing seems to be happening.
But it is precisely the fact that “nothing happens at all” that makes sense in the ambience videos.
“Imagine turning on one of the videos while you are working or trying to fall asleep.
In that case, they use it as an ambient presence and not as something you have to 'keep up' with, ”says the media scientist.
“A movie with a storyline or a book would interfere with your efforts to concentrate or fall asleep.
With the Ambience Videos, all you have to do is press play and indulge in the auditory and visual cues to 'teleport' into a world that is simpler, slower, less distracting and expects nothing from you. "
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In a broader sense, the ambience videos could therefore also be used to treat anxiety disorders or to fade out everyday life and related worries in difficult times, such as lockdown.
Anyone who has only had their own walls in view for almost exactly a year may be grateful for a change of location, even if only virtual. But they can also be suitable for dealing with the oversupply and the daily flood of e-mails and numerous zoom - Escape impressions.
Paradoxically, you actually have to first make a decision for one of the ambience videos that are offered on numerous channels - and then spend a lot more time on the laptop instead of simply closing it.