Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Dynamic audiovisuals increase spectator attention, but inhibits conscious processing
Scene changes inhibit a spectator's blink rate, thus increasing their attention. It also produces a flow of brain activities from the occipital lobe towards the frontal lobe. These are the conclusions reached by researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Pablo de Olavide University, Sevilla. The study, recently publishd [sic] in the journal Neuroscience, deals with what happens after the scene changes from a triple approach: frequency in blinking, electric activity in the brain and functional connectivity associated with the brain.
The research also concluded that the editing style influences a spectator's perception. Scene changes presented in a dynamic and chaotic style, such as video-clips, produce more activity in the visual processing areas when compared to more continuous and orderly scene changes. Likewise, the activity in frontal areas in charge of more complex processes is superior when the editing style is more continuous and orderly.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Rich26189 on Monday November 19 2018, @12:50PM (1 child)
I've suspected this is why local (and national) so called news shows here in the US just flood the viewers with simultaneous video, audio and text crawling along the bottom of the screen along with lots of cuts in the scene. All the better to implant their narrative without conscious processing.
It's still morning for me and while I enjoy a few minutes of lucidity I thought I'd vent, I've already had my coffee.
(Score: 2) by http on Monday November 19 2018, @05:17PM
The real place this happens is advertising.
Back in 1978, J. Mander, a former advertising mogul, raised this point in "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television" - the technical events test. It's a relatively simple test that demonstrates that shows are not normally permitted to be more interesting than their associated advertising. I accidentally watched some TV a while ago and it's as true now as it was then. With the internet rapidly devolving into a broadcast medium, the book is as relevant today as four decades ago - a rare feat when it comes to technology.
About the newscasts: some networks rely on this strategem more than others. And with Mander's tests, you can get hard numbers on which (at the cost of a small amount of brainwashing).
I browse at -1 when I have mod points. It's unsettling.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @02:31PM (4 children)
It's not like we didn't know that already. This strategy is actively used in both marketing and politics. Why convince someone with good arguments when you can just Oh look! A squirrel!
(Score: 3, Funny) by Bot on Monday November 19 2018, @03:08PM
where?
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday November 19 2018, @05:03PM (1 child)
Anyone with children knows that no external request or demand can be processed while the eyes are riveted to the blinky screen.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 20 2018, @09:27AM
Hey don't worry, the first 40 years are the worst!
(Score: 4, Informative) by c0lo on Monday November 19 2018, @09:09PM
An agile software development.
Where you must release sooner and often, and then divide your attention between next release and fixing the zillions of corners you cut earlier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Bot on Monday November 19 2018, @03:09PM
I want my
I want my MTV
Dunno why, well, now I do.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @06:53PM (4 children)
Avoid shitty JJ Abrams movies, and other Hollywood trash, and read more books
(Score: 2) by pipedwho on Monday November 19 2018, @10:57PM (3 children)
So true, when watching older movies/TV, you get long scenes with slow panning, then an appropriate scene cut to the next, well scene.
Whereas these days, some shows are at the point of unwatchable with MTV style scene cuts every 3 seconds. The mind is almost settling down to digest the scene, then bang, something new is on the screen. Fair enough maybe for a high speed fight scene, but this seems to happen in the middle of regular dialogue and drama. There are some shows that I had to stop watching because the high speed scene cuts were relentless.
Advertising gets away with it, because the ads are usually short enough that you just sit there with 'brand X food delicious!', 'brand Y perfume sexy!', or whatever getting surgically implanted into your subconscious, and before you realise you don't like it, it's over.
(Score: 2) by Farkus888 on Tuesday November 20 2018, @12:14AM (2 children)
Quality fight scenes are the best place to avoid short cuts. They have discovered that the long shot better shows the skill involved in both the fight and the film making. Try watching The Raid, The Protector or the Netflix Daredevil series. They all have long cut fight scenes measured in minutes instead of seconds.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @01:47AM
I think you two have a different interpretation of scene.
(Score: 2) by pipedwho on Wednesday November 21 2018, @05:32AM
I actually agree with these completely. Look at old school Kung Fu movies where you see the whole fight action sequence and actors that are clearly skilled in what the action requires.
Then look at Hollywood action flicks where the camera is zoomed in 6 inches away from the guys fist, then cuts to the others guys face as the punch lands, then quickly flicks to a half body shot of the guy hitting the floor with his face turned away from the camera so you can't tell it's the stunt double.
In response to the AC sibling post, when I say scene, I'm talking a full scene. Where in old school films there might be a few cuts in a single scene, not the hundreds that seem to happen these days. I lump that problem in with the super short actual scene changes that happen these days.