ANNULÉ - Exploring the Cognitive Foundations of Cinematic Continuity

Filmmakers tell stories by selecting and emphasizing key details of an audiovisual scene through editing, cinematography and sound design. Such edited sequences instantaneously transport the viewer through space and time in ways that are physically impossible and, due to their divergence from reality should pose problems for viewer comprehension. However, filmmakers believe they have at their disposal a suite of editing techniques, known as the Continuity Editing Rules that make the viewing of film effortless. In this talk I will present a series of experiments investigating the cognitive foundations of film perception and provide a theoretical, methodological and computational framework for exploring film audience cognition. 

Tim J. Smith BSc. PhD. is Professor of Cognitive Data Science in the Creative Computing Institute, University of the Arts London, head of the CINELab, and President of the Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image. He applies empirical, computational,  neuroscientific and developmental methods to questions of Media Cognition. He has published widely on the subject both in Psychology and Media journals and his research has informed media practices through collaborations with Dreamworks Animation, BBC, Channel 4, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Currently he is leading the UKRI cross-council multi-site research project, Animating Minds: Triangulating the age-appropriate impact of children's media.