Introduce Yourself : Resolving Filmmakers' Blind Spots (they are unaware of) by Dr Keith Bound

There's definitely a 'science' to it, as we connect to a story we release hormones, those either keep us engaged or we tune out, it becomes boring... well, at least, that's how I feel about it. It's not just my mind caught up in the story, it's my whole being!

You are correct in saying that the viewer experience many factors when watching a film however all of these are activated by the brain. For example if your into horror films you will have probably watched the movie trailer before watching the film so the story resonates - hence you want to see it. When you go to the cinema your brain builds up a mood to feel frightened. So when you watch the film your brain is constantly seeking anything (narrative elements/plot point, cinematic techniques) that support your mood of being frightened so you feel scared. This is similar with other emotions and genres - although suspense cuts across genres because conflict or crises is at the core of western narratives. I measured viewer anxiety responses to specific suspense narrative structures in horror film clips by recording the electrical changes in the skin and viewer verbal feedback to contextualise their experience. This revealed that filmmakers assumptions of how the viewer would respond did not happen in many cases - the research expands the filmmakers language to align cinematic storytelling with the DNA of viewer engagement.

Very interesting concepts and analysis. The examination of art through a scientific lens has always been fascinating to me. Congratulations on your research.

Thank you Allen your your comment. Much appreciated

interested in the science of storytelling....fascinating topic

Thank you for you supportive comments - in the future all filmmakers will be combining their creativity with the science of storytelling

Sounds like doubling down on manipulating the audience. Wouldn't it be so much easier to try to engage the audience with a good idea than convince them that a flawed idea is tolerable.

Hi Brad, thank you for your comments, however, you make many assumptions about my research and its application, which are all false. Based on actual viewer experience my research reveals the filmmakers blind spots that they are unaware of because they make assumptions about viewer experience. I am NOT proposing is computer programme. I am an award winning designer and I have developed a technique where I can synthesise the findings from the 4 year study with cinematic storytelling. It does not manipulate or produce a bland predictable response instead it actually aligns to viewer responses to different narrative elements and cinematic techniques more effectively than from a purely creative perspective. Moreover it does not interfere with the artistic creativity of the screenwriting, director, producer or editor it simply expands the filmmakers language by aligning cinematic storytelling with the EDA of viewer engagement

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Welcome!

Thanks

ok well I'm certainly not blaming you for the trends in filmmaking. Its just that in my opinion the film should be driven by the story. of course I have no idea about the specifics of what you do so sorry if I made a wrong assumption,

Thank you Brad - don't worry we all jump to conclusions. The work I am doing is not a trend in film making but in 10 years time all filmmakers will need to take into consideration viewer experience to meet viewer expectations rather than guessing what works in terms of viewer engagement. My work is based on finding out what specific narrative structures, plot points and cinematic techniques engage the viewer. I am not adding something superficial or manipulation - although you could argue that filmmakers have always manipulated the viewer to engage with a fictional story world. Another point is that the 4 year study is academic research which is far more rigorous than industry research and I have also presented my research at 5 international peer reviewed conferences in the USA and Europe.

Welcome, Keith!

I think this has been done in some sense before. I'm interested in your findings though. Not sure if you can really quantify a person's experience with storytelling as that's an extremely personal thing...maybe I'm just not understanding what it is your doing? Try to explain more, because I find the idea interesting.

Hi Joseph, Thank you so much for your interest. Yes there has been a lot of academic and industry research that involves recording and measuring viewer involuntary responses to stimuli in film clips or feature films using psychophysiological measures such as brain imaging, brain waves, electrical changes in the skin-emotional sweating etc but my research is unique. This is because to gain a PhD the research is rigorously assessed and that to pass you have to make contributions to new knowledge to the world. My research focuses on defining the components of suspense and a framework to measure viewer experiences of suspense - in my case I measured anxiety responses via electrical changes in the skin - emotional sweating and also recorded viewer responses to contextualise the data.Take a look at the simplified overview of what I did and do https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXrm9smcjVs

film & TV, when done well, are powerful media for storytelling. Storytelling is the only reason, in my view, for the work. The story needs to be good, and the cinematography, design, and editing need to enhance that.

yes but the science of story telling actually tells us what works and my story telling process does not limit the creativity of the storyteller instead it expands the filmmaker language by aligning cinematic storytelling with the DNA of viewer engagement