Attention, Intensity, and the Evolution of Hollywood Film

Attention, Intensity, and the Evolution of Hollywood Film

Pauline Kael (1965) I lost it at the movies Boston: Little Brown

James Cutting Cornell University

Art & Perception Conference Brussels, 23 Nov 10

(Bordwell, 2002, 2006)

1. shot lengths 2. wider range of lens lengths 3. more closeups 4. more mobile cameras

n ~ 13,000 films

shot duration (s)

Intensified Continuity

average shot lengths:



shot duration (s)

shot duration (s)

data derived from Salt, B. (2006). Moving into Pictures. London: Starword

shot duration (s)


shot duration (s)


shot duration (s)

average shot lengths: music videos

“pace of contemporary life”

sample of 150 films 10 each from 1935, 1940, 1945, … …1995, 2000, 2005

32 action films 20 adventure films 10 animated films 41 comedies 47 dramas

Intensified Continuity (Bordwell, 2002, 2006)

1. shot length patterns 2. wider range of lens lengths 3. more closeups 4. more mobile cameras

Matlab-based cut-detection algorithm with user verification or override of each candidate cut, and user search for missed cuts

King Solomon’s Mines (1950) ASL = 5.39 s

reaction time

David Gilden

linking hypothesis: every new shot demands a reorientation of the viewer’s attention

William James (1890, Vol 1, p. 420)

“There is no such thing as voluntary attention sustained for more than a few seconds at a time”

reaction time

ASL = 3.52 s

reaction times in an experiment demanding attention

shot duration (s)

shot duration (s)

Jumanji (1995)

shots in King Solomon’s Mines (1950)

Fourier analysis

Fourier analysis

Fourier analysis

autocorrelation

the Fourier transform of the autocorrelation function is the power spectrum

0

1

2

Lag 2 correlation

3

4

5

0

1

2

3

4

5

6 …….

3

4

5

6 …….

Lag 1 correlation

6 …….

0

1

2

Lag 3 correlation

1

2

3

4

5

6 …….

Lag 4 correlation

0

1

2

0

1

2

3

4

5

6 …….

Lag 5 correlation

3

4

5

Lag 0 correlation = 1.0

6 …….

Jumanji (1995)

Autocorrelation (r)

0

Jumanji (1995) .2

0

Lag

Autocorrelation (r)

Autocorrelation (r)

Lag

Jumanji (1995) .2

0

-.2

1

512

Lag

Jumanji (1995) .2

211

Autocorrelation (r)

Autocorrelation (r)

ASL = 3.5 s

391

0

-.2

1

512

Jumanji (1995) .2

211

391

0

-.2

1

512

Lag

Lag

Jumanji

.2

211

.2

391

0

Jumanji 211

391

14 min

25 min

0 14 min

25 min

-.2

-.2 4

2

512 256 128 64 32 16

8

4

power

8

power

512 256 128 64 32 16

David Gilden

David Gilden

1/f α

white noise

slope α = -.88

data

+ colored noise

α

mixture of colored and white noise

model

mental rotation task

rescale Gilden, D.L. (2001). Cognitive emissions of 1/f noise. Psychological Review, 108, 33-56. Thornton, T.L.& Gilden, D.L. (2005). The provenance of correlations in psychological data. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 12, 409-441.

adapted from Gilden, D.L. & Hancock, H. (2007). Response variability in attentiondeficit disorders. Psychological Science 18, 796-802.

2

David Gilden

256 trials apart

128 64 32 8 16

4

mental rotation task

1945

1945

1950

480 trials adapted from Gilden, D.L. & Hancock, H. (2007). Response variability in attentiondeficit disorders. Psychological Science 18, 796-802.

Detour (1945)

.2

Mildred Pierce (1945)

Asphalt Jungle (1950)

0 -.2 data 1935 slope: -.006

.2

The 39 Steps (1935)

-.04

-.20

Rebecca (1940)

Spellbound (1945)

-.90

-.38

model

1940

1945

0 -.2

0

slope:

-.94

1965

1995

.2

Thunderball (1965)

GoldenEye (1995)

-.41

-.82

0 -.2

slope:

Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Slope Slope

Empire Strikes Back (1980) .2 0 -.2

slope:

1980

-.98

-1.14

Slope Slope

Slope Slope

Studio-Era Hollywood Film

2005





Slope

Slope







 

Slope

Slope











 

 





Popular film is evolving. It is adjusting its relations among shot lengths, leading to multiscale waves of similarity (distal correlation of shot lengths). This evolution is in the direction of matching variations in attention at intervals greater than the instant. There is more, but first ….



not blockbusters but ordinary films

not blockbusters but ordinary films Charlie’s Angels Back to the Future

pacing of visual change and attentional demands of films tension and release at multiple scales

Blue Lagoon

Grapes of Wrath

Intensified Continuity (Bordwell, 2002, 2006)

Motion + Movement = Visual Activity 1. shot length patterns 2. wider range of lens lengths 3. more closeups 4. more mobile cameras

Motion + Movement = Visual Activity

same 150 films each frame (~165,000/film)

Visual Activity = 1 – interframe correlation converted to a 256 X 256 jpeg file

Visual Activity = 1.00


The Flame and the Arrow (1950)


Visual Activity = .60














image difference

image difference



image difference

image difference

Motion + Movement = Visual Activity

Visual Activity Index (VAI) = 1 – median interframe correlation

VAI .027 .093

action adventure



comedy drama



a Top Hat (1935) b Cast Away (2000) c Superman II (1980) d Hitch (2005)

a Top Hat (1935) b Cast Away (2000) c Superman II (1980) d Hitch (2005) e Annie Get Your Gun (1950) f The Seven Year Itch (1955) g Jewel of the Nile (1985)

h Quantum of Solace (2008) i The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) j Cloverfield (2008)

shot lengths and visual activity 1. in whole films 2. across individual shots in a film

h Quantum of Solace (2008) i The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) j Cloverfield (2008)

shorter shots now have relatively more motion







pacing of visual activity in films luminance

amplification of tension and release in fluctuations of shot lengths

films have gotten darker

films have gotten darker

Harry Potter and the Goblet of  Fire (2005)

Film is evolving: (a) shorter shot lengths, (b) shot length fluctuations are approximating 1/f, (c) visual activity is increasing, (d) the correlation of shot length and visual activity with shots is increasing, and (e) films are becoming darker. All changes serve to capture attention and heighten viewer response.

Kate Brunick

Jordan DeLong

Christie Nothelfer

Pauline Kael (1965) I lost it at the movies Boston: Little Brown