Neurocinematics: The Neuroscience of Film

This article describes a new method for assessing the effect of a given film on viewers' brain activity. Brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during free viewing of films, and inter-subject correlation analysis (ISC) was used to assess similarities in t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Projections (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2008-06, Vol.2 (1), p.1-26
Main Authors: Hasson, Uri, Landesman, Ohad, Knappmeyer, Barbara, Vallines, Ignacio, Rubin, Nava, Heeger, David J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain
Brain mapping
Cognitive processes
Cultural background
Cultural groups
Emotions
Eye movements
Fiction
Hitchcock, Alfred (1899-1980)
Judgment
Magnetic resonance imaging
Motion picture audiences
Motion pictures
Neurosciences
NMR
Nonfiction
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Physiological aspects
Psychological aspects
Science
Story telling
Visual processing
Zeki, Semir
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Summary:This article describes a new method for assessing the effect of a given film on viewers' brain activity. Brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during free viewing of films, and inter-subject correlation analysis (ISC) was used to assess similarities in the spatiotemporal responses across viewers' brains during movie watching. Our results demonstrate that some films can exert considerable control over brain activity and eye movements. However, this was not the case for all types of motion picture sequences, and the level of control over viewers' brain activity differed as a function of movie content, editing, and directing style. We propose that ISC may be useful to film studies by providing a quantitative neuroscientific assessment of the impact of different styles of filmmaking on viewers' brains, and a valuable method for the film industry to better assess its products. Finally, we suggest that this method brings together two separate and largely unrelated disciplines, cognitive neuroscience and film studies, and may open the way for a new interdisciplinary field of "neurocinematic" studies. Keywords: fMRI, inter-subject correlation, cognitive film theory, social neuroscience, cognitive control
ISSN:1934-9688
1934-9696
DOI:10.3167/proj.2008.020102