Analyzing what you see in a film frame

Over at PVC Coalition, Matt Jeppsen wrote a great article about what we see in a frame watching a film. This new study by David Bordwell show where our eyes follow when watching a scene of a film. This is great research that can be utilized by filmmakers, directors and editors when composing their shots and scenes.

There is also a comprehensive 300 page PhD thesis by Tim J. Smith entitled An Attentional Theory of Continuity Editing. I haven’t had time to look at it yet but have downloaded it and is now on my to read list. PVC describe it as ‘editing 101 manna from heaven’

Here is a blog post of the thesis and the download link of the 300 page thesis.

Here is the video which shows the eye movements of 11 adults watching a scene from “There Will be Blood”

Will this research help your storytelling and filmmaking techniques?