In today's society, movies are a big deal. People spend more money on going to the movies than they have in recent years(Cieply). Naturally, producers and directors want their movies to be better. One way to accomplish this is with Neurocinema. The basis of neurocinema is to look at someone's brain while they are watching a movie to see what they actually think of it.
Neurocinema isn't popular among all genres as of yet; it's main "client" is the Horror film genre. Producers will bring in their horror films to be viewed by someone while they are getting an MRI. Looking at the brain while the movie is being viewed will give the producer an idea of what the test subjects feelings actually are. The reason I say this is most people tend to bend the truth when confronted about whether or not they liked a movie. They may say they enjoyed or were scared by certain parts, but when you look at the MRI, you get a different story. *When referring to the MRI: when the brain lights up in red the subject is scared, when the brain lights up in blue the subject is calm or at ease.*
One major reason neurocinema is being used is because people can't accurately remember how they felt about certain parts of a movie. If someone was asked, right after the movie ended, what their favorite part was, or which part had the most impact on them, they may not be able to accurately describe it. With the assistance of the MRI, moviegoers will be able to see what there favorite part, or the part that scared them the most was.
This video helps to give a better understanding of how it is done. The second part of the video shows the same subject watching a different part of the movie. Another great source I found was this article going into further detail about Neurocinema and what exactly happens and what it is doing for the industry.
As we discussed in class, this is a great way of combining the aesthetic with science; movie producers and directors are using science as a way to enhance a visual experience. I think this is an interesting way to make horror films scarier and I look forward to seeing this practice branch out to other movie genres.
Sources:
Cieply, Micheal, and Brooks Barnes. "The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 28 Feb. 2009. Web. 29 Oct. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/movies/01films.html?_r=2&hp>.
Hasson, Uri, Ohad Landesman, Barbara Knappmeyer, Ignacio Vallines, Nava Rubin, and David J. Heeger. Vol. 2. Ser. 1. Neurocinematics: The Neuroscience of Film. Projections, Summer 2008. Web. 29 Oct. 2009.
Silver, Curtis. "Neurocinema Aims to Change the Way Movies are Made | GeekDad | Wired.com." Wired News. 23 Sept. 2009. Web. 29 Oct. 2009.
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