Understanding the Role of Cinematic Features on the Experience of Filmed Events

Abstract The goal of the present study was to explore the impact of cinematic features on the comprehension of fiction film. Professional filmmakers filmed an event (a dance performance) to create three versions of a film (one objective long shot version, two versions edited to focus on one of the characters). Participants “thought aloud” as they watched one of the versions of the film. Think-aloud responses were coded on the cognitive framing (e.g., description, narrative) and the ways the characters were conveyed (e.g., internal states, actions). Analysis of the think-aloud responses revealed that cinematic features affected the cognitive framing of the film but had little effect on how the characters were conveyed.