Will Brain Scans Replace Test Screenings?
Posted on September 30, 2009 in Filmmaking 360 | 2 Comments
Film producer Peter Katz has used fMRI brain scans to measure scariness of horror movies. He teamed up with researchers to scan brain activity of subject viewing his film. Data from scan gives real-time view of what’s going on inside the brain. He wants to use brain scans to make better, more enjoyable movies.
You can read more on CNN.com: “Brain scans gauge horror flick fear factor”
2 Comments
Ah, yes. The AMYGDALA. A writer couldn’t invent a better word to name the neural organ of flight / fight.
This article reminded me of the trailer I recently saw for PARANORMAL, where audience reactions form a key part of the teasing. It’s as if the filmmakers are flat out saying to the audience: “We’re all engaged in nothing other than a neuro-psychological experiment. We the filmmakers provide the sequences of stimuli; you the audience serve as lab rats who can not avoid being scared. Just try to use your reason + free will. It won’t work.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_UxLEqd074
if anyone’s curious here’s the trailer for POP SKULL, the movie that is featured in “Neurocinema”
“Pop Skull depicts the lonely and disjointed life of Daniel, a young Alabama pill addict, as his efforts to cope with the trials of his day-to-day life collide with the increasing influence of murderous and displaced spirits that inhabit his home.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYYOsU5W6XQ&feature=PlayList&p=5C8CAE3D69730157&index=0&playnext=1