The Influence of Cutting Rate on the Evaluation of Affective Content of Film

Abstract

This investigation examined the hypothesis that the evaluation of the affective content of a film scene would be determined by the interaction of scene content and film cutting rate. Two simple narrative films were shot differing only in the emotions expressed (happiness or anger), and two edited versions of each film, a fast and a slow cutting rate version, were prepared. Subjects evaluated the principles in the films as well as their own feelings while watching the films, using Mehrabian and Russell's emotional state inventory. The results supported the interaction hypothesis, as indicated by the findings that the faster cutting enhanced the positive ratings of a speaker in the “happy” film, but led to enhanced negative ratings of the same speaker when he presented an angry demeanor. In the angry scenes, where there may be multiple layers of meaning and emotional content, the interaction effects were more complex, but still largely consistent with the hypothesis.

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