“There Will Be Eye Tracking!”

Ever wondered how movie directors get us to look where they want during critical moments of their latest summer blockbuster? Psychologist Tim Smith from Birkbeck University of London recently revealed some of the findings from his eye tracking study of the film “There Will Be Blood” on the Science Weekly podcast from the UK Guardian.

The study found that directors manipulate several key factors including the scene lighting and type of shot to help push our gaze toward what they want us to see, much in the same way magicians do, according to Smith. Smith’s look at “There Will Be Blood” also concludes viewers tend to focus on people’s faces as they talk, shifting between the characters faces as they exchange dialogue.

By manipulating the lighting and camera angle, film directors are able to eliminate the confusion about where to look that would result from a normal conversation on the street. They also able to draw viewer’s gaze towards important plot elements that are occurring during conversation, such as money changing hands between the two characters engaged in the conversation.

As a result of his study, Smith was invited to share his results with the staff at DreamWorks Studios, who were hoping to use some of the information he presented to help them improve their 3D films.

Check out the full interview with Smith and the video of some of his results here.

 

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