The Emotional Impact of Film Recording Processes on the Audience
Since the turn of the millenium, a fundamental shift within the film industry has taken place. Analog technology, which has been used for over a century, has been largely superseded by digital processes. With the help of audience-based experiments, the 'Analog/Digital' project is the first in-depth empirical investigation into whether this change has any impact on the experience of watching a film.
During the course of this interdisciplinary project, the Film Subject Area produced three short films which were recorded both on film and digital data carriers. As a result, each film had two versions, with the only difference being the recording process. A further version was also created at the post-production stage, whereby the digital film was adapted to make it as close as possible to the analogue look. Then, the impact of the different films on a total audience of 487 test subjects was investigated in various experiments.
The results show that the switch from analog to digital recording formats in no way diminishes the emotional experience of going to the cinema. Assuming an audience buys into the story a film is telling, there are no significant differences between analog and digital starting materials. The same cannot be said when comparing the type of projection involved. Mechanical 35 mm film projection was found to generate significantly more emotion among a smaller test group compared with digital projection.
The high number of test subjects involved and the realistic nature of the tests (conducted in a cinema) make the project unique. The considerable interest from the film industry at home and abroad is further testament to the high degree of relevance.
All films, making-ofs and output data are available on this blog site Analog/Digital
OUTPUT
Peer-reviewed publication
- Loertscher, M. L., Weibel, D., Spiegel, S., Flueckiger, B., Mennel, P., Mast, F. W., & Iseli, C. As Film Goes Byte: The Change From Analog to Digital Film Perception. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts 2016, Vol. 10, No. 4, 458-471; DOI: 10.1037/aca0000082
Conference talks and papers
- Iseli, C.; Loertscher, M.L.; Spiegel, S.; Mennel, P.; Weibel, D.; Flueckiger, B.; Mast, F. (July 2017). Nostalgia for Film: The Shift from Mechanical to Digital Cinema Projection. In A. C. Valente, R. Capucho (Eds.), Avanca | Cinema 2017: Proceedings of the International Conference Cinema – Art, Technology, Communication (pp. 947-955) Avanca, Portugal. Edições Cine-Clube de Avanca. ISSN: 0218-4052
- CineCongress 2016, Munich: Analog vs. Digital, The Emotional Impact of Film Recording Processes on the Audience, presentation by Christian Iseli
- Conference Talk at Cinematography Days 2016, Stuttgart: Presentation at the conference "Cinematography Days" of the Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien HdM) in February 2016. Christian Iseli, Miriam Laura Loertscher, Andreas Birkle
- Vortragsreihe Mediale Erfahrungen des Fremden, mediale Konstruktionen des Eigenen, Mainz, 2014: "Digitaler Roll-out. Wie die Digitalisierung unsere Wahrnehmung von Filmen verändert." Vortrag von Barbara Flückiger.
- Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, 2014: Präsentation des Forschungsprojektes an der Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (Ludwigsburg) am 2. Dezember 2014 von Pierre Mennel und Andreas Birkle. 2013
- Technisches Symposium ARRI, München, 2013: Vortrag in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Projektpatner ARRI, 31. Januar 2013: Analog vs. Digital von Christian Iseli und Florian Martin
- GEECT Conference, From Film to Digital, La Fémis, Paris, 2013: Präsentation Analog vs. Digital von Pierre Mennel und Andreas Birkle
- Präsentation für die Schweizer Filmbranche, Zürich 2013: Vergleichsprojektionen auf grosser Leinwand, Vorstellen der Zwischenergebnisse der Zuschauertests. Mit Christian Iseli, Pierre Mennel, Florian Utsi Martin, David Weibel, Miriam Loertscher, Barbara Flückiger und Simon Spiegel.
- Reel Thing Conference, Los Angeles: Analog vs. Digital, presentation by Barbara Flückiger
- SCSMI Conference Berlin: Analog vs. Digital, presentation by Barbara Flückiger
- Workshop der Universität Zürich zu Interaktion im virtuellen Raum - Raum in der virtuellen Interaktion, Zürich, Präsentation von David Weibel: "Vom Eintauchen in medial vermittelte Welten", Dezember 2013
- Forschungskolloquium der Abteilung Wahrnehmung, Kognition und Methodenlehre, Universität Bern: Vortrag Analog vs. Digital von Miriam Loertscher und David Weibel, Mai 2013 und Oktober 2013
- International Broadcasting Convention IBC in Amsterdam, presentation with the industry partner ARRI, 9./10. Sept. 2012: Analog vs. Digital by Christian Iseli and Florian Martin
- CineCongress 2012 / The Future of Cinematography, München, presentation with the industry partner ARRI, 9./10. Sept. 2012: Analog vs. Digital by Christian Iseli and Florian Martin
- Internationale Fachmesse für Filmtechnik und Postproduktion CINEC presentation with the industry partner ARRI, 9./10. Sept. 2012: Analog vs. Digital by Christian Iseli and Florian Martin
- Digital Stages, ZHdK Zürich, Präsentation, 30. November. 2012: Analog vs. Digital by Christian Iseli and Pierre Mennel
- Open House für die Schweizerische Filmbranche Vortrag in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Projektpartner EGLI FILM, Zürich 12. Dez. 2012, Zürich: Analog vs. Digital von Christian Iseli und Valentino Vigniti