Stitching the Images Together in Iron Man 2

Summary of “How Movies Manipulate Your Brain to Keep You Entertained” by Greg Miller

Greg Miller wrote an article regarding how audiences process action in motion pictures. Studies done by vision scientist Tim Smith of the University of London show that audiences watching action movies tend to focus on highly select and particular regions of the action on the screen. Eye tracking technology, used during a viewing of Iron Man 2, showed that audiences generally focus on the real elements on the screen - props, models, and the actors’ faces - whereas the complicated Computer Generated Images (CGI) responsible for the special effects that went into the making of the film was visually tracked only minimally. While viewing a fast paced action film, eyes only focus on one element at a time. The movement of people’s eyes absorb a little information with each movement, and then the movement takes in a bit more information from another area. Our brains then process these tiny packets of visual information and “stitch all those bits together to create a seamless experience” (Miller, 2014).

I found the information gathered shockingly accurate because I tend to notice less than a third of the images during a visually complicated movie. The amount of acute detail that is put into the CGI and extras essentially goes almost unnoticed, yet the details are fundamental to the making of the movie. Also, I never realized the many cuts and change in camera angles and views that occur within a very short period of time. However, the editing room of our eyes and then our brain create a fluid stream of visual consciousness, making the film seem more like an actual sequence of events in real life.

How Movies Manipulate Your Brain To Keep You Entertained. (2014, August 26). Retrieved September 8, 2014, from Wired website: http://www.wired.com/2014/08/how-movies-manipulate-your-brain/