Exploring the Ways Cinematography Affects Viewers’ Perceived Empathy towards Onscreen Characters

Abstract

In the history of cinematography there is a noticeable tradition to deliberately highlight the elements that accentuate space and spatiality in the shots. At the same time, there is also a contrary tradition, i.e. the conscious reduction of spatiality with the help of artistic tools in order to evoke a feeling of alienation. In this article I will argue that it is highly likely that the visual reinforcement of depth has become one of a cinematographer’s most frequently used tools, because it plays an important role in the audience’s perceived empathy towards onscreen characters. Since the practices of art-making – e.g. cinematography – represent a way that the empirical experience accumulated in professional practices reflects underlying neural processes, this article will first draw upon evidence from the common tenets of cinematography and reflect on how these correspond to the respective phenomena in human perception and cognition. The second part of the article examines the theory of the para-dramatic and eso-dramatic factors established by Gal Raz and Talma Hendler as it applies to cinematography; thereby suggesting possibilities for broadening the theoretical foundations of the twofold division of the causes for the viewers’ empathetic responses. The article will also introduce the results from a pilot experiment. However, I will not argue that the rendering of cinematographic space and drawing attention to certain areas are superior tools for creating filmic empathy. I will rather point out that they are often used by cinematographers when they want to create an immersive experience, and therefore, there is reason to believe that a connection exists between emotional empathy and the usage of these cinematographic tools.

Eyelight enhances perceived emotional responses to cinema.

“…Furthermore, from a subjective perspective, our results demonstrated that eyelight helps the film viewer discern the emotional states of film characters, which confirms the idea of the use of eyelight (Alton, 1995; Baxter, 1975; Hedgecoe et al, 2003; Holben, 2014; Millerson, 1991; Mishkhaṣ, 2016; Salt, 2009; Yamamoto, 2010) as making a character more “lively” in the sense of expressing human feelings. Such discerning of the film character’s emotions is central to the film viewer’s understanding (Barry, 2009; Lotman, 2016), and thus eyelight is at the heart of the film experience. Critically, whether the viewers have a “correct” (as expected; cf.…”

“…Barry (2009) argues that film viewers identify the screen content as reality, through the cognitive process of discerning emotions, and mirror them. This is reflected in a study by Lotman (2016), in which cinematographic lighting is tested for its effect on film viewers’ empathy toward the emotional state of the onscreen characters. However, the use of eyelight was not tested in that study.…”

Ecological Approach to Cinematographic Lighting of the Human Face – A Pilot Study

“…Recently, some studies taking a more empirical perspective on film lighting have been reported in master's theses and conference presentations (e.g., Shafiee, Bidin 2016;Poland 2015), while Nevill (2018) has examined lighting techniques used by cinematographers and other practitioners working with moving imagery in his practice-led doctoral research. Taking the spectator's perspective, Lotman (2016) and Voodla et al (2020) have reported studies that measured how the sense of depth, created with lighting and other cinematographic tools, relates to the audience's empathy toward the film characters.…”

Pedagogical Experiment with Portrait Lighting in Combination with different Actor’s intent in the case of novice Actors

“…At the same time in filmmaking, in addition to creating character familiarity, portrait light also renders substantial emotional psychological effects on the viewer. Although there is a lack of empirical research on how portrait light affects viewer-felt affect towards onscreen characters, cinematographer's tacit knowledge lends itself for creative use of portrait lighting for affecting sense of space (Lotman, 2016), or familiarity (Lotman et al, 2019). Recently, new research has emerged on the effects of brightness levels and key-to-fill ratio on the recognition of emotion, emotion intensity, and the overall appeal, as these are crucial factors for audience engagement (Wisessing, 2020).…”

“…In order for the dialogue to come alive, the subtext of the dialogue must be louder than the text itself' (Weston,n.d.,para. 2 Close-up lighting in film has been influenced by the practices of still photography that transformed while making the transition to film (Keating, 2006), by the tacit knowledge of generations of cinematographers (Lotman, 2016) (Petrie, Stoneman, 2014, p. 289). Thus, teaching film practice needs a framework that allows for experimentation, but simultaneous tutoringenough freedom combined with a strong supporting framework.…”