Cinematographic continuity edits across shot scales and camera angles: an ERP analysis

Film editing has attracted great theoretical and practical interest since the beginnings of cinematography. In recent times, the neural correlates of visual transitions at edit cuts have been at the focus of attention in neurocinematics. Many Event Related Potential (ERP) studies studies have reported the consequences of cuts involving narrative discontinuities, and violations of standard montage rules. However, less is known about edits that are meant to induce continuity. Here, we addressed the neural correlates of continuity editing involving scale, and angle variations across the cut within the same scene, two of the most popular devices used for continuity editing. We recorded the electroencephalographic signal obtained from 20 viewers as they watched four different cinematographic excerpts to extract ERPs at edit points. First, we were able to reproduce the general time and scalp distribution of the typical ERPs to filmic cuts in prior studies. Second, we found significant ERP modulations triggered by scale changes (scale out, scale in, or maintaining the same scale). Edits involving an increase in scale (scale out) led to amplification of the ERP deflection, and scale reduction (scale in) led to decreases, compared to edits that kept scale across the cut. These modulations coincide with the time window of the N300 and N400 components and, according to previous findings, their amplitude has been associated with the likelihood of consciously detecting the edit. Third, we did not detect similar modulations as a function of angle variations across the cut. Based on these findings, we suggest that cuts involving reduction of scale are more likely to go unnoticed, than ones that scale out. This relationship between scale in/out and visibility is documented in film edition manuals. Specifically, in order to achieve fluidity in a scene, the edition is designed from the most opened shots to the most closed ones.