In new study out of Vanderbilt, reported in Science Daily “Mind’s Eye’ Influences Visual Perception,” researchers Pearson, Tong, and Clifford report that what we imagine (see in our “mind’s eye) directly impacts our visual perception. (The actual article appears in Current Biology). This is the first research that shows that the images we make up changes our vision both while we are imaging and also later on. This confirms previous research showing that mental imagery causes the visual areas of the brain light up. Pretty cool but not surprising.
Artists have worked for centuries to create images that force/allow us to see things in a new way. The researchers at Vanderbilt have just proved what cognitive psychologists have known for a long time: that our expectations of how things and events will unfold influence how we understand them. A cognitive therapy technique has individuals model new and desired behaviors for themselves by imagining situations where they pull it off successfully. Thanks to media technologies, we have access to a richer palette of visual images that provides a fuller menu for us to draw on as imaginery possibilities. Admittedly, both for better and for worse. But the breadth and diversity of information flows–if you’re willing to look and think–ought to humanize the world and our expectations and demonstrate that there are no single “right” ways to do anything and are choices are as varied as, well, we are able to imagine.
Dr. Pamela Rutledge is available to reporters for comments on the psychological and social impact of media and technology on individuals, society, organizations and brands.
Glad you got something out of the talk. As far as Focal Point is cencorned, every storyboard panel needs one. Basically it is where you want your audience to look in the composition. This could be a persons face, an object, or even something moving in the background. It is important to decide what that focus is before hand. This way you can design the elements in your composition to support that focal point. The surrounding people may be looking in the direction of the focal point or objects may even point to the focal point to emphasize this. The focal point is closely related to the main story point you want to get across. We will elaborate on this in later classes, but know that the focal point should also support the story point in the script. There are some simple tricks you can do for this such as design the shapes in the composition, or even isolating the objects with a camera move.