Methodology -  eMAEX-system

A main concern of our work is that our models of film analysis become methods that are able to capture the expressive dimension of moving images in an empirical, descriptive manner. It is this expressive dimension of images that unfold over time, an aesthetic structuring of perception, that we assume aims to elicit an emotional viewer response.

This is a particular challenge when the object of our study is an entire cinematic genre or even an entire system of genres. On the one hand, this concept of a poetics of film contains, per definition, the formulaic, recurrent orchestration of viewer emotions such as laughing, crying, amazement or fear. On the other hand, the size of the object of research alone seems to hinder a comprehensive, detailed analysis.

That’s why the projects brought together here work with a method that examines the films in a step-by-step process. We look systematically at ever smaller temporal segments and also inspect their interaction with one another. This allows a qualitative description. Scenes are the building blocks for the films’ dramaturgy of affect, expressive movement units shape the dynamic form of each scene. The compositional elements produce the expressive movement.

To implement this method and to be able to use it, we needed to develop a computerized system of analysis.

From the detailed analysis of our object of research to the documentation of our approach and the presentation of our results, the systematic analysis of expressive movement necessitates the ability to integrate audiovisual research data on a multimedia platform. Qualitative-descriptive empiricism means to us that every film analytical statement, every genre theoretical or film historical thesis can be verified and understood by looking at the object of study itself.

Content
eMAEX – a standardized method of analyzing qualities of filmic expression
Database "Mobilization of emotions in war films"