How the Digital Medium Changes the Perception of Filmmaking. New Subconscious `Readings` of a Moving Image

Abstract

This article focuses on the way the spectator’s perception and analysis of moving images has changed in the past two decades, following the growing technological advancements in the digital field. Both small digital cameras, meant for home use, and the digitalization of everyday life through different online platforms have had a significant impact on the way our brains subconsciously understand visual stimuli. What changes is not only the spectator’s viewing experience but also his interpretation of the semiotics of the image. In the first part of the article, I will use as example two of the works of the great Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi, whose ban to never make movies again has forced him to find alternate ways of expression. In the second part of the article, I will focus on a lesser-known horror film, crafted in the form of a Zoom meeting, which I believe to be a revolutionary milestone in the breaking of the barriers of visual perception: Host (2020), directed by Rob Savage. In understanding these recent changes in our cognitive behavior, the next step would be updating the pedagogical approach to this unavoidable digital medium, in order to prepare the next generation of filmmakers for the medium in which they will be working.