BBC Future
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Why is there such interest in finding new ways to gauge audience reactions?
Why wouldn’t there be, when a film like Disney’s The Lone Ranger reportedly lost $200 million at the box office last year? When serious amounts of money are at stake, investors are understandably keen to increase their odds of backing a commercial success – which is where new technology can help.
What kind of new technology?
Some are pinning their hopes on emotion-sensing software, such as Affectiva, a company with roots in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These firms use computer programs to analyse video feeds of a focus groups’ faces to judge their reactions: every subtle facial flicker can reveal whether they are amused, afraid, engaged or bored. So the next time a Hollywood studio previews a movie at a test screening, cameras in the auditorium might be viewing the audience just as intently as the moviegoers are watching the screen. Read more on the BBC Future website…
