Film influence mechanisms: between manipulation, ethics and co-construction of meaning

Abstract

Some theoricians and professionals of the movie and audiovisual industry are still convinced that they can impose a meaning to all spectators. They also believe that they are able to control their emotions, feelings and understanding by using narrative or other techniques such as camera movements, distance, fades, etc. The findings of an experimental study opposing spectators' experiences with cinema and film code theories are presented in this article. In addition to validating the co-construction story-building process, the author offers advice and ethical tools which ensure mutual understanding, such as pre-tests and a film creation semio-contextual grid.