MDM570 Week 2

Feb 17

Selective Attention

Selective attention refers to the cognitive process by which individuals focus on specific stimuli while ignoring others. In advertising, selective attention highlights how strategic call-to-action elements evolve to capture audience engagement amidst vast amounts of information, as seen in the case study on advertising campaigns (Full Sail University, 2025). The psychological and emotional strategies in editorial processes, discussed in Full Sail University's lecture and Taylor's video, further illustrate how selective attention shapes decision-making and enhances content effectiveness by prioritizing relevant information (Full Sail University, 2025; Taylor, 2019). Understanding selective attention is vital for creating compelling multimedia content and marketing strategies.

From the perspective of Le Callet and Niebur (2013), selective attention in multimedia technologies involves the mechanisms of overt and covert visual attention, as well as bottom-up and top-down processing. This concept is vital for enhancing user engagement by directing the focus to key elements within image and video content. The authors highlight the challenges in modeling visual attention and demonstrate its applications in multimedia design to improve user experiences. By understanding and applying selective attention principles, multimedia technologies can create more effective and engaging content that aligns with how users naturally process visual information.

From Digilite's perspective, selective attention is a cognitive process where our brains focus on specific stimuli while ignoring others, which is critical for effective digital marketing and design strategies. The article emphasizes targeted messaging, selective distortion, and retention to resonate with the audience's interests and values. It also explores key principles in UX design, such as visual hierarchy, use of white space, and color contrast, to enhance user engagement. Understanding selective attention allows marketers and designers to craft compelling content and intuitive interfaces, ultimately improving user experience and campaign effectiveness.

Researchers analyze selective attention across various contexts. The evaluation highlights its role in advertising and editorial processes, emphasizing strategic call-to-action elements and prioritizing relevant information for audience engagement. Le Callet and Niebur (2013) focus on visual attention mechanisms in multimedia technologies, discussing overt and covert attention and processing, which are crucial for enhancing user engagement. Conversely, Digilite (2024) underscores selective attention's importance in digital marketing and UX design, emphasizing targeted messaging and visual hierarchy to improve user experience. While both perspectives recognize the significance of selective attention, they differ in their applications and specific focus areas.

Here is a visual example of the concept of selective attention. In this image, we see a large sign that says SALE on it:

Visual Hierarchy: The headline "SALE" is the largest and boldest text, immediately drawing the viewer's attention.
Use of White Space: Adequate white space around the headline and main content makes it easier to focus on important information.
Color and Contrast: The bright red color of the sale tag stands out against the white background, ensuring it grabs attention.
Focal Points and Visual Cues: The arrows point toward the sale tag, guiding the viewer's eye toward the key information.

This layout leverages selective attention by using design principles to direct the viewer's focus.

Rhythm

Rhythm in video editing refers to the pacing and flow of scenes to create a coherent and engaging narrative. The Full Sail University case study on advertising underscores how rhythm in editing enhances audience engagement by strategically pacing content (2025). The lecture "How an Editor Thinks and Feels" emphasizes rhythm's emotional and psychological aspects, highlighting how editors use rhythm to balance objectivity and emotional investment (Full Sail University, 2025). Taylor's video further explores the cognitive and emotional processes in editing, showcasing how rhythm shapes decision-making and enhances the technical and emotional impact of the final product (2019).

Walter Murch emphasizes that rhythm in film editing is crucial for creating an emotionally engaging and narratively coherent experience. He explains how timing and the careful arrangement of scenes impact a film's flow and viewer's perception. Murch's insights, backed by his extensive experience, highlight the editor's role in shaping the film's rhythm to guide the audience through the story effectively. His perspective underscores the importance of rhythmic editing in enhancing films' emotional and narrative impact, providing practical examples and techniques to achieve this.

Shahnaz Dulaimy emphasizes that rhythm in film editing is crucial for influencing a film's emotional and narrative impact. She explains how editors manipulate time through pacing to maintain audience engagement and convey thematic elements. Dulaimy highlights the relationship between rhythm and storytelling, underscoring the editor's ability to shape a film's flow beyond mere technical execution. Her perspective showcases the artistry of film and video editing, revealing how rhythm can enhance storytelling and emotional resonance, making the film more compelling and engaging for the audience.

My evaluation highlights rhythm as essential in video editing for creating engaging narratives and balancing emotional investment. Walter Murch underscores rhythm's role in shaping film flow and viewer perception, using timing and scene arrangement to enhance emotional and narrative impact. Shahnaz Dulaimy focuses on manipulating time and pacing to maintain engagement and convey themes, emphasizing rhythm's relationship with storytelling. Both perspectives align on rhythm's importance but differ in approach: Murch emphasizes timing and arrangement, while Dulaimy highlights pacing and thematic conveyance. Together, they illustrate rhythm's vital role in editing's technical and emotional facets.

For a video and audio example, consider this classic scene from Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960):

The "Psycho" Shower Scene

This iconic sound effect audio clip creates the rhythm through the rapid, rhythmic string stabs accompanying each cut (no pun intended) in the shower scene. The timing of the music and the editing work together to build tension and create a sense of urgency, demonstrating how rhythm can enhance the emotional impact of a scene.

Pacing

Pacing in video editing refers to the speed and rhythm at which scenes progress to maintain audience engagement and convey the narrative effectively. The Full Sail University case study highlights how pacing in advertising evolved to capture audience attention on social media platforms (2025). The lecture "How an Editor Thinks and Feels" emphasizes the psychological strategies editors use to balance pacing with emotional engagement (Full Sail University, 2025). Taylor's video explores how editors use pacing to balance analytical skills and emotional responses, ensuring the final product is technically sound and emotionally compelling (2019).

From the perspective of Film Editing Pro, pacing in video editing is crucial for shaping a film's overall flow and emotional resonance. The video provides practical tips and techniques to control rhythm and pace, such as using cuts, transitions, and timing adjustments. By carefully timing these elements, editors can create a cohesive narrative that maintains viewer engagement. The video's emphasis on technical and artistic aspects highlights how effective pacing can enhance video projects' storytelling and emotional impact, making the final product more engaging and polished.

Steve Hullfish distinguishes between micro-pacing and macro-pacing in video editing, emphasizing their roles in maintaining audience engagement and enhancing narrative flow. Micro-pacing involves the timing between shots and within scenes, while macro-pacing pertains to the entire film's overall pacing and story rhythms. Hullfish highlights how these elements are crucial for technical execution and artistic expression, offering practical insights from experienced editors. His perspective underscores the importance of pacing in creating compelling visual stories, revealing how editors can effectively use timing and rhythm to enhance a film's storytelling and emotional impact.

My evaluation defines pacing as the speed and rhythm of scenes to maintain engagement and narrative flow. The Full Sail University case study and lecture emphasize how pacing evolved in advertising and the psychological strategies editors use. Taylor's video highlights balancing analytical skills and emotional responses. Film Editing Pro focuses on practical tips to control rhythm and pace, enhancing video projects' storytelling and emotional impact. Steve Hullfish distinguishes between micro-pacing and macro-pacing, emphasizing their roles in narrative flow and artistic expression, offering insights into timing and rhythm's impact on storytelling.

A compelling example of pacing in film editing can be found in the

“Moscow car chase scene” from The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

A compelling example of pacing in film editing can be found in the "Moscow car chase scene from The Bourne Supremacy" (2004). The editor, Christopher Rouse, employs rapid cuts while ensuring spatial coherence, driving the action forward and keeping viewers on the edge of their seats. Each cut is perfectly timed to build momentum and maintain clarity of movement.

Citations

BAFTA. (2013, September 20). Walter Murch: On Editing [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/WcBpXLNmS3Q?si=nidK_iTtwPWuXJdW

Digilite. (2024, February 12). The Impact of Selective Attention on Marketing and Design Strategies. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/impact-selective-attention-marketing-design-strategies-digiliteco-vzl6e/

Dulaimy, S. (2018, August 6). Film editing — The importance of rhythm and pace. Avid. Retrieved from https://www.avid.com/resource-center/film-editing-the-importance-of-rhythm-and-pace

Film Editing Pro. (2020, August 6). Video Editing Pacing Tips [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/IG683SXcal4?si=NGgE9EKUZ_HVQ6ZH

Full Sail University. (2025).Case study on advertising and social media impact. Retrieved from https://online.fullsail.edu/class_sections/222358/modules/823316/activities/4726765

Full Sail University. (2025). How an Editor Thinks and Feels [Video]. Retrieved from https://online.fullsail.edu/class_sections/222358/modules/823316/activities/4726762

Hullfish, S. (2017). Art of the Cut: Conversations with Film and TV Editors. Routledge. Retrieved from https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/art-of-the/9781315297118/

Le Callet, P., & Niebur, E. (2013). Visual attention and applications in multimedia technologies. Proceedings of the IEEE, 101(9), 2058-2067. https://doi.org/10.1109/jproc.2013.2265801

Taylor, R. (2019, February 19). How does an editor think and feel? [Video]. ouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q3eITC01Fg&t=6s

2.6 Design Challenge:

Create a Cinemagraph

Dia de los Muertos

The above clip is an MP4 of the GIF, but here is a link to the actual Dia de los Muertos GIF

Dia de los Muertos Rationale

This one started off easy. I originally wanted to make the candle flames move and then add some air particles of some kind to add to the slightly mystical feel of my design.

The designs that we did were originally in Portrait, and I wanted to make GIFs that had a cinematic feel to them, so I changed the orientation to Landscape 16:9, which meant going into the original PhotoShop file and moving things around and, of course scaling them down from huge 300 dpi print InDesign filesize to and standard 1080p format and file size. This file had to be moved around, and some content was created in order to change it from a portrait aspect ratio to a Landscape one.

The candles were far away and hard to see, so in this new format, I added some that were closer to the foreground and the plane that the woman was standing in. The particles that I ended up adding were more like flower petals or embers instead of dust motes, but I think they worked.

I was going to go through the meticulous process of creating a seamless loop, but I decided that it wasn't necessary because there was no discernable "skip" when the file looped. When I exported my MP4 to a GIF in PhotoShop, I used the ENDLESS LOOP function.

Halloween Jam

The above clip is an MP4 of the GIF, but here is a link to the actual Halloween GIF

Halloween Rationale

I thought that this one might be a little more complicated, mainly because of the theme and the fact that this image was portraying movement and a beat. This image also suffered from the print-to-video size issue and had to be rearranged to get it to a reasonable pixel size. Once that was done, I had to go through the process of adding imagery to make up for the aspect ratio adjustment. This took a little bit of effort, partially because of the "Dutch" camera angle. I added some more dancers and used the whole image of the DJ because, in the previous incarnation of this design, half of his body went off of the frame to allow me to make him the right size to appear so imposing. Now, I needed to maintain that "Imposing" element while accounting for the new horizontal aspect ratio.

The effects got a little more complicated, I was originally going to just do some smoke and the LED light strip, but it looked wrong because of the nature of the design. Because the design denotes movement and a beat, I couldn't just animate the LED strip; I also had to add animated lights to make it feel balanced.

I used the loop feature in PhotoShop for this design as well.

Valentine's Day

This is an MP4 of the GIF, but here is a link to the actual Valentine's Day GIF

Valentine's Day Rationale

This was the easiest of the three designs to do. Just like the two previous images, this image also suffered from the print-to-video size issue and had to be rearranged to get it to a reasonable pixel size. Once that was done, I had to go through the process of adding and extending imagery to make up for the aspect ratio adjustment.

I started this one with the animation of the text on the heart to announce the event details. I was able to add a little extra information and increase the size of all of the text because we added the element of time. After the sign was synced up and animated to work as a loop, I added a subtle animation of moving hearts and placed that in the background as a moving wallpaper of sorts, and I think it adds a nice touch.