This article was taken from the January 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
San Diego-based company MindSign Neuromarketing says that it can ensure every film delivers its desired effect -- using neuroscience. Run by Philip Carlsen and Devin Hubbard, MindSign asks testers to watch a film while lying inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. The machine detects the brain's blood-oxygen levels, which indicate changes in neurological activity. MindSign then breaks down the results into one to two-second segments to reveal an audience's reaction at any given moment.
Some directors may use this simply to crank up the fright factor, but MindSign says it can offer more subtle diagnostics, such as keeping censors happy while pinpointing just a few seconds of neuro-affecting footage. One drawback: the Saw franchise could now go on forever.
Explore more: Big Ideas For 2012
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
