At the NDS 2014 live event at Cannes, Saatchi & Saatchi proved that you can capture a human reaction to a film (or an ad) and store it as data.

The 2014 Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors’ Showcase #feelthereel premiere at Cannes in June was different from all those before. Saatchi & Saatchi had given each of the 2,300 audience members a wristband to wear. The biometric sensory band monitored emotional responses produced while the NDS reel was projected.

The data from the wristbands was then visualized as colours and projected onto screens mounted either side of the main screen showing the reel. So the audience watched both the event and its emotional reaction to it. Check it out:

The wristband was created by Studio XO for its new XOX Emotional Wearable Technology Platform. It’s a silicon band containing electronics that draw biometric data out of the body by listening to its ebb and flow. The wristbands measure levels of excitement in the wearer and an LED light embedded in the wristband moves through a spectrum of colours, blue, green, orange, red & magenta (magenta being the highest state of arousal). Changes in colour indicate changes in emotions. Information from the individual wristbands was broadcast wirelessly to a central unit that harnessed all the data received.

Studio XO mined all the data collected from the individual wristbands in Cannes, and created individual graphs in its London studio to show how the audience responded. The graphs give interesting details and facts on the audience’s behaviour patterns and emotional reaction to the Showreel.

Average of all audience members’ emotional reactions:

– 98% of Users were stimulated by the work they saw on the NDS reel.

– 83% of Users experienced relatively high levels of arousal.

–  65% of Users that turned highly aroused at some point.

Wristband colour ratio:

– Percentage of time in Green 21.62

– Percentage in Orange 5.439

– Percentage in Red 2.219

– Percentage in Magenta 0.947

Notes about reactions:

– There is a strong correlation of audience arousal – it seems to happen consistently at the same time in around 85% of the audience.

– Some videos show a more differentiated effect among reactions:

1. Emile Sornin’s funny Grab Her music video for Disclosure – part of the audience were getting very agitated and others seemed completely unaffected.

2. Tatia Pilieva’s erotic short First Kiss – consistently maintained a medium to high arousal level, which was shared by most of the audience.

3. Josh Cole’s promo for Rudimental Not Giving In – caused an excitement peak about halfway through the film.

4. Vania Heymann’s humorous Walking Contest – began during the down slope in excitement of the previous video, but nevertheless maintained a strong reaction, although this varied between the individuals.

5. Ed Morris’s hard-hitting anti-bullying ad Cybersmile #dontretaliate – provoked a strong reaction throughout the audience.

Cybersmile ‘Don’t Retaliate’ from Sacha Szwarc on Vimeo.

6. Tariq Abel-Gawad’s visually stimulating Box – also caused a strong initial reaction, which dipped then peaked again at the end of the video.

– Films featuring sexual references and humour provoked the highest levels of arousal in the audience:

1. Kyra & Constantin’s Rollin’ Wild featuring spherical animals – had a good initial reaction, with the leopard and cheetah characters causing highest level of arousal, although people experienced different levels of arousals to different animals.

2. Alberto Belli’s titillating It’s Not Porn sketch – caused high levels of arousal that lowered throughout the film

3. Alvise Avati’s witty Beans film – had a strong effect on the audience, with most of the wristbands registering arousal.

4. Donato Sansone’s risqué Grotesque Photo Booth – provoked one of the most noticeable variations in people, with around 20% of the audience getting very aroused, and others remaining calm.

GROTESQUE PHOTO BOOTH visual improvvisation (shortfilm) from MILKYEYES – donato sansone on Vimeo.

– Not all of the films that caused high levels of reaction in the audience’s wristbands were funny or sexy. Some were just classy and well crafted, such as Icons for The Sunday Times shot by Us.

The data collected shows that S&S achieved its aim to make people feel the reel…and proves that it is possible to capture a human reaction to a film and store it as data.