Isolated White Frames in Fiction Films: Analysis and Functional Characterization

Abstract

The inclusion of isolated white frames devoid of figurative information, whose function is to trigger an impact on the viewer, constitutes a deliberate audiovisual strategy. In the present study, 99 films were identified that contain at least one isolated white frame, totaling 740 target stimuli. Through inductive analysis, specific narrative contexts associated with the use of white frames were categorized as follows: (I) explosions or shots, (II) lights, (III) spatial/temporal jumps (IV) mental images (V) chromatic changes, and (VI) hits. Statistical analysis indicated a tendency for the white frame to be accompanied by a sound mark, as well as to appear associated with a triggering event. Similarly, we could differentiate how when it is associated with an explosion or a light were usually embedded during the shot, while chromatic changes or spatial/temporal jumps are usually incorporated in editing cuts.