Leftward or rightward lighting in commercial film, is there a bias? : An experimental study on the lateral direction of lighting in commercials

In accordance with an experimental setup this thesis investigates to what extent the participants' attitudes and aesthetic preferences are influenced by the lateral direction of light in moving image sequences. It is also investigated whether the participants' handedness correlates with their advertising evaluation. The purpose of the study is to generate new knowledge of potential biases in moving images that could be applied by image producers to create more compelling commercials. Our work is based on a transdisciplinary theoretical approach and the results are analyzed based on biopsychological, sociocultural and perceptual explanatory models. Three self-designed commercials with a left oriented illumination position were used as stimulus, the stimulus were also inverted horizontally. The participants were asked to assess their attitudes toward the commercials with either left or right oriented lighting. Two surveys were conducted: one with a within-subjects design and one with a between-subjects design, a total of 172 people participated. No significant difference between left and right oriented illumination position occurred in any of the groups for neither feelings toward ad, Aad , Ab , or PI. The results suggests that a bias does not occur in dynamic images, unlike the left oriented bias that has been reliably shown in previous studies that relate to still images. Nor could any correlation be established between reported attitudes and handedness