Cinematic style of direct address to the audience in feature films

Abstract

A qualitative research was 1) to study the method of Direct Address technique that appeared in feature films, 2) to study the audience's perception and feelings towards the Direct Address technique. Data were collected using the textual analysis of 3 films: Annie Hall (1977), Funny Game (1997), Amélie (2001), in-depth interviews from specific sample groups, professionals and academics in the field of communication arts, and focus groups from general audiences,: those with knowledge of films and those without. The research results found that Direct Address patterns in feature films could be classified into 3 types: 1) Characters were aware of their identities in the film and expressed themselves to the audience through gestures and facial expressions. 2) Characters communicated with the audience by talking to the audience naturally. 3) Characters could freely intervene or change the plot of the film. In the academics’ opinion, the technique of Direct Address was to make the audience aware and temporarily “disconnected” from the media they were watching, so that the audience could see the problems in the context of the story and questioned the issues that the film was trying to communicate. In the opinions of the professional, if used appropriately with the story and with a clear purpose and substance, it would make the film have dimensions and create novelty in the storytelling.