Abstract
A motion picture consists of separate shots that are filmed at different times in differ-
ent locations. Cuts, which are instantaneous transitions between shots, induce abrupt
changes in view that have no counterparts in the real world. Despite these discontinuous
transitions, film viewers are able to perceive a sequence of shots as a continuously un-
folding event, being unaware of these cuts. The purpose of this article is to investigate
the relationship between the unawareness of existence of these cuts and the structure
of events in narrative films. In the experiment, participants viewed excerpts from fea-
ture films and were instructed to intentionally detect cuts. To assess the relationship
between cut detection and the structure of events, a logistic regression analysis was
conducted. The results showed that the number of event segmentations and edit types
were related to the detectability of the cuts, such that the detectability of the cuts
increased with an increase in the number of event segmentations. Cuts accompanying
scene continuity were missed more than cuts without any continuity. This study also
discusses the relationship between the structure of events and film perception.
