Here at Latitude we spend a good deal of time gaining insight about characters — in films, TV series, and games — namely, which characters people connect with best and why. We explore how these connections form in order to help clients optimize content to deepen viewer engagement.

Belgian psychologist Albert Michotte suggested in the 1950s that empathy was the key to the emotional connection between spectators and the characters in a film. Thirty years later, his suspicion was confirmed with the discovery of mirror neurons, a group of neurons found in the frontal lobes of the brain. While ordinary command motor neurons will fire when you perform an action, mirror neurons will also fire when you perceive someone else taking an action. In other words, they permit a virtual reality simulation of another person and allow us to feel more connected to those around us — or to those in front of us onscreen.

Because our mirror neurons actually emulate the movements and expressions of characters onscreen, they allow us to empathize — cognitively, emotionally, and physically — in a deep and impactful way. This helps explain the very real-feeling connections that we develop with our favorite characters, and in turn why we are so affected by the shows and movies that we watch. With Lumière, in-the-moment video reactivity allows viewers to leave feedback on video content as they watch — and allows us to better curate and evaluate streaming stories and the characters inhabiting them.