Doctoral Degrees (Industrial Engineering)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Industrial Engineering) by Author "Barnard, Christan"

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    Towards a generic film style machine learning analysis framework.
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-01) Barnard, Christan; Nel, Gerrit Stephanus; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The framework thereafter facilitates the adoption of a supervised machine learning approach and a subsequent variable importance analysis so as to identify the pre-eminent input variables to the machine learning models. This approach delivers a set of candidate salient formal stylistic parameters that may serve as accurate descriptors of the style of a specific era or director. This set of stylistic variables is further investigated by means of ancillary descriptive analyses, unsupervised machine learning analyses, and a comparison with existing film style literature pertinent to the analysis. The synthesis of quantitative and qualitative methods is facilitated by the framework so as to describe effectively and accurately the style of a specific era in film history or the work of a specific director with an appropriate level of objectivity and expository depth. The efficacy and practical workability of the proposed method are demonstrated by means of two case study applications of the film style analysis framework. The first framework instantiation comprises an analysis of film eras, with a focus on the stylistic differences between silent and early-sound films. The second case study comprises a directorial analysis of the work of Ingmar Bergman. The proposed method toward the identification of era- and director-specific salient formal stylistic parameters is demonstrated and found to exhibit significant classification and descriptive abilities. Extensive quantitative and qualitative analyses are subsequently undertaken for the purpose of validating the predictive analysis results. Expert validation of the methodology is also obtained from the originator of the statistical style analysis of films research paradigm, as well as two practicing writer-directors in the film industry. The proposed framework is therefore applied successfully toward the formal description of the stylistic deference between silent and sound films, as well as the characteristics of Ingmar Bergman's film style.