FILM-SHOT-COUNTER

A Database for Quantitative Analysis of Cinema

What Is This Database?

The database below compiles the results of my own quantitative measurements of films and television episodes. This extensive and continuously growing resource provides unique insights into the evolution of editing styles across different periods, regions, and industries. It is an essential tool for film scholars, historians, and anyone interested in film shot analysis, editing trends, and stylistic changes over time.

These measurements were obtained through manual shot counting with a hand-clicker, processing shot numbers in specialized software (Cinemetrics), or conducting shot-by-shot analyses. To calculate the average shot length (ASL)—a concept introduced by Barry Salt—I measure the film’s duration in seconds (assuming 24 frames per second for sound films) and divide it by the total number of counted shots.

What Makes This Database Unique?

Currently, the database includes almost 4000 measurements of films and television episodes from various countries across more than a century. While it contains hundreds of ASL measurements of films from many decades, it is particularly unique for four key reasons:

Comprehensive Coverage of Hollywood Films – It simultaneously covers a substantial portion of Hollywood’s annual output from the last two decades, making it an invaluable tool for analyzing current trends in editing.
Extensive Eastern and Central European Film Data – The database includes a significant number of films from Central and Eastern European countries, providing insight into often-overlooked regional trends.
Rare Silent Film Analysis – It features numerous rare silent films from the 1910s from around the world, offering an unparalleled resource for studying early film style.
Nearly Complete Czech Silent Cinema Collection – It encompasses an almost complete set of preserved Czech silent films, making it essential for researchers focusing on this area.

This combination of historical depth and contemporary breadth makes the database a one-of-a-kind resource for studying the development of film style. As I continuously update the database, it will continue to expand and provide even richer opportunities for research.

How Can ASL Be Used in Research?

It is important to emphasize that ASL values are not final research findings in themselves; rather, they serve as tools for further analysis. How can ASL be applied in research?

For Individual Films: The ASL value provides a basic understanding of a film’s editing rhythm, but little beyond that. A more insightful approach is to examine ASL variations throughout a film—such as in specific scenes, sequences, narrative blocks, or acts.
For Groups of Films: ASL values and shot counts can offer valuable insights for stylistic research. They facilitate comparisons across films from different periods, regions, genres, production companies, or specific filmmakers.
Detecting Patterns and Deviations: The fact that certain films by a particular director (or from a specific period, region, company, or genre) share similar ASL values is not inherently remarkable, as similar ASL figures can result from vastly different distributions of short and long shots. However, when films exhibit particularly high or low ASL values—especially in contrast to prevailing norms—these similarities become more noteworthy.
Identifying Stylistic Variations: More striking and analytically useful is when certain films by a given director (or from a specific period, region, company, or genre) have significantly different ASL values from others. Such disparities indicate notable variations in creative choices, prompting a range of research questions.

I believe my database provides a robust and reliable foundation for exploring these questions.

New Parameters: CPM and CPH

In 2020, I introduced two new parameters to the database, expanding the scope for quantitative analysis and comparative research:

Cuts Per Minute (CPM): This measurement expresses the average number of cuts per minute, which some users may find more intuitive than ASL expressed in seconds.
Cuts Per Hour (CPH): A key parameter for detecting long-term trends and broader comparability. The CPH parameter appears in two forms:
- (a) The precise number of cuts in the first hour of a measured film, where known.
- (b) A proportional estimate of cuts per hour when the exact figure is unavailable.

The precise CPH count is recorded to the nearest shot and is based on my own measurements (assuming a projection speed of 24fps). The proportional CPH estimate is rounded to the nearest fifty or hundred. I have conducted hundreds of control tests comparing these estimates with exact CPH counts, confirming their reliability in identifying broader trends.

For now, I have chosen to report CPH only for sound films, as their standardized projection speed allows for more accurate measurement.

Who Can Benefit from This Database?

This database is a powerful resource for:

Film scholars and historians exploring stylistic evolution in cinema.
Industry professionals analyzing trends in editing and pacing.
Cinephiles and researchers interested in comparative film analysis.
Educators and students using empirical data for film studies coursework.

How to Use the Database

Whether examining a single film’s stylistic choices or identifying broader industry-wide trends, this collection provides the empirical foundation needed for meaningful analysis. The database facilitates comparisons based on period, region, genre, director, and production company, offering unparalleled insight into editing practices.

As the database continues to grow, I invite researchers, students, and cinephiles to explore its potential and contribute to expanding our collective understanding of film style.

Radomír Douglas Kokeš
Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture
Masaryk University
Brno, Czech Republic

e-mail: douglas@phil.muni.cz

MY PARALLEL PROJECT:
DATABASE OF MOBILE FRAMING STATISTICS (1921-40) / www.douglaskokes.cz/pdz/mfs/