This article details a two-step method of quantifying eye movement transitions between areas of interest (AOIs). First, individuals' gaze switching patterns, represented by fixated AOI sequences, are modeled as Markov chains. Second, Shannon's entropy coefficient of the fit Markov model is computed to quantify the complexity of individual switching patterns. To determine the overall distribution of attention over AOIs, the entropy coefficient of individuals' stationary distribution of fixations is calculated. The novelty of the method is that it captures the variability of individual differences in eye movement characteristics, which are then summarized statistically. The method is demonstrated on gaze data collected from two studies, during free viewing of classical art paintings. Normalized Shannon's entropy, derived from individual transition matrices, is related to participants' individual differences as well as to either their aesthetic impression or recognition of artwork. Low transition and high stationary entropies suggest greater curiosity mixed with a higher subjective aesthetic affinity toward artwork, possibly indicative of visual scanning of the artwork in a more deliberate way. Meanwhile, both high transition and stationary entropies may be indicative of recognition of familiar artwork.

Recent research on the reception of interlingual subtitling revealed that it is cognitively effective: watching a subtitled film results in a good understanding of the film content, it does not require a significant tradeoff between image processing and text processing, and it leads to a good performance in the recognition of the words and expressions 4 contained in the subtitles. To date, the studies that revealed the effectiveness of subtitle processing have been conducted mono-nationally -e.g. d 'Ydewalle and De Bruycker (2007) in Belgium; Wissmath et al. (2009) in Switzerland;Perego et al. (2010Hinkin et al. (2014) in the US. However, it has not yet been demonstrated empirically whether subtitle effectiveness varies depending on the familiarity of viewers with subtitles. The crossnational study described in this paper aims to fill this gap and appraise the cognitive performance and overall appreciation of a moderately complex subtitled film by viewers with different degrees of familiarity with subtitles, i.e., viewers living in countries (Italy, Spain, Poland and Dutch-speaking Belgium) with different audiovisual translation traditions. The main findings reveal that subtitling is effective irrespective of users' familiarity with it, although it is not enjoyed equally among the tested populations.

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This article focuses on the many instances when minute details found in feature films may have direct implications upon the development of both the visual and plot narratives. The main question we would like to ask examines whether very subtle details which may easily go unnoticed by the viewer should be audio described. To assess the visual consciousness of such minute details, a perception experiment was conducted using eye-tracking technology and questionnaires. Though the result is not conclusive, it shows a clear methodological approach in the field of the audio description of visual details, and does give some indication as to what should be taken into consideration in future studies and analysis. The article concludes by hinting at further tests and analyses which could be undertaken using eye-tracking technology. ResumenEste artículo estudia los numerosos pequeños detalles que hay en la narrativa visual de las películas y que aunque aparentemente insignificantes pueden tener una repercusión directa en el desarrollo de la narrativa visual y la trama. El tema principal es analizar si los detalles muy sutiles -que fácilmente pueden pasar desapercibidos para el espectador-deben describirse. Para evaluar la conciencia visual de estos detalles, hemos llevado a cabo un experimento utilizando la tecnología de eye-tracking acompañada de cuestionarios. Aunque el resultado no es concluyente, debido a la complejidad del formato del corpus de análisis, se muestra un claro enfoque metodológico en el campo de la audiodescripción de los detalles visuales, y se apunta a futuros estudios y análisis. El artículo concluye con una alusión a otras pruebas y análisis que podrían llevarse a cabo utilizando la tecnología de eye-tracking.

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