Speaking with the global voice of cinema: using cross-cultural cinematic technique to improve interactive system usability

This paper examines how cinema has created a common "language" for the understanding of visual information presented on a two dimensional screen. The paper briefly examines the mechanics cinema uses to present information, with specific focus on the use of montage. The paper then discusses how two cinematic montage techniques could be adopted into interface design to improve the usability of the screen-based works produced by a wide range of technical communicators, information architects, and new media developers.