Nikša Sviličić: Programiranje igranog filma 1 and 2
Funditus, Zagreb: 2016.

By setting and testing hypotheses, which correlate the expressivity of the semiotic-narrative screenplay expression of Croatian feature film with the reception by the audience, the books by Nikša Sviličić, PhD, Programiranje igranog filma 1 and 2, provide a scientific answer to the question of how to make a feature film to ‘win over’ audiences.
In a very precise, thorough scientific research, the author recognises the screenplay and mise en scène ‘positive stereotypes’ that indirectly contribute to the attractiveness of a film, and can be measured by a higher number of visits to screenings and TV audiences, offering a possibility of creating predictors for the ‘formula of success’ of a film, both with audiences and critics. The author analyses a large number of different narrative-semiotic, set, and mise en scène attributes and motives we assume affect the mood of the audience towards the film, and which have been used in 144 Croatian feature films since the Republic of Croatia gained its independence to today. The books show to what extent the narrative-semiotic film motives are in direct/indirect correlation with the certainty of success of Croatian feature film in TV and cinema distribution.