Abstract
M.A. (Communication)
The study comprises the testing and application of the theory of Peters (1972) as framework for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of film content. A survey of literature in the field C film content showed a lack of research on the film as semiological structure. This could be attributed to some amount of disagreement amoung researchers on the specific characteristics of film code or language. Existing theories overarticulated either technical or aesthetical aspects of film. The theory of Peters (1972) was used as framework for content analysis because it incorporates both technical and aesthetical aspects of film. Two empirical studies were conducted. in the first study the validity of Peters' theory was tested. The study was completed in three stages: (a) The compilation of a 30-item fimcriticism questionnaire. (b) The rating of two films by two groups of subjects on the mentioned questionnaire. (c) Factor analyses on the ratings of the two films. Results showed a high degree of similarity between the different factors and Peters'
theoretical segments of the film. In the second study the theory of Peters (1972) was applied as framework for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of a sample of South African films. Results confirmed Peters' theory as being sufficiently comprehensive for the measurement of both technical and aesthetical aspects of film.