Apple Watch app tracks viewer heart rate spikes during 'Game of Thrones'

Posted:
in Apple Watch
Fans of the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones are more excited by dialogue than by action scenes, according to a study by heart monitoring app Cardiogram of Apple Watch users.




Four out of the top five scenes to cause high pulse rates in viewers centered around drama between characters, rather than violence, the Cardiogram app found.

Three-hundred people were enrolled into the app's Cardiogram Habits feature, entitled "What Game of Thrones does to your Heart Rate." It reminded users to turn on continuous heart rate recording on their Apple Watch at 8:45pm on Sundays.

Approximately 2.3 million measurements were taken across the first four episodes of the current seventh season, with the high frequency of measurements allowing the startup to spot trends based on what was happening onscreen.

The event with the highest average pulse rate so far was Jamie Lannister's charge against Daenerys Targaryen and Drogon, an action scene that focused on conflict between two main characters, preceded by another scene concerning Tyrion Lannister's internal conflict. The scene achieved an average heart rate of 91 beats per minute, higher than the second-place moment by 8 beats per minute.

The opening scene of the first episode, where Arya Stark impersonates Walder Frey, including the "Tell them Winter came for House Frey" statement, caused the highest average pulse rate of all scenes that didn't include any major action: 83.2 beats per minute.

The third and fourth spots are tied at a slightly lower 83 beats per minute, with episode three's plea to Daenerys by Davos Seaworth and John Snow matching the first episode's proposal by Euron Greyjoy to marry Cersei Lannister. Lastly, fifth place went to Daenerys's questioning spymaster Varys's loyalty in episode two, scoring an average of 76 beats per minute.

An anonymized graph showing the measured heart rate for one viewer
An anonymized graph showing the measured heart rate for one viewer


The findings, where dramatic dialogue-driven scenes dominate compared to high budget and violent action scenes, seems to correlate with "A Song of Ice and Fire" author George RR Martin's own beliefs in the matter. Martin often refers to a quote from William Faulkner in that the "only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself," a phrase used as a guiding principle in his writing.

Co-founded by Brandon Ballinger and Johnson Hsieh, Cardiogram aims to provide more details about a user's heart as they go through their day, with the app monitoring the heart rate every five minutes for norma, activities, with a more detailed view provided for workouts. The app can also be used to collect health data that can then be provided to medical researchers.

In May, research by Cardiogram and the University of California, San Francisco, revealed it was possible to detect atrial fibrillation, a common heart arrhythmia that could cause a stroke, with a 97 percent accuracy using the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor. The study involved the development of an artificial intelligence-based algorithm by Cardiogram called DeepHeart, software that could become more accurate in detecting atrial fibrillation over time.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,239member
    Haven't seen it yet. Is Game of Thrones that good?
    lolliver
  • Reply 2 of 26
    lostkiwilostkiwi Posts: 639member
    Fascinating research. I can see studios tapping into this kind of research when they are doing audience surveys and focus group work. 

    People often write what they think the research company is looking for, but the heart rates don't lie!

  • Reply 3 of 26
    Haven't seen it yet. Is Game of Thrones that good?
    IMDb has GoT rated 9.5/10 over 1.2m reviews... I love it. My wife doesn't care for it primarily due to some scenes that demean women...

    Jaime's charge was epic. A shield wall doesn't fare well against a cavalry charge supported by a 75' aerial napalm thrower...

    edited August 2017 StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 26
    Haven't seen it yet. Is Game of Thrones that good?
    IMDb has GoT rated 9.5/10 over 1.2m reviews... I love it. My wife doesn't care for it primarily due to some scenes that demean women...

    Jaime's charge was epic. A shield wall doesn't fare well against a cavalry charge supported by a 75' aerial napalm thrower...

    This is off topic-ish, but I'll tell you what gets my heart rate going.  My wife and I were watching "Shooter" (the series, on Netflix) the other day when the character played by Omar Epps said, "...send in the Calvary...". I rewound that 3 or 4 times just to make sure.  Anyway, thanks for using the correct word, I've already closed my Exercise ring today so no need for any elevated heart rate at this time.

    Edit: BTW, when I rewound that shot I had asked Siri, "What did he say?" so the subtitles were on.  Interestingly, the subtitles were correct and said "cavalry".
    edited August 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 26
    bill42bill42 Posts: 131member
    Haven't seen it yet. Is Game of Thrones that good?
    It is not just the best TV show I've ever seen in my 47 year lifespan... It is also better than any movie I've ever seen. Basically its the most entertaining story I've ever witnessed on any screen.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 26
    lostkiwi said:
    Fascinating research. I can see studios tapping into this kind of research when they are doing audience surveys and focus group work. 

    People often write what they think the research company is looking for, but the heart rates don't lie!

    Character connection with the audience is essential from a screenwriting perspective, provides the link between someone we identify with, good or evil, and the dramatic situations  they are engaged in,  no matter if they win or lose. The industry has used this criteria for decades, my pop was in film at the time venues like Harmony House on Sunset Blvd have remotes to press when you were engaged, a bit nonsensical as when engaged you forget real things, by definition. Then they filmed audiences with FLIR type cameras to determine when there was movement or total stillness. The watch might be less intrusive, though movie going demographic not same as Apple Watch wearers. Watches aren't common among teens to 30 somethings, tho I see lots of older gents making sure their Rolex is below their shirt cuff.
  • Reply 7 of 26
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    Haven't seen it yet. Is Game of Thrones that good?
    Yes, it's that good. One of the best shows ever made for television. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 26
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Ok then I'm an outlier, it sure isn't the dialog that spikes my heart rate watching GOT!
    sans
  • Reply 9 of 26
    Civilization has officially reached its zenith.
  • Reply 10 of 26
    wigbywigby Posts: 692member
    Fans of the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones are more excited by dialogue than by action scenes, according to a study by heart monitoring app Cardiogram of Apple Watch users.




    Four out of the top five scenes to cause high pulse rates in viewers centered around drama between characters, rather than violence, the Cardiogram app found.

    Three-hundred people were enrolled into the app's Cardiogram Habits feature, entitled "What Game of Thrones does to your Heart Rate." It reminded users to turn on continuous heart rate recording on their Apple Watch at 8:45pm on Sundays.

    Approximately 2.3 million measurements were taken across the first four episodes of the current seventh season, with the high frequency of measurements allowing the startup to spot trends based on what was happening onscreen.

    The event with the highest average pulse rate so far was Jamie Lannister's charge against Daenerys Targaryen and Drogon, an action scene that focused on conflict between two main characters, preceded by another scene concerning Tyrion Lannister's internal conflict. The scene achieved an average heart rate of 91 beats per minute, higher than the second-place moment by 8 beats per minute.

    The opening scene of the first episode, where Arya Stark impersonates Walder Frey, including the "Tell them Winter came for House Frey" statement, caused the highest average pulse rate of all scenes that didn't include any major action: 83.2 beats per minute.

    The third and fourth spots are tied at a slightly lower 83 beats per minute, with episode three's plea to Daenerys by Davos Seaworth and John Snow matching the first episode's proposal by Euron Greyjoy to marry Cersei Lannister. Lastly, fifth place went to Daenerys's questioning spymaster Varys's loyalty in episode two, scoring an average of 76 beats per minute.

    An anonymized graph showing the measured heart rate for one viewer
    An anonymized graph showing the measured heart rate for one viewer


    The findings, where dramatic dialogue-driven scenes dominate compared to high budget and violent action scenes, seems to correlate with "A Song of Ice and Fire" author George RR Martin's own beliefs in the matter. Martin often refers to a quote from William Faulkner in that the "only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself," a phrase used as a guiding principle in his writing.

    Co-founded by Brandon Ballinger and Johnson Hsieh, Cardiogram aims to provide more details about a user's heart as they go through their day, with the app monitoring the heart rate every five minutes for norma, activities, with a more detailed view provided for workouts. The app can also be used to collect health data that can then be provided to medical researchers.

    In May, research by Cardiogram and the University of California, San Francisco, revealed it was possible to detect atrial fibrillation, a common heart arrhythmia that could cause a stroke, with a 97 percent accuracy using the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor. The study involved the development of an artificial intelligence-based algorithm by Cardiogram called DeepHeart, software that could become more accurate in detecting atrial fibrillation over time.
    The most impressive part of this story is that an app reminded about 600k users across 4 weeks of TV to run this survey on their watches and they did it. Kudos to these developers and Apple for helping to bring in the age of massive viewer to heart stats.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 26
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    For me, the real lesson here is how the Apple Watch (and similar iPhone accessories like glucometers, BP monitors, scales, etc...) could be used for real time, objective (not user reported) medical research.   But, for the most part, our healthcare industry has turned up its nose at this valuable path to improve people's live...

    Part of the trouble is that the pharmaceutical industry suppresses such research because it might threaten the market for their pills.   So they insist the only valid research is through a "double blind, random controlled trial" that usually uses a handful of people for a short period of time -- but costs multiple millions to conduct.  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 26
    Eeeehhhr, you could have warned for spoilers dear Appleinsider ...  :|
    dasanman69watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 26
    AppleInsider said:

    The third and fourth spots are tied at a slightly lower 83 beats per minute, with episode three's plea to Daenerys by Davos Seaworth and John Snow matching the first episode's proposal by Euron Greyjoy to marry Cersei Lannister.
    It's Jon Snow, not John.
  • Reply 14 of 26
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    FrankD said:
    AppleInsider said:

    The third and fourth spots are tied at a slightly lower 83 beats per minute, with episode three's plea to Daenerys by Davos Seaworth and John Snow matching the first episode's proposal by Euron Greyjoy to marry Cersei Lannister.
    It's Jon Snow, not John.
    But ... but ... he's dead isn't he?  I just renewed HBO now to watch the next two seasons ...  
  • Reply 15 of 26
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    Haven't seen it yet. Is Game of Thrones that good?
    Best show ever
  • Reply 16 of 26
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    Honestly, people need to get a life, if you want to get excited about something or get your heart rate up, go out and do something physicals, do something that pushes your abilities. 

    Since getting my apple watch, I periodically look at my heart rate over time and I can tell you my heart rate is at its lowest watching tv, I watch tv to decompress from the day not to get all excited. Tv shows are mindless entertainment not something to get excited about. I think people live through what they see on tv verses experiencing it directly.
  • Reply 17 of 26
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,285member
    Haven't seen it yet. Is Game of Thrones that good?
    Perhaps the world's last global phenomenon...you can be travelling abroad and meet a complete stranger and have an involved discussion about some plot intricacy and prediction.  And before you know it, you have shot a good portion of an hour.

    It is a great humanistic treatment of the human condition couched as a fantasy.  It has allowed middle aged men to have discussions of dragons like excited girls.

    I personally like the treatment of religion (& the nudity but there is less of that in the latter seasons).

    The show does embrace unbridled cruelty and at times I have throught that is was misogynistic.  But in the show's defense it is an equal opportunity employer with as much cruelty directed against men.

    As for best show ever?  There are some contenders to that throne.  Personally for me, nothing tops Breaking Bad.  Though the Sopranos and the Wire are overall great.
  • Reply 18 of 26
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member

    Haven't seen it yet. Is Game of Thrones that good?
    IMDb has GoT rated 9.5/10 over 1.2m reviews... I love it. My wife doesn't care for it primarily due to some scenes that demean women...

    Jaime's charge was epic. A shield wall doesn't fare well against a cavalry charge supported by a 75' aerial napalm thrower...

    Tell your wife  there are women in the show who are making big money showing women being demean, and they would not dress like they do in the show if they thought it demeans women. Her real issue should we with the women in the show since they are allowing themselves to be paid big bucks to do what your wife does not like about the show.
    edited August 2017
  • Reply 19 of 26
    Haha, this is awesome. I actually use Cardiogram. It's pretty good. No better show to use for this than Game of Thrones, I guess, lol. 
  • Reply 20 of 26
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Haven't seen it yet. Is Game of Thrones that good?
    It's high school-level "intrigue" and softcore pornography wrapped in anachronisms and fantasy political allegory. I want to have no idea why a large number of people like it, but I do know…
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