Too fast to remember? The cognitive cost of fast editing on event memory and narrative engagement

Editing pace shapes not only how engaging a video feels but also what viewers remember from it. This may reflect how often cuts prompt viewers to update event models while watching. A pilot segmentation study (N = 23) confirmed that fast-paced trailers cause viewers to perceive more event boundaries per minute than slow-paced trailers. Building on this, we tested whether this higher boundary frequency degrades memory. In the following experiment, 56 participants watched fast- and slow-paced Hollywood trailers and completed a recognition memory test distinguishing scenes shown in each trailer from plausible but unseen scenes drawn from the same film. We also manipulated presentation modality (between-subjects: audiovisual vs. visual-only) to test whether sound affects this relationship. Faster-paced trailers reduced recognition sensitivity (d′) and increased false alarms for unseen scenes compared to slower-paced trailers. These effects held regardless of prior familiarity with the film and did not depend on modality. Audio had no effect on memory but increased narrative engagement, and slower pacing increased engagement independently. These findings suggest that the speed of visual cutting, more than the presence of sound, determines memory fidelity for dynamic media. This has implications for how trailers and other fast-cut content are designed.