Technological advancements in television images have resulted in an increase of media imagery. One cause of people's fascination with the new media technology is the constant utilization of depth axis staging. The visual elements that make up the image are often placed within the Z-axis, moving rapidly toward or away from the viewer, often vanishing from the screen or blasting toward the viewer unexpectedly. Sometimes, entire frames fly away, flip over or retreat toward the vanishing point. The emphasis on and persistance in the use of depth composition and extraordinary special effects, coupled with the unusually fast advance and retreat of visual space, have been found to have some negative effects on viewer comprehension and understanding of visual space. The combination of rapid inward-outward movement, distorted depth of field, and forceful direction of visual elements placed on the Z-axis disturbs viewer comprehension and diminishes the aesthetic appreciation of such images. Empirical research in the composition of the depth axis in television images would aid in the study of the psychophysiological effects of these images on viewers. Since psychophysiological measuring techniques concern themselves with the covert or hidden repsonses to communication stimuli such as detection of eye movements or changes in heart rate, they would be the most suitable for the study of such new and complex media images. (HOD)