Something odd it would be hard to prove

I work in distance education, and part of that work is watching people watch videos - and I've begun to suspect something I suppose is rather odd. People are often more less bored watching videos of someone than watching that person themselves. Even with long presentations, I've watched hundreds of students in many, many classes (I was bored) and I've watched dozens of students watching videos of the professors - and it seems that the majority are more interested in the videos.

To prove this, of course, I would need a good neurology lab... but I still wonder why...

Is it just that a screen is shiny?
Perhaps that cutting makes thing more interesting - that we pay more attention when we change perspectives more often? That could be rather interesting to test...
Perhaps we're just lazy, and the camera "shows" us what to focus on.
Perhaps it's just the head is bigger.

Anyone want to pay me to test all this? It could have a huge impact on education in general, and on the way movies are cut... and it'd be really, really interesting.