Framing and Building a Scene

Overview:

Following up a previous session of comparing and contrasting one graphic novel to another, this week I'm comparing how Book 2 of Essex County (by Jeff Lemire) and Chapter 1 of Laika (by Nick Abadzis) use frames to build their first scene.

The first frames used in a work are very important, they establish he world the reader is about to dive into. A common trope is starting out with wide frames and "zooming in" to smaller frames that show a character in greater detail. As we learned from Scott McCloud's Making Comics, using frames this way communicates something to the reader and is important to the story.

Essex County:

Book 2 of Essex County begins by introducing a new character, Lou Lebuff. At this stage of life, Lou is older and is having memory problems. He is caught between the present where he is an elderly man who needs an increasing amount of care, and his past where he is young and full of plans.

The first page starts with a wide shot of Lou sitting in a chair. This might seem like a simple description, but the simplicity of the page lets the reader piece together what is going on.

In the next page, we start to get a closer (and more personal) view of Lou. We learn what he is thinking about, and what situation he is in. He is disoriented and has to take a minute to remember where he is. That he has to remember where he is says a lot about his character, it immediately establishes the situation he is in. As the story develops, this situation becomes more apparent and prominent in the focus of the story.

Laika:

 Chapter 1 of Laika begins by telling the story of a man known as Korolev, who is stuck in Siberia. While the book is about a dog named Laika, it begins by telling Krorlev's story. This is important because Korolev is the man who orchestrates the Soviet Space Program, which is responsible for sending Laika to space.

The opening sequence uses large, tall frames. The transition from an all-white panel to a snowy landscape communicates how cold the environment is; and how small Krorlev is when compared to it. The cold is a vital because this sequence, or memory, helps define who Korolev is. He is determined no to go back to the cold.

In the following pages, we get a closer view of Korolev. He begins speaking to himself, urging himself to go on. The frames helps explain that Korolev is having an internal and external fight against the cold. Soon enough, Korolev is rescued from the cold by a man in a truck. All throughout his part of the story, Korolev has to keep reminding himself that he "is a man of destiny". The question for the reader is, what is his destiny?

The Sound in the Shadows

Given that the title of my film is Sound Shadows and a World Revealed, sound is very important.

As for the sound of the movie, I tried to include multiple elements when doing the sound design portion of preproduction. I've done music projects before, so the challenge of designing music for a film was not completely new. In fact, my Music Video classes last semester have helped me to be uniquely prepared for this challenge.

Music

One thing I was certain about when I began this project was that I wanted to do my own music. While I might have been able to find music that fit the mood of the film, few music that I had heard captured the elements that wanted to shine forth from the songs.

One element that I wanted the music to communicate was the impact of the Sound Ships (spaceships that use sound to defy gravity) on the society. The way I envisioned this was in listening to harmonic music that accentuates droning and repetition. An early influence for this was when I heard polyphonic music from when I lived in the Republic of Georgia.



As you can hear, polyphonic music is a very beautiful vocal expression with its own unique style. Unlike traditional Western music systems of melody and harmony, polyphony consists of multiple melodies.

In the Film

While I did not write polyphonic music for the score of my film, I tried to include some of the feel of Georgian Polyphony. Because I created the music digitally, the score fro my film reflects the influence of a digital society on music. I felt that this combination of an unusual musical style and a contemporary expression of music was particularly fitting for my story.

While editing, the score influenced the ultimate cut of the film - helping the music and visuals closely match. This integration of music and visuals was very important to me in telling the story... since the movie is about a man who uses sound to see, having music and visuals tied together was an important part of the storytelling.

Gearing up

Tools of the trade:

Running a complicated project always requires equipment. This might seem like an understatement, but consider the implications of not having the right gear...

Many tasks could be improved by having the right gear from the get-go; without the right gear, you will  likely end up in a situation where a project has to be delayed because you don't have a critical something. You might be surprised by how many things require a tiny widget to work properly... without that little cog, the machine stops.

Have a system... preferably a good system. If you are creatively oriented, then you need to have a structure built around you that fosters creativity. In The Bauhaus, the idea of a designer was born; someone who creates art corporately instead of for a patron. So, unless you have a patron who will stick by your creative vision through and through, get organized! Creativity does not take shape by letting it veg out.

Who is wielding the gear?

And if organizing yourself wasn't easy, imagine what you'd do if you had to lead a team of creative people? If you want to be a manager - even as a friend who helps his friends get the job done - you've got to recognize people's strengths and weaknesses so that people can find their place in the creative structure.

Having the right equipment ties into a larger sense of preparedness. Do you have the rights skills to get the job done? If you have a large project, do you have the right people on your team? A team must contain the right balance of planners and doers... too many planners and you will have good resources, but will not make progress; and if you have too many doers but not enough planers you will see a pattern whereby your team always rushes into things, but doesn't necessarily have the follow-through to get the job done.



The image above belongs to Paula Soler-Moya.

Progress on research

 The Importance of Research:

This week, I've taken a break from writing, and planning for special effects and have gone back to my research. I want to make sure that my writing, while science fiction, is still grounded in fact. The "science" of the science fiction, in other words. This week, my research has focused on finding out what the latest research on synaesthesia is.

While I've covered synesthesia in the past, I need to consider specifics. One such specific is what type of synaesthesia my main character has; and how what theoretical developments in synaesthesia add plausibility to my story. Quick note: People who have synesthesia are known as synaesthetes.

My research indicate that there are two basic kinds of synaesthetes: Projector Synesthesia (colors are replaced and seem to be projected onto a trigger object); and Associative Synesthesia (seeing a trigger will cause an association with a particular color, the color is in "the minds eye").

Synaesthete's are born with their ability. Researchers think that synesthetic ability is either developmental or genetic. However, the expression of synesthesia is automatic and does not appear to change over a synaesthete's lifetime; for example, an association of classical music with the color red will automatically occur even if the synaesthete does not want to think of the color.

How it plays out:

In my film, the sound-shadows goggles that the main character has will often have trouble translating colors and as such he will experience a form of artificial Projector Synesthesia. This will be important to the story in that his emotional state will have an effect on how he sees the world; thus the inner world is revealed in the internal emotions of the character.

This is known as the pathetic fallacy, that the environment responds to what a character is feeling. While I recognize that in general this would be a logical fallacy, in the way that I am expressing this element it will communicate that the main character knows that this is artificial; he is able to see how he is feeling when colors change, instead of being a background element, the character is aware of the change in environment.

The inability to "turn off" synesthesia is frustrating for the main character in my story. His synesthesia occurs to resonant interference with his goggles; as long as he is somewhere where a resonant sound system is in operation his vision will be blurred.

Putting it together:

Overall, I am still considering how synesthesia will be integrated into the story. I know that my story deals with an artificial form of synesthesia, but I still like my science fiction to be based on science.


Here's a video explanation of Synesthesia that I found:


Here is a link to a Discovery Chanel video about Synesthesia.

Compare and Contrast

Why Compare?

When examining graphic novels, is it fair to compare two totally different works? If you are a student of graphic novel, then yes! If you are to understand how to make comics, it is important to review works that have come before you, so as to learn from them. 

This review can come in the form of reviewing content, but that is not always helpful when you are trying to understand how to express what you want in your own story. Also, filching story ideas is frowned upon in polite society, doncha' know...

A kind of review that is celebrated amongst the artistic community is one that looks at form and how it interacts with storytelling. I've taken the liberty of reviewing two excellent graphic novels that we are looking at in Graphic Novel class; Essex County and Maus. 

Today, I'm going to review how they introduce main characters:

Essex County:

In Essex County, we are introduced to the character of Lester as a dreamer. Lester is having a daydreaming about flying around the farm, having all kinds of adventures when his uncle Ken calls to him, bringing him out of his dream. One thing that surprised me is that while Lester is clearly having a daydream, he is wearing the superhero costume in real life. 

That he is wearing an outfit and uncle Ken isn't sets up a strong visual contrast between the tow of them. One of the first things we hear uncle Ken say is for Lester to take off the costume and feed the chickens. Eventually, Lester becomes more comfortable with who he is, and he stops wearing the costume all the time.

Maus:

In Maus, the reader is introduced to Vladek in the second page. Artie relates a memory of a time when he fell while riding his bike and his friends left him. When he goes to his father and explains what happened, his father brings up what it really means to be a friend - recalling when he was stuck in a room with no food for a week.

The seriousness with which Vladek relates this memory and the weight that his memories carry immediately reveal who he is. This moment also shows us how Artie and Vladek (father and son) interact with one another. This moment also foreshadows how Artie will ask his father to tell his story later in the book... the story has been told Artie's whole life, in one way or another.

Comparisons:

When comparing these two works, there are some similarities. First of all, both deal with a serious father-son type relationship. Both adults carry painful memories that dictate part of who they are. This seriousness cannot be overcome until the whole story is told, only then is there a resolution of this basic introductory conflict. 

Another interesting element that both stories share is the need for the reader to go back in time to understand the present. While the Vladek and Ken may seem harsh and unlovable at first, they are only this way because they have undergone tragedy. As the reader comes to understand who they are, so too does the main character. Lester and Artie eventually come to appreciate who their father figure is; even though they may not always like the way they are, their understanding changes as they grow up.