Read the attached article “Using Student-Generated Comic Books in the Classroom” and the ComicDefinitions-text.
Discussion Question:
What are some new conventions that you have discovered through your readings? List three, and discuss if learning about these conventions has changed your impression of how to read, and/or understand a comic.
How might your students respond to this information in terms of engagement in reading and comprehension of text?
Please respond to at least one other participant’s comments.
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2 comments:
I have discovered numerous new conventions when researching comic books. One that really stands out is the camera angles. This convention surprised me because I was not fully aware of the different possibilities with the angles and how using them is an effective way to tell the story and keep the readers interest. Different camera angles are used for different emotions and in different parts of the story. To display any type of emotion you could use an extreme close up and to display the action you would use a long shot or birds eye view. I never realized how important the angles would be in telling an effective story.
The students respond positively to the different angles because it is very engaging. They see the movement of the characters because they are portrayed differently by using different perspectives. The more angles used the more the characters come to life and the students would really enjoy reading these books and comprehend more because of it.
The illustration also surprised me. Before reading these articles I believed the characters would be the most important but I discovered that the background and foreground drawings are just as important. These scenes carry the action and move the characters through the story. The students would be engaged more if the setting is clearly displayed. The drawings offer the students a visual to what they are reading making the story easier to comprehend.
Lastly the story development was another convention that I found interesting. I thought it was interesting that comic books use a process that is similar if not identical to the methods I taught the students about all their writing. I think that because comic books are so visual that I overlooked the basic writing skills that are required. The story structure still requires an introduction that introduces the who what when, etc. and a conclusion that summarizes the story. I think that because the students have been taught these skills they will find it easy to apply to a comic book and it will open their eyes to the joys or writing.
I agree with Jeffery about the surprising use of camera angles. Their use is not something that I had previously noticed. I can imagine my students wanting to use this convention in order to make their panels less repetitive.
Another convention that I haven't previously noticed while reading comics is the use of varied panel shapes. "The panel's shape is designed to accentuate feeling, provide dramatic impact, and define movement. Varying the size of the panels is one way of slowing down and speeding up the action within a scene. Adding more panels speeds up the the action, while reducing panels slows the pacing." I am interested to learn if my students know or have realized that this "trick" is used to manipulate the movement of the storyline.
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