UNDERSTANDING COMICS - SCOTT MCLOUD

CHAPTER 3 - BLOOD IN THE GUTTER

In this chapter McLoud talks about information which has been omitted from comics for a reason. Information is sometimes deliberately left out of movies, comics etc to allow the reader/viewer to deceide what happens to a character/situation etc on their own. A good example of this is in the Short film we watched in class a couple of weeks ago. It was about how cane toads are going missing (because of the culling of toads on the borders in Australia). Anyway in this short film the main character is talking about his mate who goes missing and he starts describing different reasons for his mate being lost. One of the scenes shows his mate jogging on the spot and the main character explains how he loves his sports. Then a massive golf club comes into play and the mate gets hit with the club. Now although we see direct contact between the golf club and the toad there is nobody actually using the club to hit him. It has been omitted. Thus because the viewer automatically fills in the blanks that someone is using the club. Another scene shows the toad looking for directions and then a truck is shown. The next screen shot shows the toad squished into the road as if he has just been run over. Now we dont see the toad being run over but we can safely assume that he has been.

By omitting scenes we are allowing a viewer to fill in the blanks of what happens next, it also allows us the artist to do less physical work and yet still get the same result. So Scott McLoud is trying to tell us that by omitting detail we still can have the same effect on our readers/viewers and save a lot of time.

UNDERSTANDING COMICS - THE INVISIBLE ART

CHAPTER TWO - THE VOCABULARY OF COMICS

Comics deserve a lot more credit then what people give. I should know because i never used to be interested in comics at all. To me they were to hard to relate to probably because back then i used to just read the words and not briefly look at the pictures. I mean i would see the picture but not really see it.

After reading Chapter two of "Understanding Comics - The Invisible Art" Scott McCloud gives a clear understanding of what your brain actually sees when reading comics or looking at sequencial art. He explains how you dont have to see really detailed pictures in order to understand what they are. For example he shows a picture of a detailed picture of a guys face then a picture of a circle with two dots and a line (which represent eyes and a mouth). Although the second picture is much more simplistic we still recognise it as a face, possibly our own.

(Picture was taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_Tezuka)

Also in this Chapter Scott McCloud talks of the work of many artists including Osamu Tezuka (picture shown above), famous in Japan for his comics as well as his hit television cartoon series Kimba the White Lion.

(image taken from http://www.kimbawlion.com/)

Kimba the White Lion was the first coloured animation on tv and it was so popular that it was bought by many other countries. This cartoon series was created mainly for the younger viewer. You can tell this from the way the characters speak to each other as well as looking at how the characters are created. Osamu orginally took his inspiration from other famous artists work, for example Walt Disney's mickey mouse character, but he created his cartoons using a style known as Manga. Its a shame to know that Walt Disney's - "The Lion King" was a rip off from Osamu Tezuka's famous series "Kimba the White Lion". But "The Lion King" has been produced in a different way. The storyline is still similar but the overall target audience is both children and adults alike. Walt Disneys animations are much more detailed and flow much like a movie.

(Picture was taken from www.teachwithmovies.org/guides/lion-king-DVDc)

This takes me back to "Understanding Comics - Chapter 2". McCloud mentions the fact that Disney have been producing animations for over 50 years with a lot of detail in backgrounds and less detail on the characters themselves. This has been done so that the viewers attention is shifted. Obviously the more detailed the background/object or character the more the artist wants us the viewer to know about that particular thing. If a character etc is created with little detail then the artist wants us to make that character or thing our own. They want us to not so much put ourselves into that position but give us more possibilites for what could happen. This can also be found in many Japanese cartoons as well (they do this very well).

Therefore after reading the second chapter to McClouds "Understanding Comics" i have come to realise that if there is more detail either in a peice of art or a movie or a comic, its there to draw us in. We need to focus on that detail as its an extremely important thing. Also its the same for less detail. There is less detail because we must create that detail ourselves in our minds.

UNDERSTANDING COMICS - THE INVISIBLE ART CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE - SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

After reading the first Chapter of Understanding Comics - The invisible Art (By Scott McCloud), i now have a better understanding of what comics are and how they are easily mistaken for cheap childrens entertainment. When in fact this is not the case.

See when people think of comics they automatically think of cartoons. A lot of peoples first thoughts about cartoons are that they are for children only. I mean how can a cartoon be inapropriate for a child to watch? But there are a couple of cartoons which pop into my head that may look suitable for children but aren't exactly child friendly.

(image from http://www.southparkstudios.com/)

One being South Park. Athough the characters and settings are simplistically drawn (to look like a childrens artwork), the overall theme of the cartoon is violence and slander really. All they do is swear, mock religions, make fun of people etc. Don't get me wrong, and dont ask me why but its really quite amusing seeing a cartoon character die differently in each episode, and the topics for each episode are very crude. But this cartoon contains teenager and adult humour and really should not be seen by younger viewers.

(Image was taken from www.comedycentral.com/shows/drawn_together/ )

Another similar show is Drawn together which is also shown on SBS at a late time slot. Its basically about a group of cartoon characters/super heros that are all room mates in a "big brother" like house. This show has similar themes to south park and is yet another example of a Cartoon TV show that should only be seen by adults and not children.

WEEK 2

1. Allow events to change you.

A year ago i doubt i would have ever agreed with this statement, but now i completely understand where Bruce Mau is coming from. Last year i was at the receiving end of a bad breakup and my friends were also giving me grief. So i packed up everything and moved to Perth. Since last year i have had to get out of my compfort zone by moving to a city i barely knew, i had to find a rental (never had to do this before), find a housemate, find a new job and finally make new friends. It was the toughest thing i have ever had to do, but i did it. See if i never had that person cheat on me, and leave me, than i would have never moved from the little country town where everyone lives on gossip, because i believed that there was no better place to live than Bunbury. (my bf at the time always said there was bigger things out there, but i never wanted to believe him).

Although i was heart broken i will never make the same mistakes as i did whilst being with this guy. It took a bad event for me to appreciate the good things in life and to realise that the world is a big place. Now i didn't exactly change who i was, but i have noticed that the experiance has helped shape me into a more independant and happy person. I wouldn't appreciate everything i have now without looking back at what i have come from. I am who i am because of the people and experiences i have had over the years.

15. Ask stupid questions.

In order to grow as a person we must ask stupid questions. If we didnt ask stupid questions then we would never get any wiser. It's like when i was studying Building Design and Technology at Tafe. I felt really silly asking stupid questions for example what is a brick made of. People looked at me like why do i need to know what a brick is made of. Anyways my lecturer then explained what bricks are made of and explained the process of creating bricks. See the question seemed silly but the answer i got gave me a greater knowlege about bricks. We always need to know the basics in order to understand the more complex information further down the track.

As Bruce explains its not about the question itself its more about the answer. I will probably, most definantly ask a few stupid questions over the next few years of stuying this course, but who cares because in the end i will have a greater knoweledge and udnerstanding of how animators like Walt Dinsey got to be so successful.

37. Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it.

I think i like this statement the most out of all the other statements on the site because by doing all these things the possiblities are endless. By not limiting ourselves we are forever creating new views, new objects, new pieces of art. It allows us to think outside of the square, and this with this course you definately need to learn how to do this as your first option or idea may not be the best one.

PIECES OF ME

I took this picture the last time i went to visit my parents in Bunbury. Its amazing to think every time i go back home i always get drawn back to the beach.

How can something so beautiful be so temperamental. Seriously every time i go back to Bunbury or to the beach anywhere the mood of the ocean changes. Obviously this day it was happy and calm, it seems extremely inviting. (But remember looks can be deceiving), What lurks under that water only the ocean knows.

On another view wouldn't it be great if the oceans were really ruled by gods. I mean i honestly hope that there is a King Triton out there somewhere ruling the ocean. It would be understandable that the oceans when rough would represent Triton's Anger at the human race for its use of his sea. It might help explain why some ships, people and planes have gone missing over the years (especially in the Bermuda Triangle) maybe its his way of saying its his property and we need to learn to respect it. I know for a fact that i used to love swimming in the ocean. Good luck getting me to swim in there now. I am too scared that a creature of the deep will take me to King Triton and treat me as a prisoner. Maybe i am just scared that a creepy crawly will bite me and i will disintegrate into a million pieces. Seriously i am not going to take that risk. Would you?

The theme for my year 12 graduation was "Life is a Highway" and how true this is.

The photo you see is of the Old Coast Road on the way to Bunbury. My friend Katey actually took this photo. At first i was like why would you want to take a photo of the highway, its just bitumen. Or is it?

Is this the past in the making. In a few years time who knows we may be driving around flying cars like the Jetsons. Roads may cease to exist.

But one thing we do know is that roads are also temperamental, in the way that they can give people hope, they keep people in touch with each other, they can help create a new adventure. But they can also take lives. They have taken my friends life and he was only 20. See life is a highway. You dont know whats around the corner. Every time you get on the road you can bet your bottom dollar it will be different. Whether it is a kangaroo lying on the road or a pot hole. It is never the way you left it. Every time i drive on this road it changes. Just like my life changes everyday.

Now what do you see when you look at the artwork on the left?

Can you believe that this was once the work of a girl who's life was spiraling out of control at one stage, her tears taking over her life leaving her with nothing but emptyness. Can you see her words within? They may not be easy to see at first but if you look closely you will soon understand that words of pain, of sorrow, unhappiness, loneliness and hurt are all there. They have just been covered up with different photoshop techniques.

You can see the ripple affect which represent her tears, the spiral affect which is where her life was headed - it was totally out of control. The words blended into the darkness almost represent light at the end of the tunnel. This picture was produced in around ten minutes a few months ago for an unknown reason at the time. But now suddenly it all makes sence... have you ever felt like this picture?

....and just in case you hadn't figured it out...yes that girl was once me.

MY OBSERVATIONS

After having a stressful week at work as well as a rough week with other stresses in life (bills, loans, friends) i decided to go on an evening bike ride around the park to relieve some tension.

As i adjusted my helmet i went outside and to my amazement i saw a bike which had small cobwebs and rust building up (the thought that maybe i have been putting off this ride for a while appeared in my mind). After wiping the bike clean of dust (and getting more angry) I eventually forced myself to get onto the bike and started to peddle down to the park. The breeze was warm and the sound of the leaves rustling was almost compforting. My muscles started burning as i reached the half way point. zig zagging through the shady paperbark trees i noticed myself breathing in deeper. Breathing in the fresh air, i was seriously working up a sweat but suddently had a sense of calmness come over me. All my worries just vanished. I started to see the natural beauty around me. By the time i got home i had forgotten how stressfull my life was and realised how peacefull the park actually can be. Instead of just forcing myself to go for a ride for the sake of getting fit and getting home as quickly as possible, i went on the ride and saw the simple things in life. I saw the best things that are in life are in fact free. Life is good!

WEEK ONE

It truly is spectacular to think that the 1960's film 007 Gold finger would change movies forever. This film went to extremes to provide an action packed thriller that challenged societies values and beliefs. It was one of the first movies to have special effects in their opening titles and was one of the first movies to show a woman wearing a two piece bikini. No wonder it was and still is so popular.

I couldn't comprehend the fact that they used a real jet pack for a stunt, as well as get a stunt man to jump off a cliff and chase a plane falling from the sky. These days a huge amount of money is put towards 3d effects so that there is no huge danger to the cast and crew, although many scenes still use stunt men.

To see special effects in such a plain yet effective form shows that we can still create a spectacular scene with limited techniques.

This subject is allowing me to understand the basic history of special effects so that i can have a better appreciation and understanding of more modern technology.