COMICS

Stage 3 Camera Language & Comic Book Conventions

Establishing shot
A shot taken from a distance - used to help the audience get an idea of the scene - location, time, etc

WHEN at the start of the scene. WHY to show the audience where it is set.

Long shot
A shot taken well back from the subject. If its of a person, the shot will show the whole body.

WHEN when the person is the centre of attention. WHY to tell the audience more about their personality, and that they are the centre of attention.

Mid shot
A shot of a person to just below the waist or elbows.

What further information does it give about the characters actions/appearance?

- It gives more about their facial expressions or their body language.

Close-up
A shot which shows the whole of the face (or specific body part) but no other part of the body.

WHEN when someone has just announced something, or when it is a dramatic scene. WHY to show the audience the characters reaction clearer.

O/S (over shoulder)

A shot taken of one person from over the shoulder of another when the two are face to face.

WHEN When someone is having a conversation. WHY So you know who they are talking to and to show that both people are the centre of attention.

Two shot
A shot with two characters in it - used to establish the relationship between the characters.

WHEN When two characters are talking to each other. WHY So you can see the relationship between the characters.

Low Angle
A shot where the camera is placed below the subject.

WHEN when the centre of attention is the powerful person. WHY to make the audience know that that character is the powerful one.

High Angle
A shot where the camera is placed above the subject

WHEN when the audience should look down at the person. WHY To show that the character is less powerful

ANOTHER USE FOR CONVENTIONS

LAST LESSON WE LOOKED AT THE CONVENTIONS OF DIFFERENT GENRES. ANOTHER USE FOR CONVENTIONS IS WHEN DISCUISSING MEDIA TEXTS. IN THIS CASE WE MEAN LAYOUTS, STYLES, VISUAL & AUDIO FEATURES AND ANY OTHER ELEMENTS WHICH RECUR IN MOST EXAMPLES OF A SPECIFIC TYPE OF MEDIA TEXT

FRAMES,SPLIT FRAMES AND GUTTER

A comic strip is usually laid out in a grid of 2 boxes by 3 boxes or 3 boxes by 3 boxes. Each box is called a frame. Split frames are when one frame is split into two or more. A gutter is the space between frames, used to break up the story. Time may pass between each frame so only frame key moments in the story! Frame Split Frame Gutter

SPEECH BUBBLE, THOUGHT BUBBLE AND CAPTIONS

REMEMBER COMIC WRITING IS ALWAYS IN CAPITALS!!!
A thought bubble is used to tell the audience what a character is thinking or how theyre feeling. A speech bubble is used to tell the audience what someone is saying. It may change shape to connote their tone. E.g. if someone is shouting the bubble would be spiky. A caption will tell the audience more information about the scene. This could include location, time or even add some narration to the story. A sound caption tells the audience any sounds which the characters can hear.

Thought Bubble

Speech Bubble

Caption

Sound Caption

ANNOTATE THE COMIC STRIP

Find one example of each of these conventions and annotate them on this comic strip. For each convention also explain its purpose. FRAME SPLIT FRAME SPEECH BUBBLE THOUGHT BUBBLE GUTTER CAPTION

ANNOTATE THE COMIC STRIP

FOR EACH CONVENTION TRY TO EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE TOO

ILO Task
Annotated Comic Strip To get a C you should To get above a C you could

COMPLETE TASK 1 OF THE INTRODUCTORY ASSIGNMENT. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS EMAIL mscruby@hamptonacademy.org.uk OR speak to your GCSE Media Studies teacher. THERE ARE EXAMPLES OF COMICS ON YOUR CLASS BLOG CHOOSE ONE OF THESE AND ANNOTATE.

Conventions clearly identified and their purpose explained using P.E.E Identify target audience and explain how conventions are used to appeal to them Show understanding of denotation and connotation

Identify most conventions correctly and say how they are used Use specific examples from the comic to identify audience

Identify all conventions and explain their purpose Identify target audience in a number of categories and explain appeal of conventions Identify four features and explain what is denoted and connoted

Pick out two features of the comic book and identify what is denoted and explain what it connotes

Correct terminology used throughout

KEY TERMS
LOOK TO THE BACK OF YOUR COMIC ASSIGNMENT BRIEF. FILL IN DEFINITIONS FOR ALL THE TERMS WE HAVE ALREADY LEARNT.

RECAP
What is the purpose of each of these conventions? FRAME SPLIT FRAME SPEECH BUBBLE THOUGHT BUBBLE GUTTER CAPTION SOUND CAPTION