Monday 4 April 2016

The Three Story-Telling Media

Hearing and sight are our main senses for learning and communicating. Metaphorically, we hear the word and see the light. Literally, we hear spoken words and see written words and pictures although, in Braille, written words are felt. Extra speakers and actions transformed heard narrative into seen and heard drama although radio drama is merely heard. Although one picture can sometimes tell a story, a sequence of pictures can tell a longer story. Therefore, extra pictures transformed representational art into sequential art. The three story-telling media are:

narrative - sung/chanted/spoken or written/printed;
drama - stage, street, screen, radio/audio;
sequential art - mainly comic strips.

A story is narrated, enacted or depicted;
characters are described, performed or drawn;
a novel tells readers what to imagine;
a film script tells actors what to say and do and instructs cameramen;
a comic script tells a penciller what to draw, a letterer what to write and a colorist how to color - the pencilled page shows the inker what to ink.

The complete synthesis might be a screened comic strip in which some panels can be animated with sound. The audience would see static and moving pictures and read and hear words, thus fully engaging both senses.

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