Time Frames
Source
Introduction
Scott McCloud is the Aristotle of comics. He began by rigidly defining comics as “sequential art”. He went on to consider many of the important higher-level techniques of the comic artist such as the panels of the comic images, color in the comic art form.
In this chapter discussed, how can time be represented in a medium which is (although it is read over a period of time) purely spatial. McCloud's work has implications for combining text and image, but it provides other lessons and examples, he was able to write a comic about comics, and take advantage of this to illustrate his points.
Word Balloons and Sound Effects
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Words introduce time by representing that which can only exist in time – sound. With all its actions and reactions, a panel such as this could last a good half minute or so. This could be anything but a single moment because human’s eyes have been well-trained by the photograph and by representational art to see any single continuous image as a single instant in time. But the actions that we see occurring seemingly at the same time obviously can’t be because if think of time as a rope which each inch represents a second. Such a rope might be said to wind something like this through our panel. Portraying time on a line moving left to right, this puts all the images on the same vertical axis and tangles up time beyond all recognition.
Panel
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The panel acts as a sort of general indicator that time or space is being divided. The durations of that time and the dimensions of that space are defined more by the contents of the panel than by the panel itself. Panel shapes vary considerably though, and while differences of shape don’t affect the specific “meanings” of those panels, they can affect the reading experience.
Past, Present, Future
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In comics, the past is more than just memories for the audience and the future is more than just possibilities. Both past and future are real and visible and all around us. Wherever your eyes are focused, that’s "now". But at the same time your eyes take in the surrounding landscape of past and future. Motion
https://gyazo.com/4b89b0eb204b2352100d7143db47382d
At first, showing motion on comics is by way centered on multiple images in sequence. But just as a single panel can represent a span of time through sound, so too can a single panel represent a span of time through pictures. That is "motion line". These action lines have been an American specialty for years. In this approach, both the moving object and the backgrounds are drawn in a clear, articulated style, and the path of motion is imposed over the scene. Conclusion
The interaction of time and comics generally leads us to one of two subjects: sound or motion. Sound breaks down into two subsets: word balloons and sound effects. Both types add to the duration of a panel, partially through the nature of sound itself and by introducing issues of action and reaction. Motion also breaks down into two subsets. The first type (panel-to-panel closure) was important enough to merit its own chapter. The other type (motion within panels ) can be further divided into several distinct styles. I’ve covered the ones I know, but there may be many others.
Further Reading
Eisher, will. Comics & Sequential Art. Tamarac, Florida: Poorhouse Press, 1985.
Landow, George P. Hypertext in Hypertext. 2 3.5" disks; Macintosh and Windows versions. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994.
McCloud, Scott. Reinventing Comics. New York: Harperperennial, 2000.