Shanghai Student Film Festival

Unfortunately, I was not in Shanghai last year to hear Scott McCloud, S2F2’s keynote speaker. In fact, I didn’t even know who he was until I saw a poster from the event. In doing research for a teaching unit on comics, I came across his name and his book, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. I found the book in the school library and started reading. Even if you are not into comics (you should give them a chance, if you’re not), the book is a fantastic journey into visual literacy–the art of seeing. It turns out that cartoonists and moviemakers share the need to visualize their work prior to drawing or shooting. How should the scene be framed? From what angle? How tight? and so on. I encourage you to check out his book. You’ll never look at comics, or possibly the world around you, in the same way again.