Visual Linguistics Brief
Rationale / Strategic Concept Statement
According to the brief, illustrations had to be generated to replace text. These illustrations had to communicate without the use of words (visual narrative). This had to guide the respondents to give a specific answer. I received two different linguistic contexts that each needed to be given a scenario, to which these contexts will then be the intended answer to. (Respondents gave their own answers).
My contexts were; EXI-SPE-NN and UNI-INT-VER.
The target audience included mainly linguistic students that speak Afrikaans, English and Dutch. The communication goal is to communicate a scenario through a (digital) visual narrative in hopes of evoking certain linguistics criteria from this TA. My strategy was to use wordless, visual narrative to replace a text based scenario. Visual inspiration referred to a rough illustration style with digital monotone colouring in grey. This style was applicable to the target audience and the created scenarios.
Context 01: EXI-SPE-NN
EXI-SPE-NN: “Hulle gaan my vang”, “Hulle weet ek is hier”, “Hulle het my gehoor”, etc.
In this context the character moves from left to right to improve readability. The first frame is an introductory, full body shot of the character, allowing the viewer to establish a physical connection to the character. The second frame has a wide angle shot, establishing the environment. This frame also shows more detail in comparison to the first, since the frame is longer. This also indicates a longer timing period.
The first frame in the second panel is an open frame that closes on the right, portraying action (thief sneaking), but also showcasing the rhythm in which this takes place. The open part infers ‘longer time’, the closed part insinuates that after each step the character comes to a complete stop. Multiple replications of the character indicate that this frame takes place more than once. Focus and angle change within the 4th and 5th frame, using close-up shots to place emphasis on the action taking place. The frames are shorter, showing that the action is taking place at a faster speed comparing to the previous frames.
The last panel is composed of two frames parted down an angle to show that they are near-simultaneous happenings, mere seconds apart. The first frame has a frontal, portrait view of the character to place emphasis on his actions, reactions and body language. The final frame in the panel is an extreme close-up, focusing on the personal, emotional response. Whilst timing on both these frames should be the same, the timing in the last scene is influenced by the fact that it’s a close–up, or in other words, an emotional scene placed last in the narrative.
Context 02: UNI-INT-VER
UNI-INT-VER: “Mens moet eet”, “Mens moet gesond eet”, etc.
The main frame in the first panel has a wide shot angle to help establish impersonality, this, along with the repetitive nature of the crowd illustration in the frame, causes the focus to be shifted towards the more intricate thought bubble. The frame is a basic establishing
frame, with the thought bubble narrating the story.
The triangular frame for the food chart is imperative, since it plays into the memory system of the viewer’s knowledge of semiotics. The frame is long, referring to the timing spent on thinking or being involved with food in regards to each individual. Each person doesn’t necessarily think about food at the same time or for the same amount of time. This also supports the universal aspect of the scenario.
