WEEK 1 assignment : Shaun Tan, The Arrival

          I like to look at time-based art and literature including comic in musical terms. In Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, without using a single words(except the title), the series of presence and absence of events is what creates the sense of progressing time. When the absence of information between each key actions allows us to understand that there are changes and connected continuity, each key frames works like musical notes that contrasts with other individual notes and in totality creates a completed composition. For a comic like The Arrival, instead of lower or higher pitches the diverse cinematography techniques such as frame proportions, different tones of lighting and gesture/facial expressions make a story when they’re being put together. This particular comic is rather monotonous on the most part because there are lot’s of similar frames with slight variations and subtle signature of climatic acts. Although, that allows the true climatic frames that occupied the whole page to really shine as it creates huge contrasts. Climatic frames often contains a lot of free spaces for audience to perceive the bigger picture of the moment from the perspective that is less connected to characters but more immersed into the world where we can feel the strange connection to it’s mysterious and greater existence. 

         What is missing in The Arrival is the illusion of panning camera or audience’s view. The reason to that might be because such concept didn’t really exists in cinema when this comic was created. However, well composed still shots raises significance of individual subjects and polish there emotional meanings. Stillness is a charm of this comic with an exception to the war scene on page 88 and 89 where motion blur was introduced. Lights and shadows means a lot to this work as there temperatures signifies how each moments feels like. Brightness and the presence of the sun often associates with a lighter emotions when shadows were the opposite and that is why the weather and time of the day is a big part of the story telling. Fantasy elements and animistic creatures brought about a rise in intensity as the story progresses. In the end, the perceivable composition is the most important factor that turns many little events into a story.