NIXEDMEDIA™

For my Gestural Mode project composition, I decided to make a comic strip. In the comic strip, a guy takes a seat at a table while he is on his phone. While at the table, he changes his sitting posture a number of times. When he realizes that he is sitting like the two people on the side of him, he briefly looks shocked as he becomes self-conscious and switches his posture.

 

To create this composition, I utilized Adobe Illustrator to make the process a little easier and faster. I started by drawing an establishing shot with two people sitting at a table with an open seat, one is reading a book while the other is working on their computer. I then copied the scene and drew a third person walking into frame. I copied the second panel and moved the third person closer to the open seat. The fourth panel shows all of them sitting with the third person using their phone. From there, I drew the third person in different sitting positions and reacting to the other people at the table when he realizes that he is making a similar gesture/sitting in a similar manner.

 

When I originally thought of this idea, I planned to record a video. Unfortunately, I was unable to find enough volunteers to be in it. As a result, I decided to make a comic because it would still allow me to convey the same idea and include gesture and expression in a similar way. I chose to make the comic strip black and white because: 1) fully illustrating it would have taken a lot of time, 2) it captures the aesthetic of the comic strips that were included in newspapers, and 3) it allows more focus to be directed at the characters and their gestures. The decision to keep the background plain was based on those same reasons. I also chose not to include text because I wanted to see how well I could convey this concept without it.

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I believe that the way I drew the third character’s actions and facial expressions was successful in utilizing the gestural mode. In particular, I think that the third character’s expression after realizing he is mirroring the other people at the table conveys the idea that he is surprised without the need of any text. As well, I think that the lack of color or background does help create the emphasis that I wanted on the gestures and expression of the characters.

 

In the creation of this composition, working digitally allowed me to draw out the panels and edit them in a much shorter time than if I would have drawn everything on paper. Working in a comic style also allowed me to be more playful with the visuals. At the same time, having static panels prevented me from having more fluid motion and expressive facial expressions, which would I think would have been better captured in a video with live actors. I also think that including text could have not only added another mode to this project but also help with clarity.

 

The Gestural Mode plays into this text artifact by being the cause of the third characters behavior. As the character realizes they are mirroring the posture of the people he is sitting next to, he reacts with expressions of surprise and changes his own posture. These actions and reactions convey to the audience the third character’s self-consciousness as they truly are bothered by their accidental mimicry. Without the inclusion of these reactions, it would be far less clear why the third character is behaving the way they are and, potentially, seem unprovoked.

 

While I do think that the third character’s facial expressions make use of the gestural mode, I am not entirely sure about the character’s movement. Because the other people sitting at the table are not trying to communicate anything with their posture, I’m not sure if it still counts as gesturing. As such, I would appreciate any feedback on whether this is valid and if I should try more communication-related gesturing.

 

This text artifact is valuable for my self-exploration because it addresses a something that I do somewhat often. When I happen to notice that the way I am sitting or standing is the same as someone in my proximity, I tend to change my own posture/gesturing because I do not want to give the impression that I am mimicking them, even if they might not have even noticed. I wanted to explore this because I think it is an interesting behavior that I have noticed in others as well.