Visual texts reflecton

Reflection: Visual Texts

In the first exercise, where Rob had drawn his own picture using shapes, I was amazed at how specific I needed to be in my questioning to try and recreate his image. I must admit to having relied heavily on pointing when asking where each shape was (I’m not convinced this isn’t cheating) and I still got it wrong! For a while, I was convinced that he had drawn a rocket out of the shapes, which made it harder to accept further instructions to the contrary.

These preconceptions I found difficult to ignore in the first exercise became even more prominent when I was directing Rob to copy a picture, which I had drawn. It is interesting how we all have differing ideas of what a castle, sun or tree looks like and the detail required drawing it.

The mouse story exercise

I really enjoyed having the pictures described to me; I was given a visual image of the mouse or mice in each of the frames. At first it felt as though the slideshow was a mix of random pictures and they were described as such. There weren’t any connective elements at the beginning of the description and it was only when the mouse started to progress gnawing away at the page that connective words were added. It was then that the description became more like a story, however there were still very few details other than the physical mentioned.

In contrast, when I was told that I was describing a story, I immediately created a name and personality for the mouse. This helped to keep the narrative fluent, as although the mouse may not have been doing anything in the picture, I was able to explain how he was feeling and gave further background to his character. This helps the listener to identify with the character and heightens their interest in him.

Unlike the description, the narrative used lots of connectives and adjectives. Because of these additions and opportunities for the storyteller to speculate on the background, setting and feelings of the character, the narrative is much smoother and more entertaining.

When telling a story you automatically change your tone of voice. I was able to increase the interest in the character by giving him a little mousey voice and to use intonation to portrait emotions and to build excitement in the story. In contrast, when describing something we are much more likely to use simple language and refer to factors which may be true, but which are not necessarily interesting, for example, where on the page the mouse is standing. Thus, what we consider relevant in a story and in a description may also vary. As a listener to a story, I feel that you are given the opportunity to let your mind wander (I certainly found this during story time last week). Whereas when listening to a description, I found that I was focusing on remembering as much detail as possible, in case I needed to recount this information later.

An author can spend hundreds of words describing a character or place, and you can guarantee that different readers will still create differing images in their heads. I refuse to watch the Lord of the Rings films because I feel that the cast and settings are better in my head! In this respect books without pictures allow more imagination and can be more challenging. However, books with pictures do provide a snapshot of a character or a moment that can help the reader to interpret a character as the author wishes them to be seen. In many ways they are also more accessible and some excellent books, for all ages, have been created with this combination. Who can forget the genius that is Calvin and Hobbs!