Visual storytelling

As mentioned in a previous post, the movie Rear Window is a favorite of mine mostly for its opening scene. It offers a masterclass in visual storytelling because of the amount of information the viewer gets about the characters and setting even before there’s any dialogue in the film.

Another wonderful visual storyteller was the French cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempe’. Through lines of action and strategically placed color, Sempe’ guides the viewer’s eye around his drawing to reveal the outcome.

Sempe’ frequently used windows as a vehicle to tell a story- here’s a marvelous example which I could look at all day.