Starting To Think about My Multimodal Text

Starting to Think about My Multimodal Text

Last seminar session I analysed a picture book and looked into how different semiotics were used to create meaning. And in this blog I will discuss how I would like to use semiotics to create meaning.

The first signifier I would like to take into account when creating my own work is the positioning of the characters. In my text I think I would like to make it clear to the audience who is the character as will make the story clearer and then the reader can relate the story to the pictures of the characters and feel within the story. One way in which I can do this is by positioning the the main character always on the left of the page facing their fellow characters on the right as this is a well known way of showing the main character. I would also like to close ups of the character as she is the main focus of the story.

Text wise, I think I want to use something 'light-hearted' as I think I want to create on story very similar to those of Disney; something with a little adventure that ends with a happy ending. 

So looking at this font, I have decided that my font would be similar if I used something that is rounded and curly rather than a rigid font like Times New Roman as it isn't as friendly. And for my audience; which I am targeting as a young child, the friendlier the font the better as it will appeal to the reader.

The actual pages is something I need to consider, I would like all or the majority of the pages to be covered by a picture, so no white frame, this is because I want the reader to feel within the story and in the adventure rather than an outsider so they can fully enjoy the story and get excited by the action!

Another aspect of the pages I want to consider is the use of colour as that really stood out to me when analysing the picture book. I want to make sure that the reader has a sense of what's going on and how the characters are feeling through the colour themes on every page. I will take advantage of using bright colours in times of joy and dark colours when the characters are worried or frightened of the action in the story. 

These are a few things to consider when creating my multimodal text but my ideas will hopefully grow as I gain more of an idea of what my story entails.

Signifiers in Story Books

Signifiers in Story Books

During this seminar, we had to look at the page structures in children books and how they are important element within the books. The book that I looked at was 'The Wolves in the Walls' by Neil Gaiman.

Firstly, we had to look at signifiers on the pages in this book. A signifier is "the form which the sign takes" and is seen as the "material (or physical) form of the sign - it is something which can be seen, heard, touched, smelt or tasted" (Chandler, 1994).

The main signifiers in the book were the characters; mum, dad, daughter and son, and the wolves. The most important signifier out of these was probably the wolves as the setting of the story changed at different parts due to the wolves, and the whole story revolved around them. If we removed the wolves from the book then the story wouldn't add up. After that the next important signifier is the daughter, Lucy, because she kept the story going as it's her story.

Secondly, the actual pages needed to be analysed, for example in this story there were two different types of pages, first being where the whole page was filled with a picture which was the majority of the pages. The second being, a few pages with 4 different pictures within a white frame.

 
           When the pages were filled with the picture it allowed for the reader to feel within the story compared to pages with a white frame where readers will then feel like an outsider to the story overlooking what's going on. Also, when looking at pages with the four different pictures we can see that they are used to show intense conversation between characters but to also show sequence of events to get the story moving. The final element I'll look at is how colour is used in this book and it's importance. Within this book the colour theme on the pages change, this is to show both a change in the atmosphere and a change in the setting. For example, when indoors and the family feel at ease without a worry the colour scheme is warm with reds and oranges and then the colour scheme changes to cold, dark blues when the family is pushed outside because the wolves have escaped have the walls. 












This seminar has again shown how a story isn't always told through text only and how different signifiers and elements can be essential in telling a story to a reader and making them feel connected to the story.

 

 

 

Chandler, D., 1994. Semiotics for Beginners. [Online]
Available at: http://users.aber.ac.uk/dgc/Documents/S4B/semiotic.html
[Accessed 14 11 2013].