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The Tyranny of Z Path: Understanding how comics are read is important to understanding how comics can be presented on a screen and the potential for innovation. ~ eP

darkjapanese:

Abstract:

Like the sequence of words in written language, comic book page layouts direct images into a deliberate reading sequence. Conventional wisdom would expect that comic panels follow the order of text: left-to-right and down – a “Z-path” – though several layouts can violate this order, such as Gestalt groupings of panels that deny a Z-path of reading. To examine how layouts pressure readers to choose pathways deviating from the Z-path, we presented participants with comic pages empty of content, and asked them to number the panels in the order they would read them. Participants frequently used strategies departing from both the traditional Z-path and Gestalt groupings. These preferences reveal a system of constraints that organizes panels into hierarchic constituents, guiding readers through comic page layouts.

“… A high frequency of reading Japanese manga decreased the likelihood of using a left-to-right ordering of panels, as depicted in Figure 5B. Follow up analyses revealed that participants who often read manga had significantly fewer frequencies of left-to-right orders than those of people who never or rarely read manga (all t > 2.83, all p < 0.01). All other contrasts between groups were not significantly different from each other (all t < 1.69, all p > 0.096).

The interaction of left-to-right motion with frequency of reading Japanese manga may support that reading of different page layouts alters one’s navigational preferences. Participants who read more manga had a reduced likelihood of using a left-to-right motion, consistent with their reading habits: manga pages, even when translated into English, often maintain the original right-to-left orders. Despite these right-to-left orders in the entry-points of these pages, panels in the whole pages were ordered left-to-right. Thus, the effects of manga reading seem to influence only where to begin reading a difficult page. These results are consistent with evidence that readers of writing systems with left-to-right paths attend to different quadrants of an array than those of right-to-left systems (Chan and Bergen, 2005). In this case, increased reading of manga pages that begin in the upper right lead participants to start pages in that area more often, even when that directionality does not persist through the rest of the page.

Age also positively correlated with left-to-right orders, r(142) = 0.253, p < 0.005, showing that preference for this order increased with older individuals. This could be attributed to several factors. For example, if it were the case that a higher proportion of younger readers read manga, they might rely more on the left-to-right orders. However, age correlated significantly with manga reading, indicating that this was not the case. An additional explanation may be that newer comics – those read more by younger readers – may use more complex layouts than older works familiar to older readers. If this is true, newer types of layouts might familiarize younger readers to alternative strategies, while older readers retain the left-to-right orders common to older comics… ”

darkjapanese: If you find this interesting, check out Reading Japan Cool: Patterns of Manga Literacy and Discourse. It takes an approach to analyzing manga and its importance in Japanese literacy development that is very much informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics.

Enjoy our HTML 5 interactive infographic that exaplains why infographics are so successful

Click link. Nicely done and worth a look. 

laura-in-libraryland:

The writer of His Dark Materials leads a new campaign to address ‘underpayment’ of writers for digital loans

Thoughts y’all?

My fundamental problem with his line of reasoning is it comes from a position of protecting the status quo. It is ultimately doomed to fail since the way we consume and share is changing and it stands to reason that the way we are compensated for that will also change. It is understandable that in his position he wishes to protect the revenue of authors but really in the long run it is like trying to protect Tom Cruise’s salary for a film. There are more choices and access to more content than ever before in our history. If I had to pay more to watch a Tom Cruise film I would choose a different film. Making libraries pay for what consumers won’t is not the solution. ~ eP

This is similar to what is happening with publishing. When you don’t need to make homogeneous bestsellers anymore and the niche audience can find books of niche interest then you can support yourself as an author by selling direct to that small niche.  ~ eP

“Viewers will have access to a wide variety of programming, “usually more interesting than what you’re going to see in the movie theater. And you can get it whenever you want, and it’s going to be niche-marketed, which means you can really take chances and do things if you can figure out there’s a small group of people that will kind of react to it.”

That kind of niche focus has already paid dividends for cable networks like HBO, he said, which have lower thresholds for success than a movie studio or traditional network — and are able to produce less-conventional programming as a result. “All you need is a million people,” Lucas said. “Which in the aggregate of the world is not very many people. And you can actually make a living at this. Where before you couldn’t.”

Marvel’s new line of original graphic novels show the industry paralleling Hollywood. With the loss of the DVD rental and purchase market profits that funded the small independent film segment have dried up. Now Hollywood profits have moved to foreign markets like China and Russia where big, effects laden films rule. Marvel’s push to create “blockbuster” original graphic novels may be a canary in the coal mine for less than midlist titles. ~ eP