The Visual Story: Seeing the Structure of Film, TV and New Media

by Bruce Block

The Visual Story offers students and professionals in cinematography, production design, directing and screenwriting a clear view of the relationship between the story/script structure and the visual structure of a film or video. An understanding of the visual components will serve as the guide in the selection of locations, set dressing, props, wardrobe, lenses, camera positions, lighting, actor staging, and editorial choices.


The Visual Story divides what is seen on screen into tangible contrast and affinity, space, line and shape, tone, color, movement, and rhythm. The vocabulary as well as the insight is provided to purposefully control the given components to create the ultimate visual story. For know that a saturated yellow will always attract a viewer's eye first; decide to avoid abrupt editing by mastering continuum of movement; and benefit from the suggested list of films to study rhythmic control. The Visual Story shatters the wall between theory and practice, bringing these two aspects of the craft together in an essential connection for all those creating visual stories.

Genres: Film, Reference, Writing

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 23, 2001

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the privilege of taking one of Block's courses on visual elements at UCLA. Had I not experienced this class, I might have given "The Visual Story" 5 stars, but the live presentation was so overwhelmingly superior, it I tend to believe the book should have been put together in a manner that more closely paralleled the course.

[Shaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

A critical must read for visual storytellers. These are the fundamental principles filmmakers must know to master their craft.

[Ahmed Sayed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book for every artist, graphic designer… and anyone works with visuals

[Gerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many professionals in the visual arts seem to know this stuff intuitively, but this is one of the few books on the subject of how the composition of an image affects the viewers' perceptions of the characters and their actions.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to anyone who uses a visual medium to tell a story. Learn what different frame compositions covey to how color palettes affect your audience response to your story or characters. Does your visual story support or work against your oral story?

[Sunil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talks a lot about composition.Very informative

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic visual components:

Space
Line
Shape
Color
Tone
Movement
Rhythm