The insider’s guide to creating comics and graphic novels

The fun part of comics is entertaining. Camera angle has got to communicate effectively, but it can also shape the entertainment level of a comic. The camera angle carries information, just like everything else. If two people are framed talking off to the side of a panel and the camera’s in an alley looking past a dumpster out at the people talking, the conversation automatically takes on a different tone than if the camera is right next to the two characters. Placing the camera with a slightly obstructed view creates the sense that the reader is looking in on a conversation that the characters themselves would rather the reader not be privy to. The selection of that particular camera angle is a part of the storytelling and a part of the entertainment—it’s added tension, and tension is good.

There are a few quick definitions that will apply throughout this and subsequent chapters. The following all refer to the distance between the camera and the subject.

• Extreme long shot Everything in the scene is well within the panel borders. Figures are usually so small that they’re in silhouette and all of the environment can be seen.

• Long shot Closer in, but characters are still seen as full figures. Details can often be made out.

• Medium shot The neutral shot. Usually most or all of the upper body can be seen on a figure from this distance. Details of the face can be seen.

• Close-up Tight enough in that we’re only seeing the head and maybe shoulders of a figure. All facial expressions can easily be seen. Close-up shots engage the reader the most.

• Extreme close-up Closer in still. Only a face, or perhaps just the mouth or just the eyes can be seen. The face will encompass the entire panel.

Note on Subjects

The definitions here focus on a character and his face, but that doesn’t mean that an extreme close-up must be on someone’s face. The definitions are a guideline as to the distance of the camera from its subject. A close-up on a hand, or a gun, or anything else is perfectly fine and the terms are valid when used with any object.

The first two panels here establish place and time. The third panel, a medium shot, begins to draw the reader in (the same state of mind as the girl answering the door). The fourth panel pulls back out, both to establish the interior of the apartment and because the tension relaxes—they know each other. We move in to close-ups for panels 5 and 6 as the characters speak more intimately, and pull back out for storytelling at the end.