{"id":2368,"date":"2019-08-04T15:40:28","date_gmt":"2019-08-04T15:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gemmaplum.nl\/business\/?p=2368"},"modified":"2019-08-04T15:45:32","modified_gmt":"2019-08-04T15:45:32","slug":"directing-the-eye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gemmaplum.nl\/business\/directing-the-eye\/","title":{"rendered":"Directing the Eye"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Directing the Eye<\/h2>\n

Composition in Visual Storytelling<\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_column_text]How the eyes read an image depends on what is depicted and how all part relate to the whole picture. In the visual arts this assembled piece is called ‘composition’ (derived from the Latin ‘compositus’; merging), in the film it is called a ‘mise-en-sc\u00e8ne’ (derived from French; ‘placing in the scene’).[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In composition geometrical structures play an important guiding role. Compositional influencers or geometric shapes can be based on lines or combinations of lines that are actually there, lines that are suggested (See the Gestalt Law of the Filled in Gap or Continuation) or felt, or lines that we anticipate or expect from experience. The use of these structures, even if we do not perceive them as such, can have a tangible impact on an image and how it\u2019s read.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The French humanist photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004)<\/span><\/span>, a master of candid photography, was also a master in composition<\/a>. His photographs are a great example on how geometrics can set your eyes in motion, lead you through an image revealing a story in a decisive moment<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”2372″ img_size=”large” css=”.vc_custom_1564847239303{margin-bottom: 15px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”2370″ img_size=”large” css=”.vc_custom_1564847262668{margin-bottom: 15px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”2380″ img_size=”large” css=”.vc_custom_1564850347249{margin-bottom: 15px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1564924002041{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”]Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 \u2013 2004). (Analyses done by Michael Zhang<\/a> from PetaPixel.<\/a>)
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[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_column_text]Lines and geometric shape guide our eye, but in addition there are acquired, social and cultural factors that determine how we read and understand an image.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The (congenital) properties of the visual system (like examples discussed in the Gestalt Law blog series), experiences, expectations, but also motivation, the possibility of reward and other social necessities are factors that determine what guides our attention.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]For humans as a social being it is necessary to be able to quickly distinguish enemy from ally and to properly assess social situations. Faces and facial expressions are important so faces attract our attention.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Man naturally looks at the person who speaks or looks at what others look at. The viewing direction of one of the people in an image can feel like a line and influence the eye movement of the viewer.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This focus on human behaviour can play with or overrule geometrical shapes that would otherwise have a leading role in the composition. There is even a part of our brain<\/a> that focuses entirely on faces (that is why we see faces in so many things).[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]