Scott McCloud: Understanding comics

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15 жыл бұрын

www.ted.com In this unmissable look at the magic of comics, Scott McCloud bends the presentation format into a cartoon-like experience, where colorful diversions whiz through childhood fascinations and imagined futures that our eyes can hear and touch.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

Пікірлер: 116

@jamtronart 3 жыл бұрын

Webtoons, for one, successfully makes use of this exact scroll function he was imagining in the 90s. Pretty awesome!

@danwroy 6 ай бұрын

His weakest point aside from his truly embarrassing definition of what art is

@MicahBuzanANIMATION 10 жыл бұрын

The man is a genius. His books "Making Comics" and "Understanding Comics" are required reading for anyone who wants to give comic book making a try, and also for anyone who reads comics because these books will give you an in depth understanding and hence appreciation of this sometimes overlooked art form.

@lua_satik 8 жыл бұрын

Totally agree...!

@VeganRevolution 7 жыл бұрын

Required reading for anyone.

@KeredAglo 3 жыл бұрын

I'm looking to get into making comics, just as a hobby for me to present to my friends for fun but definitely going to check out his book.

@1805movie 13 жыл бұрын

Scott McCloud is like the Carl Sagan of comics. Exploring the comic universe, and analyzing them in great detail with meaning and possibilities.

@mere_serendipity8275 3 жыл бұрын

That dude, who cackled at "the heat death of the universe" comics in complete silence... I connect with you on some kind of level

@frankwolftown 14 жыл бұрын

Scott McCloud never ceases to amaze. I hope he draws forever.

@euromut555 8 жыл бұрын

I nominate this TED talk as one of the best I have seen. I reviewed it to see if I should refer it to a friend of mine who is into comics and discovered the clearest description of the power and potential of communications that I have ever heard - and told with a personal story that adds the dimensions just as he describes them. Brilliant. This belongs in every humanities course and I intend to use it in my psychology and religious studies courses as well.

@theodenking169 4 жыл бұрын

Webcomics these days do exactly this -- they have a "single unbroken reading line on an infinite canvas."

@Seshlot 4 жыл бұрын

dude was talking about scrolling functions 10 years ago. look at where we at now

@RADZ97 3 жыл бұрын

This was in 2005 but uploaded in '09 ,,,, Webtoon already existed in Korea from '04.

@jeirigi5694 2 жыл бұрын

@@RADZ97 scott mccloud proposed it in the 90s

@zerkdesolei 6 жыл бұрын

i'm watching this in 2018, and i love this mans book "understanding comics" i think that any art teacher who really loves art and all its uses should read it. I'd recommend it to even art history teachers!! or any teacher of an art related subject!

@ThaKid14 Жыл бұрын

Brilliant. That’s really all I can say. Utterly brilliant. Ok I could say more. This was special to watch and just having read Understanding Comics this sunk in even more! That book is a masterpiece and hearing him speak here, can see how intelligent this man is as well. Fascinating to see the way he looks at storytelling art history, time and space. He’s a fantastic orator as well, great speaker. So well delivered and concise. Could listen to him speak way longer and just learn. I love the idea of the ever expanding capabilities of comics, shocking to think how under appreciated comics are still…we can’t ever get rid of the written word with pictures. Juxtaposed deliberate sequences…Once you allow yourself to get into them and see what they can do for you, (comics) there’s truly nothing like it. For anyone contemplating starting, do it!!

@radred3662 3 жыл бұрын

If this Ted talk was just a year later there would've been a lot more to talk about regarding hypertext comics

@ozjthomas 15 жыл бұрын

Awesome. I love these books. So awesome to see his speech. This guy is a genious.

@band0l1n 14 жыл бұрын

This guy's book was like my personal Bible.

@mere_serendipity8275 3 жыл бұрын

11 years later it still fascinates people all over the world. Scott Mccloud is a genius!

@TheSubwaysurfer 12 жыл бұрын

Scottsdale gift to the comics world Is giving a cognitive way to talk about the medium intelligently with others who look down on the medium, as well as giving creators a roadmap for understanding and finding their own style.

@maraichux 3 жыл бұрын

And now we have "Webtoon" which is exactly what Scott predicted. True genius.

@schamon13 11 ай бұрын

How so?

@DixyRae 15 жыл бұрын

His first book is holy dogma, as far as I'm concerned. Though I think his predictions for webcomics were a little off. But hey, thats the gamble when you talk about the future.

@moxiebombshell Жыл бұрын

watching this 14 years later and it still holds up.

@jamesabell9494 10 жыл бұрын

I loved his books. I also am going to try his 24 hour comic concept next month in August 2014. I want to do this challenge and add another layer, where the comic will be optimized for the Kindle and released onto the Amazon marketplace within that time frame too. Anyone else interested in this idea?

@zoybean 2 жыл бұрын

Traditional reading methods are still the most popular. Manga is the most common way of reading, and its sales and readership are so many times higher than Webtoons and other scrollers.

@gamdanyunizar7849 3 жыл бұрын

I never thought Scott McCloud has such a daaaark sense of humor I love it

@YitzJacob 12 жыл бұрын

it's so weird to watch a TEDtalk like this after the iPad already exists..

@michaelfehr9568 10 жыл бұрын

this brief 17 min talk is surely WAY over the heads of the participants in the Audience... he wrote THREE full graphic Novels to cover these ideas, and trying to Synopsize it into a 15-20 Min., PowerPOint Demonstration. If I was in the Audience I'd be like "HUH?? WTF???" but because I have read all 3 books, I can follow his concepts and train of Thought. Anyone interested in what he's trying to get across, read these three Graphic Novels: 1 Understanding Comic 2: Re-INventing Comics 3. Making Comics

@josefjerster 10 жыл бұрын

oh, i love his metacomics! but i guess the presentation was a concise sample, because it is hard to cover the things on the comics in a single ted talk

@michaelfehr9568 10 жыл бұрын

yeah

@brooklynlevo 14 жыл бұрын

will be writing an exam on understanding comics on monday in seminar named the same as the book

@AikiraBeats 3 жыл бұрын

Cool currently taking a class that is discussing a few of his works

@williampowell3378 Жыл бұрын

Great speech. 👏

@DixyRae 15 жыл бұрын

I agree entirely except for the inclusion of the word "fantasy." I'm purposely misreading what you meant because thats how people unfamiliar with comics would interpret "fantasy": either as "light fiction" or "dungeons and dragons." I think its always important to stress (like the point made with "childish") that comics are a medium, and that medium can encompass all genres. I can only imagine the shock an unassuming person must feel at reading a Chris Ware comic for the first time.

@Titleknown 7 жыл бұрын

Anyone else thinking of Awful Hospital or, more likely, Homestuck when he talks about the future of comics? Because, both o those do some amazing things with space, though the former does show he was a bit mistaken when he dismissed the possibilities of interactive comics.

@ratholin 15 жыл бұрын

I remember when marvel came out with those CDromix. They were actually really fun. Way better than having someone else show you a comic.

@inko9nito 15 жыл бұрын

Brilliant presentation!

@Slance1Himself 15 жыл бұрын

Wow... At the bottom right at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="413">06:53</a> it's my biggest idol - Johnny Rotten, this made the video even better! :D

@rubbermuck 15 жыл бұрын

Alan Moore played a lot with panel layouts, especially in Watchmen. It may be true that comic makers are stuck to a certain size of the page and pivotal moments really only happen at the turn of a page(for surprise), I don't know if it's a limitation immediately. It is interesting to follow these computer-comics though. An interesting one I read was "A lesson is learned but the damage is irreversible".

@Rantandreason 15 жыл бұрын

Fantastic!

@BodaciousBurnley 15 жыл бұрын

Can anyone give me some insight to the "McLuhanesque mistake" he refers to around <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="660">11:00</a>? Who was this man and what did he do that caused him to be associated with the inefficient application of established rules to new paradigms? I thought that maybe he was talking about Herbert Marshall McLuhan, but the "medium is the message" philosophy doesn't seem to be quite what McCloud is talking about. Any facts from those more knowledgeable than I?

@linuxlist2000 15 жыл бұрын

Niiiiiiice, great presentation.

@webcamsociety 11 жыл бұрын

Very interesting comic analysis.

@Slance1Himself 15 жыл бұрын

Niiiiiiiiiiice :D This is what you want... this is what you get... Dude I freakin LOVE John! :D

@TheSubwaysurfer 12 жыл бұрын

You can't zone out a Scott cloud lecture. Unless you really pay attention, you will be loss. My only complaint about Scott, is that he dent "dumb it down enough" a strange thing to say, I know, but sometimes his lectures are so conceptual that your mind NEEDS a break!...

@Soekell 10 жыл бұрын

I saw him in Vienna, and he talked way longer than here- for free. It was really cool and personal. I don't know what this TED-stuff is all about..

@lucasbruniart 6 жыл бұрын

Does anyone know the name of Jason Lex's comicbook and where to find it?

@OpenLoungeCast 12 жыл бұрын

so true.

@HecKaTorN 15 жыл бұрын

I think that actually was pretty interesting

@masterhook 15 жыл бұрын

on scott's website. He has a page with links and that is one of them. Look for the "Drew Weing" link

@wepeanutthree5553 2 жыл бұрын

what was the second comic featured in the presentation?

@INDIANXxhgpp9907 2 жыл бұрын

2022 <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="120">2:00</a> childhood show <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="360">6:00</a> saccadic visuals <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="630">10:30</a> murray's law

@blacknwhitesalright 14 жыл бұрын

@rubbermuck Does Alan Moore really design page layouts for his stories? I was under the impression that he just writes highly detailed descriptive scripts.

@hyperTorless 8 ай бұрын

It's funny how optimistic they were of future technologies at the time, almost funny.

@samala51 11 жыл бұрын

Without fail

@liamhuberty7428 Жыл бұрын

McCloud was so fucking ahead of his time. Just look at WEBTOONS. Truly genius.

@LowestofheDead 13 жыл бұрын

@BlacknWhitesAlright Starting from Watchmen, Moore used 3x3 panels inspired from Steve Ditko Later on he was more flexible e.g. Promethea

@KeriOwen 15 жыл бұрын

anyone who can incorporate Ed Wood's film 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' into a talk gets my vote!

@pushpanathans9426 9 жыл бұрын

HIGHLY INFORMATIVE THANKS A LOT

@narayantx 6 жыл бұрын

Genius even in 2017.

@sholahudinyusuf8495 4 жыл бұрын

Wow this guy predicts webtoon and webcomics

@pratyushachakraborty6789 Жыл бұрын

Man peeped into the future alright

@BurtBenz 15 жыл бұрын

"Total eclipse" isn't Carly Simon. That's "You're so vain". Bonnie Tyler sang about the eclipse.

@ProfessorDesiree 4 жыл бұрын

That's what I thought at first, too, but: "You made it down to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun." from Carlie Simon's "You're so Vain."

@bighungry98 5 жыл бұрын

Wow, so that’s what Scott McCloud looks like?

@comicsgrinder 5 жыл бұрын

We all love Scott McCloud for his insight. I share here an in depth look at contemporary comics: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hqihp5SW1NTSZGQ.html

@RadTrashed 2 жыл бұрын

This has aged like the finest wine.

@pedrojosecorderoveloz2229 Жыл бұрын

Hasta oí en dia no he visto el salto final hacia el comic en la web tal vez sea por que los medios están muy saturados de contenido y la gente no puede leer este tipos de comics

@Teabonesteak 15 жыл бұрын

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="413">6:53</a> Hahaha!! Johnny Rotten!! Bottom right!

@phenothiazine 15 жыл бұрын

Nice video! Where i can get "pop contemplates the heat death of universe" and the other?

@letscompose8560 2 ай бұрын

Oh great, a 15 year old youtube video to remind me how fast time is moving.

@lila-yw2gn 5 жыл бұрын

Ignore this comment as this is a personal msg for someone For Michael Its ok if we can't be together for now. Im not sure about the reason why but im sure that there must be a reason for that. Of course, i would want to be w/ you, have fun with you, to gradually uncover our true selves with each other but I'm sure theres a reason why it cant happen now. In every desire that i have, your presence is always included there.

@tiwaririshikeshmani 10 жыл бұрын

Mangastream brought me here :)

@mortschubert3909 11 жыл бұрын

Everybody reacts when they see the picture of the cat.

@TheBlockHeadsStudios 8 жыл бұрын

You know, this is freaking incredible. This is something I've been thinking about a lot too, but from a slightly different perspective and motivation. Comic books in general, even with the movies, have been falling in popularity. But what do movies have that comics don't? The usual answer would be you don't put effort into watching a movie. But I think the real reason is that movies bring a world like none other, and books bring a world much like comic books. But if we could expand that, make the comic panels become somewhat of a world, it would be incredible.

@The3rdGunman 8 жыл бұрын

+turbine master Yeah his book changed my perspective forever!

@BinaryDood 13 жыл бұрын

His book is a comic book Bible

@Slance1Himself 15 жыл бұрын

To Teabonesteak: dude! Are you a PiL fan? Or at least a Johnny fan? :D

@emmad.8815 5 жыл бұрын

Webcomics!! :)

@cherrycola542 Жыл бұрын

Noooo I feel so bad for his grandma

@quinnlincurvee1120 7 жыл бұрын

It's a sport car

@dogstar7 15 жыл бұрын

Isn't Scott McCloud the "Space Angel"?

@cetacious 7 жыл бұрын

what a random begening. I like the last 11 min. the most!

@sheepwshotguns 15 жыл бұрын

i miss calvin and hobbes... :(

@kajicarter 15 жыл бұрын

Duh...when he talks about the total eclipse and Carly Simon he's referring to lyrics in the song 'You're So Vain'. *sigh*

@nicktartaglia1139 9 жыл бұрын

What is this like seriously james grey agrees

@awhitehead 6 жыл бұрын

Scott McCloud was right about so much, but his ideas on how to present comics in the digital age was so, so wrong. Scrolling through panels in all directions? I mean even the way he presents it looks awful. I know this talk was 8 years ago, but even then websites designed that way sucked. When it comes to print, he totally gets it. Digital, not so much.

@fullanalysis93 5 жыл бұрын

I disagree. If you read webcomics a lot of them have adopted the "infinite canvas" on the y-axis (ie. Scrolling down). It really works because of how they're viewed on smartphones.

@JoeGrimer 6 күн бұрын

man, he must have put so much work into the wording and slide deck

@hariprasada 14 жыл бұрын

traduzcan esto al español

@Teabonesteak 15 жыл бұрын

THHIISS IS NOT A LOVE SOOOOOOONG! THHIISS IS NOT A LOVE SOOOOOOONG! THHIISS IS NOT A LOVE SOOOOOOONG! THHIISS IS NOT A LOVE SOOOOOOONG! Damn right I'm a Pil/Sex pistols/all around johnny fan!

@calebgarcia 15 жыл бұрын

Scott McCloud real name is Scott McLeod

@roguegallery7519 2 жыл бұрын

This is weird...that Scott McCloud doesnt sound the same as the Scott McCloud from the comics BA-DUM!

@egis27 15 жыл бұрын

lol....so did i

@HigherPlanes 15 жыл бұрын

No, that would be virtual reality.

@FijneWIET 11 жыл бұрын

that bad huh?

@bittachowdhury4242 6 жыл бұрын

i hate that thinks like this are 9 years ago

@NorseRonin 15 жыл бұрын

"Scott McLEOD is my uncle". yeah, but what does that have to do with scott McCloud?

@GreyAutumn 10 жыл бұрын

Vertical comics are a thing, so what this guy is proposing already exists.

@fullanalysis93 6 жыл бұрын

Yes but his idea is from 1998

@jjmm112 15 жыл бұрын

shite.

@roguegallery7519 2 жыл бұрын

That meanig of science doesnt make sense.

@michaelfeher213 10 жыл бұрын

I honestly feel that breaking down and super- analyzing an art-form like this is NOT conducive to a progress in that field whatsoever. in fact, i'm sure that, people READ INTO comics, art, visuals, stories, what they themselves wish to see, feel, hear, understand, relate to. Art is a VERY personal matter, and shoulfsd not be approached scientifically because there's no AUTHORITY in any field of Art, it should be left open to natural progress, creativity and "what is beautiful" to the viewer.

@rodovariocragur8732 5 жыл бұрын

In fact if you read the books he literally says he wants to start the debating and no pretentions of finding a permanent view or knowledge

@Saktoth 15 жыл бұрын

Rubbish if you ask me, and totally wrong in his predictions (other than the arthouse self-fulfilling prophecy type). Infinite canvas? I dont think so.

@SoeaOu 9 жыл бұрын

nothing meaningful in this video

@niclouds5292 8 жыл бұрын

+Hoto Hoto you loco bro

@euromut555 8 жыл бұрын

+Hoto If I take you right, your comment belies just how important McCloud's message is. Assuming that you find meaning only in specifically quantifiable information as in raw data (valued as in economic value or monetarily) and avoid, ignore, or even denigrate the un- or less-quantifiable, then the degree to which you value your full potential as a human being, as a person within and mutually constituted with your socio-cultural uniqueness, McCloud provides a map with which to calibrate the methods and terms that keep us whole, together, that maintains our entire potential without cutting off your nose to spite your face.

@niclouds5292 8 жыл бұрын

Jeffrey W. Danese Nothing meaningful in this comment ;)