Radio, An Illustrated Guide

First of all, I love the fact that this is written in a comic book format. What I find most interesting about this is that radio has the power to create pictures in our mind, to take us to foreign places and make us witnesses to events. Choosing to have this article in a comic book format, to me, at least, made it a visual representation of the power of sound and radio. It also made it very interesting to have visual representations of what someone might be seeing in their mind as they read the article, just like we paint pictures and visualize in our mind when we listen to audio-only content.

Concerning the article content itself, it was simple, yet affective, instruction on what's needed to tell a good audio story. We have talked quite a bit about some of these things in class but the way the information is presented here with simplistic examples and visual representations breaks things down and really drives the point home, allowing it to sink in. For example, I understand that action is important to any kind of story, whether it be visual, audio, or literature; but I never really thought too much about it, it's just a golden rule I've been taught since coming here to the university to study film. The way Ira presented Bret's story and really explained the basic reason that action makes a story worth investing in the first time I've really understood exactly WHY action is important, especially in audio pieces. Instead of just knowing these rules, they're explained and broken-down in ways that provide a deeper understanding of why sound, if created and used effectively, is such a powerful thing.