David Wiesner의 『시간상자』에서 서사 장치로서의 숏과 프레임

Shots and Flames as a Narrative Device: Case Study of Flotsam

본 연구는 글 없는 그림책인 Wiesner의 『시간상자』가 다양한 숏과 프레임의 활용을 통해 구축된 시각적 서사 세계임을 보여주는 것을 목표로 한다. 익스트림 클로즈업 숏/클로즈업 숏, 미디엄 숏, 풀 숏/롱 숏 등이 이 작품에서 극적 효과를 통한 사건으로의 도입, 이행 과정을 위한 연결 고리, 서사 전개 전반을 책임지는 역할 등을 각기 수행하고 있다. 또한 이 작품에서는 프레임의 유무, 프레임과 면 가장자리 사이의 여백 처리, 연속된 프레임이냐에 따라 그 기능과 효과가 달라진다. 그리고 내부 프레임으로 활용되는 사진의 프레임들은 미장아빔(mise-en-abyme) 장치로 활용되고 있음을 확인할 수 있다.

The purpose of this research was to examine David Wiesner's Flotsam in terms of its shots and frames. The aim of this study was to show how this wordless picture book presents a visual narrative that depends mainly on the use of various shots and frames. The "flotsam" which provides the title for the work is simply a camera travelling the world, especially under the sea. This camera is not merely a device, however, but almost a living entity like an individual human, and the center of this visual narrative. Therefore, essential concepts and terms from photography, such as shots and frames, are central to the narrative construction. The types of shots which are frequently observed in this work are extreme close-ups, close-ups, medium shots, and full and long shots. These four types of shots respectively assume certain specific functions. The extreme close-ups and close-ups create a dramatic effect to capture the attention of the readers and to invite them into an unexpected event. Medium shots serve as a bridge between the extreme close-ups/close-ups and the full/long shots: they provide a transition. Full and long shots are essential elements in the narrative development. The former is more focused on the protagonist and the interaction between him and the sea (which is a crucial part of the background), while the latter shows the world - mostly the sea – through which the camera has journeyed, and thus its diversity. For frames, the wordless picture book is comprised of two types: those which surround the illustrations and those which are inside the illustrations. In the first type of frame, there are three subdivisions: unbound images in which the frame corresponds to the edge of a page; bound images in which the frame is a thin, black line; and margins which fall between the edge of a page and the boundary of an illustration. The unbound images invite the reader into the story world to share the feelings of the protagonist. A series of certain bound images with thin black lines create a visually sequenced narrative. The margins which are filled in with black create decontextualized images that make the reader focus on the characters in the photographs captured by the mysterious camera. The frames which are found inside the images are not like boundaries surrounding the illustrations. Doors, windows or mirrors function as a boundary that confines characters or objects to emphasize and call the reader's attention to them. In this picture book, the inside frames represented by the frames of the photographs create a mise-en-abyme effect.