Jason's Script

I really liked how he structured his discussion in terms of both the films and areas of research. He starts off with an intro of what he will be talking about and then separates it into the two different areas. within each are, he gives examples from one movie, Tsotsi, and then the next, Sin City. His narration also helped emphasize the points he was trying to make. The lightning and flashes of color or black and white gave us the idea that he was going to talk about lighting and color. The lightning also gives us the feeling of power, which he also talks about. I would definitely give him a 22 or 23. He does an excellent job at understanding what he is talking about and uses his examples very well.

Get A Date-Visual Concepts

In "Get A Date", there were a few visual concepts. The first was the introductions and the mise en scene that the director uses to show it. First off, there is the man. He is introduced while sitting in a drab looking room with nothing else in the frame except him, a couch, his cat and a small painting. It really helps to establish character. It also shows him holding a wrench and cat. Although the narrator tells you, showing it makes it all the more powerful. Secondly, there are the times that the woman knocks on the door, and the man doesn't hear because of something covering up the noise. Not only does this serve as a barrier preventing them from seeing each other, but it also serves as a visual concept. It is the "physical manifestation" of the fact that they may be doomed to live alone for the rest of their lives.

Visual concept

I think that a good subject would be the idea of the absent father. The visual concept would center around someone finding an old object, like their father's briefcase, that triggers the memories (or lack there of) about his father.

It starts off with the main character walking into the basement and looking for something. He comes across his father's old briefcase and looks at the label. It cuts to a past memory where the father shuts the briefcase and walks away while talking on the phone. A small child is revealed, he holds out a picture he drew for his dad. The grown boy tries to open up the briefcase and remembers another event. This continues until the boy gets frustrated and tries to pry the case open with a screwdriver, swinging violently. He opens it and discovers that it is full of his old drawings and pictures of him and his dad. He recalls all the good memories with his dad and it fades into him with his son, doing the same thing.

Independent Study

I think I'm going with my idea of the war movies from both sides. It would be interesting to see how the soldiers are viewed and how they mentally prepare for war. I recently saw a clip of a Japanese WWII movie called "For Those We Love". It's about the kamikaze pilots that are preparing to die for their country.


I think it's interesting to see their point of view when they know that hey will die. In American films, the hero rarely dies, only a friend or companion.

Areas of Critique/Study

I've always been interested in the American archetype of a hero. Recently, there has been more of a movement or shift towards the anti-hero and those that are smarter than they are strong. But I want to focus on the heroes of the war movies, like Rambo or soldiers in movies like Apocalypse Now or a WWII movie like Bataan. I thinks it's not only interesting how they are portrayed, but also how the other side is. In American movies, the enemy is always seen as almost sub-human, and they rarely have there story told. I would like to see both sides, like a "Bataan" type movie compared to a Japanese film

3 themes of film making

As a film maker, there are a few topics tat i would like to touch on. For the more controversial, documentary kind of work, I'm interested in hearing more about global warming. But not just all the apparently bad things that are happening, but all the good that still exists in the world. I'm sick of hearing how we're all killing this planet without even seeing what there is that's worth saving. Or maybe even some solutions besides buying a hybrid car.
But as far as things that I would like to explore as a filmmaker, I really would like to do a sort of film noir, detective or even gangster sort of movie. I think Mike gave me an idea when he showed me one of his stories. I would like to do something like the Maltese Falcon detective movie, but have two main characters and have them going through issues with one another as they try and solve a case.
I also would like to try my hand at a sort of formalist theme where the main character interacts with another character that only he can see and hear. I'm sure there's some movies like that, but I can only think of Willy Loman in "The Death of a Salesman". I think that it would not only be challenging, but a very interesting way to show internal conflict.