Blog #8--Visual Concepts in "Get a Date"

In the short film Get a Date, there is a variety of visual concepts that the director chooses to show. From the beginning of the film we see the use of a split screen while the two different people look through a newspaper. The use of the split screen emphasizes a connection between the two different characters as we are able to see what types of people they are interested in, which is ultimately shown when they circle the types of people they want. The director's use of a split screen falls under the ideas of visual concepts because it shows the connection between the two characters rather than telling us.

Another example of visual concepts found in the movie is when the old man is sitting in his chair, stroking the cat with one finger, while staring at the camera with one picture haning over his head. This has to be the funniest shot in the film because we see such a humorous character on screen during this shot. While the narration does not provide us with any detail about the man, the mise en scene that the director choose to include is more than enough. It was able to show us what the character is like without having to tell us, not to mention, it was a lot more enjoyable for the audiance to see the man's character rather than hear about it.

The last MAIN example (besides the use of sounds to ruin the date over and over again) of visual concepts found in this film is when the old lady applies her makeup. This is a continuing shot that expands with more detail and length each time we see it. The first time the lady only puts on soo much make up, the next time something is added, and the last time, something more is added. Each time she adds more makeup, the outcome of the date occurs diffferently, although, she still never ends up going on her date.

Through using visual concepts, the director is able to show the main points of the movie in an more interesting way, which is ultimately more pleasurable to the audiance, and thus is a more sophisticated technique in the film maker's arsenal of tricks and techniques.