Directions Unit: Chosen Director

The director's work i have chosen to replicate in my next Unit called Directions will be the work of...

Martin Scorsese 

Martin Scorsese is arguably one of the best directors that has ever worked in the business, he is the mastermind behind some of the best films ever created such as Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver and more recently The Wolf of Wall Street.

His style and perspective on scripts and given scenes is brilliant the way in which he sets the mise-en-scene makes for a film that puts the audience exactly in the scene as if they are there.

The opening sequence of Raging Bull is a perfect example of Scorsese's style, he uses a slow motion effect of Robert De Niro shadowboxing in the ring before the titles show in the screen in between the ropes where we get this idea of this is the bull's ring and this Raging Bull inside will hurt anyone no matter who they are that comes close to him. It's very effective and now iconic of the film, there are many other points however I have chosen this because this scene helps us understand who the character is without him even speaking.

Another thing is Scorsese's use of mirrors though out his films, this simple prop comes with a huge amount connotations most famously used in one of his early films Taxi Driver. The "you talking to me" is widely used in conversation and the line itself is famous. However the use of the mirror as it connotes this idea of split personality and other being within the character which is brilliant and used perfectly within Taxi Driver. The use of mirrors can be found in most of his work also more notably in Goodfellas.

Another trademark of Scorsese's work is the use of a special type of zoom found within Goodfellas and also used in Raging Bull. The method is to focus the camera on the centre and zoom out whilst tacking forwards making the characters in the centre remain the same size and in the same position whilst the background is made larger. This clever technique is used within the scene in Goodfellas where Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro meet in a cafe' and is used to show Liotta's characters increasing paranoia. This technique is extremely effective and also used brilliantly in Raging Bull.

Scorsese also brilliantly uses the freeze frame and no better than once again in Goodfellas. He uses it effectively to almost pause the story of which Ray Liotta's character is narrating so he can explain the events before they happen with mafia terminology and dark humour. The freeze frame is something that if used, has to be perfect and I think personally Scorsese has nailed it in this film.

Other things in which Scorsese uses well is the use of effective narration to guide the narrative, also the occurrence of women within his films as being introduced in white and more often than not brown, he also has a theme of crime and anti-heroes though out his films blurring the line between right and wrong.

Not only because I am a huge fan of Scorsese have I chosen to replicate his style within my own work but also as I understand this is a great challenge and something that could prove difficult and i believe that by taking on this challenge it will give me a further understanding of what it is like to be a director and also understanding limitations and how to overcome them from having a idea to what type of costume my characters are wearing. However I am greatly excited to replicate Scorsese and am extremely motivated to do a good and interesting replication of his style.