Martin Scorsese Techniques

Scorsese is a prestigious American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. He has worked with some of the best films to date like Goodfellas, Taxi Driver and Mean Streets. The films that he has worked on have all been very influential and inspirational pieces that have gone on to make some of the directors today.

Being so successful in his line of work he created a trademark for his work that expressed his style of directing. For example Martin Scorsese would begin his films with a segment taken from the middle or end to make the film more indulging and entertaining for the viewers. Also he introduced the stepping-stones for special effects to be accepted and used in a wider spectrum of the media industry by including slow motion entwined with certain shots, which was revolutionary in cinematography. One of Scorsese’s editing styles would involve pausing the frame during the middle of an action packed frame and have a voice over of the first person narrative in connection to the certain scenario. Another very clever editing technique is the flash-bulb cuts that help change the scene and atmosphere of the setting that help a wipe to happen as well. Many of his techniques has been used and adapted through the years to this very day as Andy Wachowski has used numerous of these techniques in The Matrix as he would speed up and slow down many action shots while a fight would break out which is the same method Scorsese would use to capture the fast paced action taking place.

A well known shoot out scene in The Departed was captured perfectly as different techniques and camera angles were used to get every aspect of the characters in the story, making sure each part of the situation is clear to the audience. During the first set of shots fired the camera swiftly turns as if it was a first person shot of someone turning their head, creating the rapid feel of the battle amongst the cops and villains. He uses quick cuts during the scene so you only really hear the gun being fired and the end result of someone dying. He also captures a birds-eye shot of someone firing the gun towards the camera as they fall back from a shot, involving the viewer in the shootout, making them feel like they are their. There is a juxtaposition between the cops and the robbers involving the shots fired as when ever there is a close-up of the shot fired by the police it shows the pinnacle of the criminals as the shot focuses on them getting shot. This expresses the contrast in good and bad and good winning and overriding the bad guys in which they gun them down. As you only see the two sides in the in a close-up of each individual Scorsese uses shot-reverse shot of them firing at each other. Then the final scene he uses a crosscutting technique to show Jack Nicholson’s reaction as he makes an escape away from the rivalry.