Martin Scorsese uses flashbacks quite a lot in his films. He uses them when someone is remembering something important or when someone is discussing something and it flashes back to help the viewer remember that particular scene.
Scorsese also uses flash forwards in some of his films. He does this in Gangs of New York. At the start of the movie there is a big brawl between the Irish gang and the Native gang. A young boy's dad is killed. The boy runs away and hides. the movie flash forwards from 1846 to 1860. The young boy is now out to get the man that killed his father.
One of his more noticeable trademarks is how he begins his movies with segments taken from the middle or end of the movie. For example in GoodFellas, the opening scene is 3 mobsters shooting and stabbing a half-dead man in their car boot. It then flashes back to when the 3 mobsters were young boys. The story carries on from when the boys are young and eventually we see the scene where the 3 mobsters are killing the man in the car boot again. This technique shows how the movie progresses to that scene. The scene at the start of the movie that we eventually see again is a very important scene in the movie, the man the 3 mobsters killed was another mob leader. this sparked a gang war. This technique adds interest to Scorsese's films.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Element 2 - Music
Martin Scorsese uses music to good effect. He uses the same type of music for the same people throughout the movies, e.g. when the Irish mob in The Departed are committing a crime, Scorsese uses the same Irish music every time they are committing a crime.
He also uses traditional music techniques in his films. He uses dark, fast rock music music when the massive gang fight happens in Gangs of New York. He uses different music speeds, sometimes the music is very fast paced and gets louder, this provides extra tension to set the scene.
Scorsese uses diegetic music throughout the movies. For example in Gangs of New York, when the mobsters are in the bar the music is coming from people playing instruments on the stage. He uses diegetic music a lot especially during celebrations in the movie.
From the first scene of Gangs of New York, you can tell that it is set many years ago because of the type of music that is playing. He used old classical jazz in the first scene.
At times Scorsese stops the music instantly. For example when there is a rapid cut to another scene, or when somebody is shot or killed. Scorsese uses this technique in The Departed when the 'rat' is shot execution style (in the head). The music stops as soon as the gun is fired. All we hear is the body hitting the floor. The killer stands still, starring at the dead body in absolute silence. Scorsese music to good effect in his films.
This video shows how Scorsese uses music, in this scene the music starts of slow and almost seems calm, but increases pace and volume as the battle escalates. The music is fast paced rock music.
When the gang leader stabs the rival gang leader, the music slows down. When the body hits the ground, the music stops. He uses music to indicate that someone has died. When the person dies the music stops.
He also uses traditional music techniques in his films. He uses dark, fast rock music music when the massive gang fight happens in Gangs of New York. He uses different music speeds, sometimes the music is very fast paced and gets louder, this provides extra tension to set the scene.
Scorsese uses diegetic music throughout the movies. For example in Gangs of New York, when the mobsters are in the bar the music is coming from people playing instruments on the stage. He uses diegetic music a lot especially during celebrations in the movie.
From the first scene of Gangs of New York, you can tell that it is set many years ago because of the type of music that is playing. He used old classical jazz in the first scene.
At times Scorsese stops the music instantly. For example when there is a rapid cut to another scene, or when somebody is shot or killed. Scorsese uses this technique in The Departed when the 'rat' is shot execution style (in the head). The music stops as soon as the gun is fired. All we hear is the body hitting the floor. The killer stands still, starring at the dead body in absolute silence. Scorsese music to good effect in his films.
This video shows how Scorsese uses music, in this scene the music starts of slow and almost seems calm, but increases pace and volume as the battle escalates. The music is fast paced rock music.
When the gang leader stabs the rival gang leader, the music slows down. When the body hits the ground, the music stops. He uses music to indicate that someone has died. When the person dies the music stops.
Element 1 - Setting
Martin Scorsese has made it a trademark in his films to have New York as the main setting. Even though The Departed is set in Boston, some of the filming was shot in New York. Scorsese was born in Brooklyn's, this could be a reason why he shoots his films in New York. Most of his movies are set back in different decades, varying from the present day, and back to the 1800's. In all 3 movies that i watched the main characters were all mobsters or gangsters. Scorsese shoots a lot of the films in pubs and bars. The pubs and bars varied in style because of the different era's the movies were set in. In Gangs of New York, the bars were considerably different compared to GoodFellas and The Departed. In Gangs of New York, the bar was a big, wooden building with live music and lots of people, in GoodFellas the pubs were much smaller, few people, very dark and had no music, in The Departed the bar/pub was very similar to GoodFellas, small, dark and few people in it, just the gangsters and mobsters.
A lot if the films were set in back alleys, roof tops and old abandoned buildings. Filming in these places helped to set the tone and atmosphere of the movies. A high percentage of the action happens in back alleys and old buildings, especially shootings and fights.
Scorsese uses long tracking shots at the start of many of his films to show the setting. These tracking shots give us an overlook of the city and how it is represented. He does this in Gangs Of New York, it shows us the olden day version of New York, the old buildings, the cobblestone roads and the different styles in that era.
Scorsese uses setting in a very interesting way, the places where he decides to shoot the films are perfect for the situation. This makes the films more interesting to watch.
This video shows setting in Gangs of New York. It shows how New York developed after the dark days in this movie.
A lot if the films were set in back alleys, roof tops and old abandoned buildings. Filming in these places helped to set the tone and atmosphere of the movies. A high percentage of the action happens in back alleys and old buildings, especially shootings and fights.
Scorsese uses long tracking shots at the start of many of his films to show the setting. These tracking shots give us an overlook of the city and how it is represented. He does this in Gangs Of New York, it shows us the olden day version of New York, the old buildings, the cobblestone roads and the different styles in that era.
Scorsese uses setting in a very interesting way, the places where he decides to shoot the films are perfect for the situation. This makes the films more interesting to watch.
This video shows setting in Gangs of New York. It shows how New York developed after the dark days in this movie.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
