Martin Scorsese - Director Choice

Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese

Born November 17, 1942, in Flushing, New York, Martin Scorsese is known for his gritty, meticulous filmmaking style and is widely considered one of the most important directors of all time. Scorsese's passion for films started at a young age, as he was an 8-year-old pint-sized filmmaker. In 1968, he completed his first feature-length film, Who's That Knocking at My Door?, but it wasn't until he released Taxi Driver nearly 10 years later that he skyrocketed to fame for his raw formula of storytelling. He proved that the film wasn't a fluke with a string of landmark films, such as Raging Bull, Goodfellas and Mean Streets.

Directing Credits

Taxi Driver

Goodfellas

Raging Bull

The Departed

The Wolf Of Wall Street

Trademark styles

Often martin Scorsese uses diagetic music which is an interesting thing for a director to do from my opinion i find it a nicer way of connecting to a character or scene when you no what they are listening too such as the scene where Iris and Sport dance together.

Tracking shots are a favourite thing for martin Scorsese such as his most famous and most noted tracking shot the scene in Goodfellas Going thought the kitchen of the basement of the copacabana night club to the main part of the restaurant to there table.

Intro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBguadhAX_

Middle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UneHDzMhbbw

Ending

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq4ucbgrV6U

http://www.biography.com/people/martin-scorsese-9476727#synop

Contextual write up

Sherlock

There are many qualities starting from mise en scene and from the technical point of view first of I must talk about the TV series itself Sherlock very popular TV series based in the UK more specifically in London. The main character from the TV series is a man named Sherlock holmes and his trusty companion James Watson they both lived together at 221 Baker Street both work together to investigate crimes such as murder theft and missing items.

 

Costumes in the TV series multiple different looks such as Sherlock Holmes’s outfit is normally a combination of the suit trenchcoat routes and deerstalker hat but then when compare James Watson’s outfit it is more casual normally wears a shirt and leather jacket and jeans and boots. The interesting thing about Sherlock TV series is that it’s the only Sherlock Holmes inspired series that is set in the modern day.

 

The make up in the series is all very natural any main clear signs of make up is when either they get scratched bruised. Other parts of make up within the TV series is mainly even towards dead bodies blood and silly things such as James Watson’s moustache.

 

The movement within the series very fluid or very still it is very fluid scenes such as when James Watson and Sherlock Holmes have their arms handcuffed together and running through the streets. The scenes are very fluid is when Sherlock Holmes was explaining how he faked his own death. Other scenes that are more still more often when Sherlock Holmes playing his violin only a very still shot or it’s more than zoom, very specific angle of the scene that is very still also slightly fluid twin James Watson and Sherlock Holmes first meet each other to see Sherlock flogging a dead body to see if it was bruised man was killed in another way in the same scene James Watson comes into the room somewhat more still shot as he has a limp and a walking stick.

 

The lighting within the TV series is all very natural or it would appear so they try to make you look natural lighting such as positioning of where the lights are room Street were a warehouse see the lights on natural some probably are not supported stage lights make them look like natural lights. Other trickery that they do with lights the specifically sometimes put lighting certain object or person to make you look more and be aware of the surroundings other lighting that is used as such as when Sherlock Holmes users his mind Palace investigate the situation when he does this the lighting comes slightly dimmer and the lighting becomes more intense with the writing what he’s thinking.

 

The colouring in the TV series is normally a mixture of greys whites and Blacks you sometimes get a hint very extreme lighting such as when they are drunk and clubbing is very blurry as a very intense lighting within the blurriness also colouring it on some very interesting ways of showing stuff such as women are trying to investigate the death of a woman dressed in pink the investigation through course of the episode episode is very tricky to understand thing you do understand by the end of it when they find the suitcase that Sherlock Holmes was looking for very obviously the dead woman’s suitcase because it is as bright as her pink outfit you know immediately they are connected.

Contextual studies soap

Contextual studies - Soap

Today we watched the first episode of BBC's EastEnders and discussed the series and the genre.

- First episode in 1985.
- Set in fictional London borough.
- Initially broadcast twice a week.
- First  episode attracted 17m viewers.
- Storylines set around Beale and Fowler families.

- First UK soap to feature culturally diverse cast from opening episode.

What is 'soap opera'

Serial melodrama, primarily dealing with family and emotional issues.

 Originated in US, aimed at housewife demographic.
Sponsored by detergent companies, hence the name 'soap opera'.
All soap operas share common codes ad conventions.



Technical conventions
  Multi-camera.
 Limited sets.
 Diegetic sound.
 HD technology has required more 'realistic' sets more detail.



Narrative conventions
  Episodic format - typically 30 minutes.
  Repetition - relies on stock characters and locations returns to in each episode.
-Resolution - Serial form mean constantly evolving; soap plots may take weeks, months or even years to be resolved.




Common soap conventions Births, marriages and deaths
  Love triangles
Every soap opera relies on repetition of these stock plot conventions to renew their storylines and characters and make dramatically relevant to the audience.




Contemporary Realistic settings and characters dealing with realistic issues.
  Drug abuse
 Mental illness
 Sexual abuse & violence

Contextual studies Sound

Contextual Studies - Sound

Today's lecture with Louis was about sound. We talked about how important sound is, that the importance varies depending on what you're making and what mood you want to give.

Function of sound

Aural narrative
Sonic ambience (mood, atmosphere, sound effects)
Emotional or intellectual resonance or dissonance (music)

Use of  sound effects
 Heighten drama - abstract or enhanced effects designed to affect audience perception or emotional state = audible heartbeats in horror films)
Simulate reality - ambient background that underscores and reinforces unity of Mise en scene and editing =traffic noise, chatter, room tone)

key elements of film sound
 Speech (dialogue, narration)
Ambient or natural sound
Sound effects
Musical score or soundtrack.

Music is narrative device
 Music underscored or accentuates visual narrative, emotion or drama
Can create emotional or intellectual resonance or dissonance.
Use of leitmotifs: a short, recurring musical  associated with a particular person, place or idea such as Jaws theme, Darth Vader's march in Star Wars and others.

Contextual studies Mise en scene

Contextual Studies - Mise en Scène

Everything being shown on the scene or screen, actors, lightning, props, costume and so on is called "Mise en Scène"

The key elements of mice en scene is:
Staging - Placement of characters and props, and their body language
Costume/makeup - Visual look of characters
Setting - Environment in which the story takes place
Lightning - How it affects the setting and characters

We looked at different clips from Game of Thrones to compare the Mise en Scène from scene to scene.


Tyrion and Cersei in King's Landing

Staging The body language of Cersai conveys female dominance. She is the one in control over Tyrion in this scene.

Costumes and make up Wearing nice clothes and gold being everywhere shows wealth and importance. Cersai's red dress and Tyrion's black clothes.

Setting Warm, grand (maybe a castle), rich and exotic

Lighting Soft and warm natural lighting. Could be morning or mid afternoon.


Jon Snow prepares to head towards Craster's Keep

Staging - Those with higher priority was placed higher up Status and rank.

Costume/makeup - Everyone wearing similar clothes. Also gives them a bond to eachother.

Setting - Colder and darker. More masculine.

Lighting - The warm light is replaced with a colder, blue light. The lightning is harsh and makes lots of shadows.

Contextual studies crime drama

The Bill

Set in fictional London police station
 From 1988-2005, became year-round twice-weekly serial.
 Change from being a series to a soap and then back to series.
 Peak audiences of 11m viewers in 2005 rivalled Coronation Street 
 Longest-running UK crime drama (1983-2010)

 Originally 12x60min episodes


Technical conventions 
 Editing: chase scenes, montage, flashbacks
 Usually single camera, but can also be shot on multi-camera
 Camera movement - either handheld mockumentary style or Steadicam, dollies, cranes

Visual devices:
  extreme close up for tension or reveal
 Tilted, low and high angles
 Slow motion
 CG recreation (CSI)
 Graphical text (Sherlock)

Narrative conventions
  typically 60 minutes. Usually self-contained closed narratives.
 relies on returning central cast (team) and location (police station)

Symbolic conventions

Lighting- low-key. Many crime dramas use light-dark contrasts in costume, setting and lightning
 Authenticity - props, costume, settings
 New conventions - detection via computer. Lighting and exposition.

Character, archetypes
 The rebel Detective or senior cop. Usually male. Sometimes corrupt.
 The king  Commanding officer or station sergeant.
 The innocent' : Audience surrogate and empathy.
The villain

presentation

costumes- costumes are very to what the era was in 1891 such as  

very true to clothing of the century. men normally where suits to show power and manly hood. clothing such as waistcoat, shirt and suits.

you can see from the clothing of these guys that they are clearly bad from there dark clothing and slick look you can say it is very Nazi connected with uniforms which would explain a lot since the it is suppose to be in Germany.


powerpoint-clothing during the time was.


lighting/colours- the colouring is very dime but with characters faces they are light up to show more expression and detail to the characters. when there is an explosion or a bullet being shot its very in tense lighting to show very real gun fight .
                 

Powerpoint- the lighting and colours is very interesting.


stage directions-there movements are very ecstatic very real like when they fall over showing they are struggling to get away at  the same time trying not to get shot.

Powerpoint- stage directions.


make up- he make up is very natural. the blood on Sherlock is very good it was  from earlier when he was hooked up on a meat hook from  Moriarty  and the mud on there clothing and faces.

powerpoint- make up natural and blood.

gavins email: gavin2704@live.co.uk