Shots, Shots, Shots, Shots, Shots

Blog # 4

Relationships Between Shots:

Wolf of Wall Street Opening Scene

The scene I chose to do is the introduction scene of the movie The Wolf of Wall Street directed by Martin Scorsese.  I chose this scene because The Wolf of Wall Street is one of my favorite films and I thought the way Scorsese took a real story and transformed it into a masterpiece was astonishing.  The introduction caught my eye especially because it is the very first glimpse you get into the story that is about to be unfolded.  This scene is important in all films; it sets the mood and can be a make-it or break-it scene that determines whether you watch the rest.

                A major theme in this film is excess and Scorsese not only portrays this through the story, the characters, and the setting but through the design of his shots.  In the first scene he tells a short story and gives the audience multiple points of views and mini scenes in one.  One shot that stood out to me was when he pans from the back of the house to the front of the house at an angle.  There was many ways he could do this shot to show the lavish estate but this strategy was pleasing to the eye and something unique.  Scorsese also uses a lot of angles, instead of shooting straight on he gives more variety to the shot by shooting from corners of rooms and not only allowing more to be in the shot but it keeps the scene visually intriguing.  Scorsese also throws in many “at home video” types of shots in the midst of his scene.  These show an amateur quality but remind the audience of the fact that this is a real life story of someone.  Another interesting shot is the one Scorsese shoots over a women’s body, it gets the viewer questioning at first what the shot is of but once we figure it out it plays with the sexuality theme in the movie.

What I most appreciate about Scorsese is his ability to come up with such innovative ideas and ways to shoot his movie.  I admire his ability to “show” and not “tell” the story and its themes through his imagery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tX40xe2cnw