DIRECTING UNIT: TAXI DRIVER SCREENING

In the session today we started by watching the film Taxi Driver. We then went on to discuss the following:

Screen language:

• its a language you must learn and will continue to learn
• It’s a complex integration of visuals and sounds
• importantly, it allows you to ADD LAYERS to the story that go beyond the words on the page of the script 
• its a language you must learn and will continue to learn throughout your career 

Taxi Driver:

• Directed by Martin Scorsese - the film is a prime example of how a director can add LAYERS to a story by the way its directed 
• made on location, with no special effects used in this film

Travis (character)

• starts as a very ordanary looking character with the way he dresses, apart from the army jacket that he wears. 
• When he starts to work out and prepare with the guns we see his scar on his back which shows that he has been through some horrible times and makes us question what the story is.
• later when we see him popping a pill and suddenly he has a mohawk showing his complete change and has almost become a soldier 

Betsy (Character)

• when we first see Betsy she is wearing a long white dress, symbolising an angel, innocence, you can almost describe the character just by looking at her.
• only 2 scenes don’t have Travis in them and that is the scene with Betsy and he co worker talking and iris and Sport, these two scenes both share the theme of a man expressing his love for the woman in the scene
• at the end of the film, Betsy’s character is darkened, and hardly seen, only her face is really seen, which makes you question if she is actually there or if this part is just in Travis’s head

Characters:

All the characters in this film are unique, distinct and invested 

Suit of Amor

• this is the costume that the character puts on when it’s going to go big and break out

Setting/locations

• time/setting/tone/character, mood, authenticity/story
• most of the locations make Travis look and feel trapped. he’s around people but never involved with them. Colour read is used in eat location in some way, whether its clothing, props or set. 

Camera:

• In the opening shot where we first see Travis, he is given the position of power by the fact he is standing up during this interview