Scorsese's Typical Techniques

Martin Scorsese aims to maintain the division between reality and fiction in his films, by combining
- Method acting (Stanislavsky's techniques for naturalistic character portrayl)
- specific detail about times and places to place the viewer realistically in the setting and context
- non-linear narrative (events happening out of chronological order) to imitate the recall of human memory
with
- rhythmic editing (shots that are cut in time to music or in an even time sequence) which is not naturalistic, and alerts the viewer to the fact that the film is a work of fiction
- slow motion cinematography to separate the events from how they would happen in reality
- non-digetic sound effects, to take the events and characters out of their natural surroundings, and place them in a more contrived context.

In terms of collaborations, I've already mentiond that Scorsese has worked with numerous occasions with Robert de Niro and Leonardo di Caprio, but he has also worked with cinematographer Michael Chapman on both Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

Although Scorsese's films are mostly based on violence, he presents a very ambivalent view towards this - displaying the violence in all its awfulness, while at the same time positioning the viewer through camera angles, music and editing to identify with it. For example, in Taxi Driver, we sympathise with the main character Travis, while at the same time hate him for his violent behaviour and anti-social attitudes. It seems that Scorsese means to create this confusion in his audience by combining high levels of violence with redeeming features in his characters, using film techniques.