Invisible style storytelling – The treatment of space in classical Hollywood strives to overcome or conceal the two-dimensionality of film and is strongly centered upon the human body. The majority of shots in a classical film focus on gestures or facial expressions (medium-long and medium shots). – Gives a sense of Verisimilitude, continuity editing.
Continuity editing – the process, in film and video creation, of combining more-or-less related shots, or different components cut from a single shot, into a sequence to direct the viewer’s attention to a pre-existing consistency of story across both time and physical location. – Directs audiences attention, narrative continuity.
The big 5 studios were Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), RKO, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Paramount Pictures
Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) was associated with some famous epics, producing both versions of Mutiny on the Bounty (1935, 1962) and Ben-Hur (1925, 1959) and Musicals like ‘The Wizard of Oz.
RKO produced the well-known Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers series of musicals and the early films of Katharine Hepburn, including Bringing Up Baby (1938).
20th Century Fox produced mainly westerns, musicals, screen biographies, and religious epics.
Warner Bros. turned to more socially realistic storylines. Because of its many films about gangsters, Warner Bros. soon became known as a “gangster studio”.
Paramount Pictures was well known in the era for its comedies, both the sophisticated sex comedies and the crazier, anarchic works.
2. Vertical Integration enabled studios to achieve control over the entire film industry and this studio system (from the 1930s to the1950s) affected the way films were made and the way they were watched. Films were made very cheaply during the studio system.
Block booking is a system of selling multiple films to a theatre as a unit. Block booking was the prevailing practice in the Hollywood studio system from the turn of the 1930s until it was outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. (1948).
3.The original Studio system collapse – In the end, the Court ruled in United States v. Paramount on May 4, 1948, finding that the studios had violated anti-trust laws, in a devastating blow to five major studios and three smaller ones. The case had roots dating back to 1921, when concerns first arose about the studios and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
4. The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the start of World War II on the European front were some of the most impactful historical events of 1930-1947.
young people- throughout the movie they are all young adults not middle aged. this showed their immaturity throughout the movie because they never seem to take ant form of responsibility for things, e.g. when the baby died they just didn’t care about it and just left it alone.
old people- the more older people in this movie tent to be care givers to the young adults and they seem to be unaware of how bad the situation actually is, like Renton’s parents trying to take care of him when he overdoses and when the young girls parents are fully unaware their daughter slept with a man.
working class- in the middle of the film we can see that Renton is trying to start a new life selling houses at a very small wedge. so he can earn a living and move on with his life. during this time he has a very small grotty flat, he is also living off noodles, but he doesn’t seem to care as he seems happy and wants to move on with his life.
Scottish people- this movie really sets a tone on what it is like in the bad areas of Scotland. at the beginning of the movie, with vodka in his hand. they all start to complain about how bad it is to be Scottish and they are pretty much worthless because of where they are from .
women- the women in this movie are all glammed up throughout and are not drug addicts like the men. they follow the rules and are usually very attractive, except the fact that Diane is a minor she is an attractive young girl that caught Renton’s eye. the women seem to not care about what the men do and do not show up heavily in the movie.
men- the men in this movie all all addicted to drugs and seem to get themselves in trouble a lot with the police, they cannot get jobs as they lack education and also do not have a stable place to stay anymore since thy got involved in drugs and addiction. they are usually unaware that what they are doing is wrong and it gets them in even more trouble through out this movie.
the film is a solid 7/10 I thought the message they put across was good. the cinematography was really strong and helps you engage with the movie more. the sound was really good and i liked that they used the same song throughout.
editing- at the start of the film they type out all of their names on the screen to show what type of people they are and why their names are like that, showing a little bit into their lives. when they show sick boys introduction it is him throwing some sort of tantrum to show that he is an angry hot-headed character and that he is a bit more snappy than the others.
mise-en scene- the best use of mise-en scene in this movie is when spud is in a job interview. there is nothing interesting in the background so we can fully put our attention on spud to see how he is acting on these drugs. using POV shots so we can just understand how crazy and out of pocket spud is acting.
cinematography- when Renton had his overdose and when he had his withdrawals he is showing a lot of close up shots and a lot more on his level. this allows the audience to really understand how he was feeling in this huge moment of weakness.
sound- sound is used a lot during this movie to set the mood and so we know what part of the movie we are on, like the same song is played throughout to show that they are in a good mood and something bad will end up happening after the part of the song finishes.
set design is used in the “worst toilet in Scotland” scene, as the set is dirty, uses dark colours, this is to reflect how Renton’s life has been affected by drugs, as he no longer has standards
sound:
sound is used to show the character development of the characters, as at the start of the film mark Renton has a monologue about life being pointless, then at the end there is a much more light hearted monologue about life
cinematography:
in the opening tracking shots are used to follow renton as he runs away
editing:
in the intro, we see a montage showing rentons life, introducing him and his friends the montage shows how chaotic his life is, and towards the end how drugs have affected it, as he is in a worn down house.
