Throughout the duration of this film I was highly captivated, by multiple factors; the story-telling, the soundtrack and overall personality’s of characters. A memorable scene for me was when Mark Renton overdosed and was taken to hospital. This stood out to me sue to the soundtrack and the cinematography within this scene.
In this screen grab from this moment, before he overdoses the carpet falls into the ground creating a coffin shape that it falls in. This moment stands out due to the symbolism, the coffin shape representing his life slipping away from him. The carpet slipping is filmed at a low angle showing the moment in focus which I think makes it more powerful to me. It also stands out due to this whimsical event, we see this in the toilet scene it shows the effect that drugs have on their viewpoint and what they perceive.
9/10 – This was a very highly anticipated film for me as I know that it is a beloved cult film, and I enjoyed it a lot. I really like how it dealt with really difficult topics such as heavy drug use, sexuality and social matters. The acting was amazing which really kept me invested throughout the film, along with the use of narration.
The most memorable scene in Trainspotting for me was when Mark Renton overdosed on heroin because I think that it was really well done with the way they film it. I love the shot from Renton’s point as he sinks into the floor with the Mother Superior looking down at him. It gives a really claustrophobic feel and makes it seem as if he is in a coffin. As well as this, the music being Perfect Day by Lou Reed adds some irony to the scene. To add to this irony, there are some shots of an ambulance going past where he is along with the noises of the siren, which I think really shows the fact that the Mother Superior doesn’t care about him, only his money as it shows him putting Renton into a taxi, where he is then dumped outside A&E.
Cinematography in Trainspotting:
I like the use of an over the shoulder shot in this scene. It is eye level, which I think adds to the background narration and the fact that this is extra-diegetic (breaking the 4th wall). This makes the spectator feel more connected with the character, even though he is not in a relatable situation whatsoever.
Mise-En-Scene in Trainspotting:
The mise-en-scene in this scene feels intentionally uncomfortable and almost sterile but it also reflects the time it was set in. Spud’s surroundings feel like they are supposed to contrast his chaotic personality and how he is acting while he is on speed. While it is a comedic scene, the look of his messy hair and suit makes you feel almost bad for him because his lifestyle is making him struggle to get a job.
Editing in Trainspotting:
I chose this scene as an example of editing because I like how it shows the difference between their lifestyles. Tommy wants to get out and explore because he is healthy and clean, while the others are lagging behind, not wanting to go with Renton even drinking. I think that it marks a change in Tommy because it is only a scene later that he tries heroin, which is what contributes to his death.
Sound in Trainspotting:
I really like the use of sound in this scene because they have the song Perfect Day by Lou Reed playing in the background, which adds a lot of irony to it as Renton had just overdosed. It also makes it a lot sadder, as it shows how they treat drug addicts like scum, which emphasises the irony. The only other thing that is heard in the scene are ambulance sirens, which ultimately drive past Renton entirely. I think that this is really powerful in showing the situation that he is in; that the Mother Superior does not care about him, only his money and that his drug addict friends would betray him for money and drugs.
The film portrayed an accurate and in depth representation of drug addiction and the lower class Scotland at the time. I can see why the film would be considered to be a classic as it is very unique and portrays a powerful message. However, it was very graphic and vulgar even though it adds to the storyline it felt uncomfortable to see at times.
Stand out scene: When Renton comes off heroin and is experience intense hallucinations as a result of withdrawal, this scene stand out to me as even though Renton is experiencing a lot of mental pain the scene still gives off a sense of hope as his addiction is subsiding and he’s stopped taking the drugs making the audience feel hopeful for his future.
Personally I enjoyed this film. It has a sense of culture to it. People from the UK would understand and recognise the movie for what it is. A main reason for the high score is because of the soundtrack. With iconic songs like Bornslippy made the movie for me. For me the movie is almost an advert on why yo shouldn’t do drugs. It shows off a heroin addict in the worst and true way living in Scotland.
At some point I couldn’t watch and thought where to much. Especially when they showed needles where I couldn’t watch. Other than that the movie was great and I highly recommend.
Memorable scene
A memorable scene for me is the last period of the movie where Mark Renton has just taken the drug money from the hotel. It has a voice over of Renton explaining he is now clean from drugs and is going off to live his life. The final scene is Spud being given a chunk of money Renton left him as he felt that Spud was the one who deserved it.
I really enjoyed this film. my score out of 10 would be 8.5/10. there are some very realistic scenes and representations of how British politics created a legacy of disaster for Scotland specifically. There’s no censoring in this film which allows the audience to be shown what the realities of living in Scotland during the heroin and AIDS epidemic was really like.
The exploration of gender is very interesting to, as topics like gender expression in a place like Scotland during the mid to late 90s would have been very stigmatised.
a scene which was memorable for me was when Renton went to Tommy’s apartment. Renton was now clean and trying to get himself together, while Tommy was deep in the pits of addiction and had contracted AIDS. there is a parallel between Tommy and Renton as before Tommy was using heroin he represented the middle class of Scotland which had not been affected by the terrors of drug abuse. Renton represents the disease of drug abuse and how it can ruin peoples lives, e.g. the events of Renton stealing Tommy’s sex tape lead him to using heroin and eventually dying.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
TIME CODE 5:31
In this scene as well as many others we can see the character Swanny, also known as Mother Superior. Every time we see this character he is in the drug den surrounded by a sinister red light. The red light in this film represents all of Renton’s vices; sex, drugs, death, and everything else that is stopping Renton from “choosing life” When the audience sees the red light they know that Renton or one of his friends will most likely be using heroin, this creates a sense of anxiety within the spectator.
I believe that the question of ‘what makes a film good’ can have many answers to it; the plot, the cultural impact, the score etc. However, to me, there is not one thing that makes a film good alone. The right combination of a good plot, paired with good acting, suitable music and direction can be what does this; these aspects being the macro elements to films.
The micro elements on the other hand, are incredibly important in making a film great, despite not being obvious at first glance. For example; the way a scene is set up – the mise en scene – can impact the way the viewer depicts a film. It can be a great tool in adding plot devices or even foreshadowing that the viewer may not pick up on the first time watching. Furthermore, editing can also help with doing this. While it may not be obvious at first glance, colour grading can impact the way you are supposed to feel about characters, as well as set the general mood for the film. Schindler’s list is a good example of this; it’s an all black and white film despite being filmed in 1993, the only colour ever shown being the girl walking in the streets.
I also think that having the right score for a film is incredibly important. Similar to colour grading, music helps to impact the way the viewer is supposed to feel about a character, along with also making certain scenes feel so much more important and interesting. Music is extremely impactful in films even when they aren’t musicals, for example; The Pirates of the Caribbean. Hans Zimmer, a very famous composer in the film industry, wrote the score for Pirates of the Caribbean. I feel that the music in that film is just so captivating and that half of the movie just wouldn’t feel half as impactful if there was no music all together. As well as this, the music in Pirates of the Caribbean is so iconic and instantly recognisable because it was very influential. Another example is Coraline. The iconic ‘French’ sounding song in Coraline is actually gibberish made to sound like French, which I think just adds to the unsettling nature of the film.
Overall, I think it’s very difficult to pick out one aspect of a film that makes it good, as there are many things to think about when it comes to films.
If you to were ask the question what makes a film “good” to a group of people, you would most probably get a handful of different answers, as there are many ways to critique and view films. For example, one way someone may critique a film is through a realist approach. A realist would favour a film such as ‘Blair Witch Project’, with its shaky camera, “homemade” shots and characters which feel more like real people and not actors. Another way of viewing a film would be through the lens of mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene critiques would focus more on the environment and the features that contribute to the scene, such as the lightning and sets, and would therefore favour a film such as ‘Blade runner’ and the futuristic, urban environment that Ridley Scott creates with her picturesque shots. Alternatively, critiques may choose to criticize a film with the ‘auteur’(author) mindset, coming from the French film studies journal ‘Cahiers du cinema’ in 1951, which is where the critique will analyse a handful of the director’s films and try to pick out any stylistic repetitions that the director may display in their films, such as favouring a certain type of score in their films. A critique may also take a formalist approach when viewing a film. A formalist critique will look at how the composition of shots comes together, and how they juxtapose and compliment one another. They would enjoy a film such as ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, with its sequences of incoherent and surreal imagery-apes and embryos, during its ending. A popular way of critiquing forms of art, not just film, would be with a feminist viewpoint. In a film, a feminist critic would look at the amount of screen time that the female actors have been given, the way in which the women in the film are presented and common stereotypes depicted in the film, which means they would favour a film such as 2023’s ‘Barbie’, with its deep, underlying message that women can be whatever they want to be, independent from their relationship with a man. Finally, in my personal opinion I think that the view and way of critiquing a film which I most agree with is that of mise-en-scene, as I think that the features of a film that do make special and “good” are the atmosphere and the environment that the director creates within the world of the film.
Monaco talks about the different artistic expressions such as visual arts, performing arts, literary arts and film. He describes that with visual arts these single moments are unchangeable. Performing arts, is a form of art that has a distinct narrative and are often performed live. Literary arts involve poetry, novels and essays, this array of literary arts show deep emotion through storytelling. All these artistic expressions fall under the roof of ‘film,’ they are all forms of art in their own way.
They way Monaco speaks about advancing technology can change the idea of film in whole different way. They way technology is now we can watch every film on demand (the film will always be available to watch whenever). This withdraws the excitement of watching film live. They only way we have access to live film is performing arts. He also allows us to know that film can indicate and help people’s emotional and political views on the world.
Big close-up: As this shot is so close it gives the audience a distinct focal point to look at. She is breaking the 4th wall (looking straight into the camera) which makes the audience feel she is talking to us. I think the director purposely did tis shot as a big close-up because it makes see the character in a deeper way/level. As the shot is close up, we can see every emotion very vividly. Just looking into her eyes, you can see the panic or the unstable mentality.
Long Shot: This shot shows Chiron at the train station alone. The way he is shat in the middles with the whole of the city landscape behind him helps to signify he’s extremely lonely. I think the director has purposely done this to help this audience feel sympathy for him as he’s solitary. As an audience member myself, watching this scene showed me that there is the whole world, but Chiron still ends up alone.
Extreme long shot: This scene shows the area where Juan sells the drugs. The shot helps the audience consume all the different details about this location. It helps us see it’s run down and a quiet area; this signals that it could be a very dodgy area that is very unsafe.
Camera Angles-Moonlight
High Angle: This a shot taken of Chiron walking home from school. This high camera angle can direct the audience’s attention to the vulnerability he is in. It also makes him seem powerless with the shot, even though he is the only one in the frame he is alone which calls out he is alone. This is also followed on throughout the film as there are many other scenes where’s we see Chiron alone.
Low Angle: This low angle shows little looking up at Juan. The camera angle lets us see his whole face and reaction. As a viewer this angle could also signify that he is ‘little’ even though they are both sitting down the angle can help represent that his name signifies his height.
Eye-line Angle: An eye line angle helps us see the image in the frame at a ’natural’ position. In this case and in this scene, Black and Kevin are having a conversation. This angle can let the audience clearly see the two characters talking.
Camera Movements
Pan Right: This scene is when Chiron (black) is talking to his mum in her garden. The way the camera slowly focuses makes the viewer feel they are watching this scene from the background. It also clearly shows how closed off the characters in the location.
Pan Left: This scene is when Chiron is walking home from school and the camera instantly moves to Paula (his mum) and puts the focus onto her.
Track in- Track out: In this scene the camera slowly tracks onto little when he is in the field with his friends. The camera shows that he is feeling disconnected with his friends as it shows the viewer he is left out/alone even when he’s with his friends.
Sound Editor: The sound editor selects, polishes, and assembles three primary elements—recorded dialogue, sound effects, and music—into a complete, integrated soundtrack.
Sound Mixer: The leader of the production sound crew, responsible for recording high-quality audio on set and location for film and television productions.
What’s the difference between the role of the a Sound Editor and a Sound Mixer? The difference between the two roles is that the Sound Editors find the resources and the Sound Mixers “mix” them all together.
Diegetic: the sound that the audience but also the characters CAN hear in the film.
Non-Diegetic: The sound that only the audience can hear and the characters CAN’T.
The diegetic sound in this scene is when the Joker pulls the trigger of the gun. The audience can hear the gunshots as well as Arthur and his mum. As well as the gunshots there is the tv playing in the background which gets turned up louder after the gun is shot. However his mum also starts shouting wondering what just happened.
The non-diegetic sound in this scene is the music playing over the top of the Joker on his way to the Murray Show. This music is up beat but also capturing.
Synchronous: is a sound that is matched with the action and movements being viewed.
Asynchronous: is not matched with visible source of the sound on the screen.
what is it meant by needle drop? needle drop is when a popular song is added into a movie to set the scene. Juxtaposition to the sound, to the image. It can either relate to what is happening in that certain moment or can completely go against it.
Sound Effects: are artificially created or enhanced sounds that are used in artistic works to emphasize or express an action, mood, or feeling. Sound effects were initially used in radio dramas, but can be observed more often today in podcasts, theatre, films, and television shows.
Ben Burt created the lightsabresound.
Which film genres do you associate them with? Horror, Science Fiction.
Foley Artists: A foley artists layers sounds onto a film (post-production). They film in a soundproof room and use anything they can to make the sound realistic. They usually enhance the sounds that are happening in the scene e.g a person wearing high heels and walking.
Leitmotif: A leitmotif is a short musical phrase that helps the audience understand who’s appearing or what’s happening in the scene. They include character ,setting, emotion and mood. An example of a character leitmotif is the avengers every time they are in one big group music is played which sounds demanding and strong.
Lcutand Jcut: •A sound bridge is a type of sound editing that occurs when sound carries over a visual transition in a film. A L-cut is when you see the video/film image with the sound, and the sound then follows through to other shots. A Jcut is is when you can hear the sound in one scene and then it switches to where the sound is from.
Voice Over: Often tells the audience what they need to know but also could be unreliable e.g. film noir, Shawshank redemption.
Score/Underscore: The underscore/score helps distinguish what the mood is and also helps create an atmosphere. the underscore is just music quietly playing underneath the dialogue.
Sound Perspective: Refers to the apparent distance of a sound source, evidenced by its volume, timbre, and pitch.
Sound Design: Sound design is when the sound designer creates a layer of sounds in the scene. In Munich the build up to the big climax was silent, when the build up was happening one at a time each background sound was taken away leaving the audience to hear nothing.
My favourite soundtrack in a movie is ‘Anyone But You’. i like this soundtrack because it has modern songs in it such as Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield’s. As they used a well known song it made the movie more engaging. Having a song that is made in the 2000s also helps show the age of the characters and how they relate to this song. The songs are mostly upbeat however, some are ballad.
