First Response –
Director – Danny Boyle

I give a rating of 8/10. For me throughout the whole movie, it felt like you where watching a true story of the group of people. This feeling was created by the actors, who’s acting was very talented and quite emotional to watch. The acting created the feeling of a realism of social issues in life.

The most memorable scene for me was when Renton is in his locked bedroom and is having withdrawal symptoms. This is the most memorable scene for me because I though the acting from Ewan McGregor made the scene very memorable and unforgettable. I also though the sound that was used was amazing because as the music got quicker and louder the more Renton got more fidgety and angrier.

Trainspotting – Micro elements

Sound – my favourite seen that used sound amazingly was when he was having withdrawal symptoms in his bedroom. I liked the way they used sound because as Renton was getting more and more fidgety and anxious and increasing with his symptoms the music/ Sound get faster and slightly louder over the time of this scene

Editing – In this scene the use of adding a title of the names of each character help the audience to understand each character individually and instead of guessing which character is who you already know who they are from the use of editing. This creates a sense of being knowledgeable as you don’t have to go finding in the film who is who.

Mise En Scene – In this scene I thought the mise en scene used showcased the scene perfect. There is a group of old people playing bingo and Renton is just sat in the middle of the gathering feeling uncomfortable and wanting to get out of the situation he is in. In this scene it creates a sense of the two different life’s that Renton and his parent have; Renton’s life – unsettling and upsetting, Parent’s life – fun and a social life.

Cinematography – in this seen, the camera is a birds eye view of Renton laying on the floor. This creates a sense that Renton is feeling week and appears to be needing help, as the audience we are looking over him creating a sense that we are watching him get defeated by drugs. This scene get quite disturbing and upsetting when there is a a shot of Renton looking up with a rectangle frame creating a sense that he is in a coffin and he is dying.

My rating-8/10

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.

Critical score: 9/10

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.

SOUND

TIME CODE

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 4^th 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 lightsabre sound.

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.

Lcut and 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.

A sound mixer ensures audio is recorded at a good level for each take., they decide when in films sounds are necessary.

a sound editor tracks the layers of sound in film and ensure they all blend well together.

The Shepard’s Tone– this makes views/ listeners believe pitch is always going up higher and lower creating a jarring contrast to make the audience believe something is intense.

diegetic– when it is in side the characters world eg a car horn

non-diegetic– when a sound is playing that the character cannot hear and is outside their world eg music playing.

examples in joker –

diegetic:

The radio, car horns, chatter and footsteps in the background, Arthurs character can hear therefore it is diegetic.

non-diegetic

The melancholy violin music playing in the background the therapist and Arthur cannot hear therefore it is non-diegetic.

sound effects-

•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

film genres usually associated is horror action and si-fi films. Where the soundscape is enhanced to increase dramatic tension

Foley artists- a Foley artist layers sound over the film once it has finished production, the sounds are created by random objects to perfectly replicate natural noises.

light motif- a specific set of music to distinguish and establish a specific franchise. you can have it for character as a theme tune eg jaws, setting in the lord of the rings to tell viewers where the characters are, emotions can be used by slowing down or speeding up a song to create meaning eg the UP theme tune.

L & J cut- bridges a visible transition.

Voice over- gives consumer a idea as the what’s happening in the plot, but can be unreliable eg- Shawshank redemption, Ferris Bulers day off.

underscoring- to establish the mood and atmosphere and almost the characters thoughts possibly to tell the audience what’s coming.

Synchronous sound- when a visible action is matched with a sound.

asynconous sound-is used when the director wants to create tension as the viewer can hear a sound but cannot see its source. Sometimes the audience can’t hear the sound that the character inside the film can hear.

needle drop- popular song dropped into a film and usually sets the mood. eg- Garry glitter song n joker steps sequence.

sound perspective-refers to the apparent distance of a sound source, evidenced by its volume, timbre, and pitch.

sound design- the use of sound in a film to carry the narrative along, which is crucial for the viewing experience that has a lot more of importance then we know. The use of sound creates depth, the most dominant sound in the scene and how it creates meaning for the story eg- the little girls footsteps going through the apartment to highlight her innocence.

My film with my favourite film sound track is “Call Me By Your Name” directed by Luca Guadaginino. I like the soundtrack as I not only love the songs in it regardless but it also relates to the films genre, romance and drama. The film has a distinct Italian feel to it and the soundtrack backs this up with it being mostly calm and slow melodic songs. The songs within this slowly paced soundtrack are melancholy at times signifying the heartbreak within the film which i believe to be very powerful to crate meaning and feeling for the viewers.

Camera Shots

Side, Low Angle

This is shot from a slightly low angle, and from the side, you can see both of them. It almost creates a parallel possibly showing there similarly. 

Eye level  

The camera shows Chiron at eye level, this was used possibly to show his feelings and emotions clearly, while being over the shoulder of Kevin to almost see it from Kevin’s viewpoint. 

High  

This shows the people Chiron is intimidated by at a higher level showing the possible fear that he has looking down at theme, the main one of the groups is also facing the direction of the camera showing the fear from Chiron.  

Shot Distance  

BCU 

A character looking down the Lense of the camera, breaks the fourth wall. This creates a personal effect for the viewer. You’re looking at him in the eyes, showing the personal moment that is happening now. This also shows the dramatic moment that is about to happen and the intensity of the moment. 

ML 

Having the camera this dances away from the character shows a powerful effect having the character looking off into the distance. This creates a dramatic scene possibly showing the reflection of the character. 

LS 

Shooting far away from the character possibly signifies loneliness having a large space around the character creates the effect of isolation within the character  

Camera Movements

Track out – Track in 

The Camrea starts from viewing Chiron from a distance on the field, then slowly tracks into him. This could represent to the viewer the disconnect he feels from the over children playing. The camera’s focus is him, and he stands unlike the over kids. The movement shows the following of Chiron.  

Ped Up – Ped Down 

The camera moves from showing Juan tom slowly moving down to Chiron, this could show the relationship between the two characters and how it is starting on Jaun higher up could show how Chiron looks up to him.  

Pan Left – Pan Right  

The camera moves to show both sides of Chiron in this scene as well as moving the composition to show Juan and how Chiron reacts in the same moment. This also shows the connection between the two 

Activity 2-  Shot distances

The effect that this over the shoulder shot has on me is that it makes you feel as if you’re in the back seat of the car. It can also show the relationship between the person shown and the person off camera as you can closely see the emotions of the person in the frame. 

This close-up (CU) is detrimental to the movie as it adds emotion to the scene. It tightly frames the actors’ faces, making their face the main focus. This make the audience feel bad for the character as it is an intense shot from the movie.  

This Medium Long Shot (MLS) has an effective demonstration of the amount of emotion in the room. Not only is it extremely contrasting, but it also shows the sadness that is about to happen throughout the movie.

 

Activity 3- Camera angles

This low angle shot though its blurry it tells a story. The people in this shot look scary not only to the viewers but also the person who this is directed to.

This Eye level shot shows the intensity of the scene. The terrifying effect that this scene has on the viewer is almost feeling empathetic for the mother and more importantly the son who has to endure living in this situation.

This High Angled shot has the effect of happiness as you see him having friends who he can trust. This is one of the only up lifting scenes in Moonlight.

This Crab Left to Crab Right shows a ‘father’ figure to ‘son’ talking about realism of the world and comforting the boy. This is a sentimental scene in the movie.

This Ped Up following the wife as she sits down shows that she is empathetic for the boy. They are in the middle of trying to find out whats going to happen to him, finding the best solution for him.