Opening Sequence Analysis: Trainspotting

Trainspotting (1996) Opening Sequence

Starring: Ewan McGregor Ewan Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller.

Trainspotting Poster.Audio

Audio

Music:

To begin the opening sequence a fast paced, upbeat, enthusiastic song starts, which really sets the scene. The backing music may connote to be the heartbeat of Renton (the main character) throughout, whilst the music is fast paced so are Renton's movements, when the music slows down Renton is very still.

Voice Over:

Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?...                                                                                                                         (from IMDb)

..Is exactly what Renton (Ewan McGregor) says to start off the entire film. This voice over is what draws the audiences attention inwards, without the dialogue the scene would be interpreted very differently. What the voice over contains is a complete juxtaposition to the Mis-en-scene.
 
 Hyperbolic Sounds are used to really emphasise how reckless Renton as a character is. When Renton is running away from the security guards a car pulls out directly in front of him, the brakes are extremely emphasised - this could signify how close Renton was to a fatality. Again, his laugh immediately after is made a lot louder than it really is, this could connote how he is counting his blessings and hardly believes that he got away again.

Camera

Multiple camera angles and shots are used throughout the opening sequence, this allows it to stay fast paced. The scene begins with a low angle shot from behind to then cut to a close up and that is followed by a Mid shot. Again, this connotes recklessness because the cuts between each picture are all so unorganised. On some occasions Renton looks directly into the camera, this breaks the fourth wall making a more direct connection to the audience, which would entice them to carry on watching.

Visual/ Mis-en-Scene

Location- When the sequence begins it is set on a fairly expensive road with big chained retail shops, clearly lit and highly populated - it denotes normality. As he is running further and further away the location quick;y changes from a conventional city to the scummy side roads. This connotes that Renton may be pushing his life further and further into poverty with every bad move he makes.

Costume- Renton and his friends are all wearing worn out, cheap and dirty clothes throughout, coloured dark browns and blues. This juxtaposes the majority of the people shown in the sequence as they are all dressed quite conservatively and look clean whereas Renton and his friends appear grimy and scummy.  The costume choices allows the main characters to stand out.

Props- The first props to be used are the numerous items that fall from both Renton and his friend's jumpers, they appear to be cheap household goods; this connotes that Renton is extremely poor and unemployed because he has to steal just to get the most basic household items.
 After, Renton begins to smoke heroin - this denotes that Renton is a drug user and connotes that he may be seriously addicted, which may be a factor into why he is so socially low.

Colour- Throughout many dark and 'dirty' colours are used to represent Renton and to signify the film, the particular colours used in his clothing are browns; brown denotes excretion leading it to connote that how literally s**t his life is.

Setting/Colour- In the room where Renton smokes heroin, it is decorated in a red/orange colour again with brown stains on the walls. The red and orange walls can denote hell because these are the conventional colours associated with the devil (fire, war, pain, blood). This connotes how the drugs he uses has taken him to (theoretically) hell, how he is living a life of sin and how he is trapped in it because he is surrounded by the redness. In the right corner of the room there are yellow hand prints on the wall, this connotes that Renton and the other drug users are trapped in this life and they can't get out - they try but they have just given up.

Editing

The editor of Trainspotting uses a lot of fast paced editing to set the scene - which is also, fast paced. This fast paced editing creates enigma because you're never too sure on what is really going on in detail. This makes the audience want to carry on watching so they can get grip of what actually is happening but in more depth. S/he shortly pauses the visual several times but keeps the music still playing, the editor pauses the scene whenever a character is shown. this really draws your attention to the main characters, this introduces the characters from an early stage and lets the audience know what they are like. The font used is bold and white- this could represent all of the characters identities - they are all white and have strange but big personalities however, they are extremely simple.

 Theories

Tsvetan Todorov - This opening sequence actually challenges Todorov's theory of narrative structure that 'every film begins with an equilibrium' when in fact Trainspotting begins with a disruption of Renton running from the away to try any get himself out of trouble.

Claude Levi Strauss: Strauss' theory of Binary Opposites is apparent with Renton and his friends compared to the rest of society. For example when the men are playing a football match they are unorganised, tacky and violent whilst the opposing team are organised, sophisticated and polite.

Ideologies

The character Renton and his friend's attitudes towards life are that the only way to live is to use heroin. This contradicts normality because surely heroin is a route to decay and death? They believe that a conventionally 'normal' life does nothing for you - you don't gain experiences you don't really have fun. Even though Renton is faced with a problem right at the beginning he ends up smiling as if it was a thrill. Everyone dies one day they might as well make the most of their life. The value of friendship and drugs to them is more than having a family, getting a job, watching 'mind crushing game shows' like everybody else. It is a massive rebellion against society and consumerism; it signifies how you don't need a fancy car and you don't need the latest fashion items to be happy with your life. Renton and his group of friends find normality in what is really a complete juxtaposition to what it normality really is. They have their own family and they do their own recreational activities just like anyone else, just not in the way we the audience would perceive as 'normal'.

Group Presentation

In our media lesson we had to create a short presentation to show to the rest of the class; the one we created was also on the analysis of the opening sequence of Trainspotting (1996). 

Opening Scene2 2

Trainspotting opening sequence: