Trainspotting

“How does the aesthetic quality of ‘Trainspotting’ depict ideological
issues of youth and addiction?”

Trainspotting the film (1996) was directed by Danny Boyle after her wrote to the original writer of trainspotting the novel, Irvine Welsh. The film is branded as ‘social realism’ although many people will disagree with this due to the films surreal aesthetic. Social realism films are considered to consistently be set in realistic locations, this is a path that producer Andrew Macdonald chose not to follow when creating trainspotting.
The most evident scene that contradicts the films label as a social realism film is the “worst toilet in Scotland”. It begins with the voiceover from Ewan McGreggor’s character Renton explaining his situation while the handheld camera movements become slow and dazed.  The colour pallet used is cold and neutral, at this point of the film he is off heroin so these colors are contrasting to the vivid ones that are normally associated with him in their home, this is clearly symbolic of the mental state that drugs put them in. The truly surreal aspect of this scene is where he “physically” climbs inside the toilet to retrieve the lost suppositories, once again highlighting on the extent of the situations that their mental state will put them in when it comes to their addictions.

The framing in this shot of Renton on toilet is very low in comparison to the high, wide angle of the shot in the underwater world, representative of  the ‘high’ they’re so addicted too. The cinematography used in trainspotting visualises the way that youth see drugs through the use of hyper realism,

Section A comparative study

“The Director is always the biggest influence on a film”

Explain using two films to the extent that you agree. 

I agree with this statement as features of a directors style will always be present throughout a film. This more specifically relates to an auteur, such as Ridley Scott. Scott fully directed the 1992 directors cut of Blade Runner, a futuristic sci-fi noir based around artificial intelligence and playing with a key theme of immortality. The production for this film was not smooth, Ridley himself was fired and re-hired due to conflict with producers. Narratively and cinematically, Scott was deemed to be too out side of the box for the audience at this time. It was said that blade runner was “being made for people who didn’t understand it”. The storyline was laced with deeply emotional ties to Ridley’s personal life, such as his Brother Frank Scott’s death. He also found ways to incorporate his British upbringing into the mise en scene using pathetic fallacy of rain to create a grey gloomy tone throughout  the film.

Another director with am auteur signature that comes from noir style film is Orson Welles. During the production of Lady from Shanghai, Welles’ directorial skills were challenged by the studio. This lead to much of the film not being edited in him signature style. Many of his long takes were edited out for short badly edited sequences that mostly featuring Rita Hayworth. All cinematic skill went out the window when it came to the studio trying to showcase Rita in glamorous lighting. Although being called “a product of its time” I personally think it showcases messy and uncoordinated production.

This statement could also be applied to the production of blade runner, this is evident as there are two cuts of the film, the directors cut and the final studio cut. Scott wanted aesthetics and symbolism over  a narrative explanation, however some of his scenes such as “the unicorn scene” were cut from the final piece, and a narration “internal monologue” was added. This is much like how the studio cut Welles’ soundtrack from The lady from Shanghai, replacing it with slow music. This feature is problematic as it is repetitive and ill fitting with the scenes it is placed in. In the end, the lady from Shanghai only featured 75% of Welles’ directorial work.

However sometimes a true auteur will be very invested into the entire production of the film, down to  the very last detail, a key example of this is Scott painting the lips of Rachel, it showcased how he had a strict vision for the film and how he wanted everything to visually look. Welles also showcases this while preparing the set for Lady From Shanghai by painting the sets himself, however this was not by choice but it meant that the whole film looked how he wanted it to look. He did not have a choice due to the fact there were disagreements between Welles and the crew, as referenced earlier.



P

Discuss how important cinematography is in establishing strong responses from spectators to a key characaters

This sequence opens with a close up shop of Sebastian's hand playing the piano, the shot is lit to highlight his hands and the rest of the shot is dim. This feature, aslong side the fast piano music creates an intensity to the scene, establishing Seb's passion for music. The camera zooms out to show the rest of the band, but Seb stays illuminated compared to the dark shadowed room. This implies that his position at this time is good for him and his career in music, highlighting him could also be a way of establishing him happiness. I dont believe that you would have to be an active viewer to notice this lighting and music choice, any passive spectator could see the way seb is set apart from the crowd.

As the shot continues to zoom out, revealing a crowd of dancing people, we see the way that Mia is lit from above, making her stand out. These two characters being shot in this way would tell an active audience that there is a relationship between them.

The camera quickly whip pans from Mia to Seb repeatedly, showing her dancing and him playing the piano, this emphasises on their relationship and how she supports him. They are both smile because they are happy  to be where they are. Whip pans are signature to the directors style and have used it alot in other films, active spectators will notice this feature of an auteur.

How far does winters bone rely on understanding of context

Winters bone features a broken family, the eldest daughter Ree is left to care for her younger siblings when her mother falls ill and father is on the run from the law. In a modern society this may be alarming, but as it is unravelled in the film, it becomes clear that this is common in the Ozark. Understanding the context of the area the film is based in is important to understanding their view of life.

 In this sequence we see the children shooting their own food to eat, this is an abnormal necessity for young children however in this society it is required of them.

Your prior knowledge of the context of the film may alter your understanding of their living conditions however it is more important that you take on an active viewing, to fully grasp the realities of their society and hierarchy.

Throughout the film there is no non diegetic sound, the lack of music highlights on the emptiness or loneliness the children feel.

A new perspective - short film

Original ideas

In the beginning we wanted to create a horror film, where a girl stalks a boy and kills him after falling in love with him and he doesn’t feel the same way. We decided to change our idea as it was too difficult to film and we would rather come up with an idea with a real message.


Synopsis/Screenplay

POV person 1
Walking down the road, sees person 2 on other side of he road

POV person 2
Walking into school, sees person 1 with friend 1
“You alright Molly”

POV person 1
talking to friend 2, gestures towards person 2
“Party was a bit ruined last night”

POV person 2
Runs out of classroom, snaps pencil

POV person 1
Friend 2 : anger issues

POV person 2
walking towards train tracks

POV person 1
following person 2 to train tracks

POV person 2
Sees person 1 with hand out

Cinematic Ideas

We have decided to do a social realism film, highlighting on suicide prevention. We showcase bullying within schools and how easily a persons pain can be ignored. The way we have done this is showing two peoples perspectives, one person who has a regular happy life and another who is struggling with depression. Originally we planned to use split screen but we have since decided to match up the shots. The happy persons view is seen very warmly lit, whereas the sad persons is cold and blue.
The use of point of view shots can demonstrate how a persons every day actions can amount to something larger. This allows for other characters to be seen in the background of the other people’s perspectives.

Narrative Ideas

In our film starts with a conflict between the two main characters, one bullies the other. Throughout the film we see person 2 becoming more upset/angry and person 1 notices. Person 2 is found trying to climb onto train tracks, person 1 finds her and helps her down. The way we have written this will present how subtle the signs of suicidal thoughts can be.
We have decided to use the idea of teen suicide to bring awareness to how easily we can help others,
even if we aren’t close to them.

Pan's Labyrinth Scene Analysis

In the beginning of this scene we see a wide angle shot of the rebels gathered around Vidal's dead body, this marks the end of fascism as Vidal represents Francisco Franco. The rebels are back-lighted by a gold glowing flame from between the trees, the resistance are primarily shot among trees, this use of mise en scene is to show that they are trying to return Spain to its natural state of social equality and 'death' of the civil war. This glowing light symbolises a beacon of hope for Spain. 

At this point we also hear the baby crying, this use of diegetic/Foley sound could reflect on the relief of the oppressed people finally having a voice. This is then cross dissolved into Mercedes finding Ofelia's body, here we see a link between Ofelia and her baby brother as they are both dressed in white, this often connotes purity. However Ofelia's dress is now stained in blood, the contrast between her dress and the dark red blood can represent their pain and the suffering that people have been through Franco's rule. There is low-key lighting in the labyrinth as the camera pans to follow Mercedes rushing to Ofelia's body. The camera zooms in on Ofelia's hand where blood drips off of her fingers, this cuts to a birds eye shot close up to where the blood is dripping to, which is a spiralling  ring of water in the bottom of the labyrinth where the full circular moon is reflected. There is a reoccurring motif of circles in this film, i believe this is to continuously link back tot the idea of time, the film itself is a circular narrative, as if to symbolise that time repeats itself. This could be the reason that del Torro has directly related Vidal to Franco.

As Ofelia lays on the ground, her face is highlighted by top lighting, as the screen fades to a bright gold and she is basically reborn into the fantasy land. She stands a large room decorated red and gold which are colours that often associate with royalty or wealth, this use of mise en scene tells the audience that Ofelia has been taken somewhere better, that is Utopian compared to her past life. There is a shot reverse shot from Ofelia's bewildered face, to her new red shoes and back to her face. The red shoes can be interpreted as an inter-textual reference to the Wizard Of Oz. 

The next shot is a wide angled long shot, establishing the setting that Ofelia has found herself in, it shows her father and "mother" sat on large pedestals, the height symbolising their power. The mise en scene is creating a warm atmosphere by using light from a large circular window, once again linking back to the reoccurring symbol of the circle. The bright warm lighting deeply contrasts to the cold dark atmosphere of the real world, this makes the fantasy world feel magical and surreal. The light coming from behind her parents shows them as angelic, this may lead people to believe this is a kind of paradise. Another somewhat 'religious' aspect would be that the window is mosaic, resembling something that would be in a church. This also makes the dream world contrast to the real world as they wouldn't have this there because their only ruler is Vidal. In this shot we wear a diegetic sound of clapping, showing that people are very happy to see her in this world, whereas in the real world she is simply seen as getting in the way of things, we know this as Vidal shot her for her 'disobedience'. This could be a reference to the silence of the people in the civil war.   

As the scene fades to gold again and back into the real world, there is low key lighting as we see Mercedes crying, highlighting on her misery. Once again we see the full moon in the sky, relating back to the circle of life, specifically Ofelia's life as she was 'born from the moon'. We see the circle motif again as the camera tilts and pans upwards to show Ofelia's body lay next to the large circular 'rabbit hole' that may also be a contextual reference to Alice in wonderland. 

This shot cross dissolves to show the tree that Ofelia previously visited, in that scene her costume greatly resembled Alice In Wonderland also. The tree's curvature matches the circle in the scene before, this use of editing creates continuity and a pleasing transition. This shot also cross dissolves into a closer up view on the entrance of the tree trunk. The tree trunk does out of focus as the camera focuses on a single branch where a flower grows, this flower represents her leaving her past life behind in the real world. We are also reminded of the opening scene as we see the cricket that later turns out to be a fairy, this is another aspect of the fantasy world that finds itself in the real world. This could be a way of showing there is now hope and happiness there, now that Vidal is dead. During these scenes the narrator speaks, solidifying the narrative and giving the audience and satisfying ending. The voice is strong and resembles an authoritative figure, almost like a godly presents. 

                                  Horror : The perfection 

In 'The perfection', writer/director Richard Shepard uses a non linear narrative to capture the twisted journey of characters Charlotte and Elizabeth. These women share the same traumatic past at Bachoff Academy of music, the experiences occur when they are children however this isn't unfolded until the end of the film. This horror is filmed in such a way that as soon as you begin to believe that you understand whats going on, the plot changes completely. A key scene that we see this happens in is the one pictured above. To begin with it is shown the way Elizabeth sees it, the camera tracks along following the two, including the audience in the journey to find Elizabeth a hospital. However the film suddenly reverses in time, throwing the audience off the original plot and leading to much confusion. The film then shows the same time frame from the perspective of Charlotte, this reveals to the audience that Elizabeth was never ill and Charlotte had driven her to believe she was. 

An issue i find with this style of film is that having a confusing story, along side detailed character backgrounds, cut together in the wrong order, makes for a film that is actually quite difficult to watch. However, the aspect of suspense created by the films editing is exactly the reason i had to continue watching to the end, the fast scenes and limited dialogue keeps the audiences attention as you have to pay complete attention to understand the plot.