Train Spotting Group Analysis
The sequence opens with a long shot to reinforce that the setting is a nightclub. The loud, diegetic music shows that the setting is an upbeat environment in a nightclub. Also, the characters within the shot are placed very close together with low-key lighting, showing the intimacy of the club. There is also coloured lighting creates an almost 'trippy' feel to show the effects of the drug use which is shown throughout the sequence.
The next scene is a wide shot, which is used to show multiple characters around a bar, from the waist up and also we can see a significant amount of the background. In the mise-en-scene there is a board showing names of drinks and prices in the background. There are drinks named "Penis Enlarger" and "Pure Shag", showing the characters casual attitude towards sex, this is further emphasised through a couple standing below the board flirting and touching each other in a sexual way.
Mark Renton is shown standing in front of a painting of Robert De Niro from 'Taxi Driver' in a wide shot. Mark is framed in the centre of the shot with others around him which could suggest that he is at the centre of the violence and drug use in the film and draws other people into that lifestyle as the character he is standing in front of in 'Taxi Driver' uses a lot of drugs and is violent, this could foreground the idea that Mark is a violent drug user. This puts him in a position of power as he has two guns painted next to him and gives him a sense of masculinity.
Subtitles are used to emphasise the loud volume of the music and the extreme party atmosphere as it is too loud to clearly hear the dialogue.
The shot is a long shot which zooms in on Spud and Tommy into a close up. This allows us to listen to their intimate conversation they are having about sex and the lack of sex they are having due to their girlfriends control. The camera shot is a high angle shot making them look weak and inferior.
As it cuts to the next shot, there is another reference to 'Taxi Driver' in the girls bathroom and the shot is tracking the girls moving to the sink in a mid shot. There is also other women shown walking in front of the camera during the shot showing that the club is a busy place.
As it cuts to the next shot, there is another reference to 'Taxi Driver' in the girls bathroom and the shot is tracking the girls moving to the sink in a mid shot. There is also other women shown walking in front of the camera during the shot showing that the club is a busy place.
Next, there is a low-angle mid-shot of their girlfriends showing that they have authority over the men, this reinforces the girls dialogue saying that they won't allow their boyfriends to have sex with them as "watching them suffer is too much fun". This also contrasts with the low-angle shot of the men shown seconds before as it reinforces the idea that the women have power over the men.
In the mise-en-scene, the bathroom is painted pink, showing femininity as it is a female area and also, the female characters are talking about intimate subjects in there, this illustrates the closeness between the characters and also again, the casual attitude towards sex.
The bathroom scene cuts, ending with the dialogue "useless motherfucker" and the next shot opens with tommy shouting "useless motherfucker, that's what she called me". Here we can tell through his language and his dominant position in shot that he is angry and dominant over Spud as he takes up more space in the shot and also he is placed higher up, almost shouting down to Spud. "useless motherfucker" was said differently as Tommy said it aggressively and his girlfriend said it casually, this shows that she is being insulting towards him and he feels upset by her insult, again reinforcing that she has power over him.
The next shot is an eye-line close up of Mark and we again see him standing in front of the Taxi Driver painting, he is shown as nervous as he is looking around to see the others before he decides to move, smoking a cigarette to calm himself. The shot cuts to other people, so we are seeing the action from Mark's point of view. The shot then cuts back to looking at him in a mid shot and we see him drinking a pint, mimicking what we have just seen others do in the club when we were watching through his point of view.
The next shot tracks Mark's movement through the crowd of people dancing in the club from multiple perspectives including Mark's perspective. The tracking is made up of multiple shots which are short in duration and they are also shot with handheld cameras. This makes us feel involved with the film as we are watching him move from the perspective of other people within the nightclub.
The next shot cuts back to the bar, again with a mid-shot at a wide angle. In this shot we see the same couple laughing whilst the man is putting his hand down the woman's top, again reinforcing the intimate nature of the nightclub.
The shot cuts back to the handheld camera in a close-up of Mark, we see he is looking at something.
The next shot we see a couple kissing whilst taking drugs in a two-shot close-up. This shot lasts for two seconds which conveys the quick, erratic behaviour which you would expect to see with party drugs. And then the shot cuts back to a mid-shot with Mark in the right of the frame and a couple kissing which takes us the centre and the left if the frame. The couple have red lighting on them which could be seen as symbolising love and passion, however the red light is not on
Mark, suggesting that he could be a loner. The idea that he is a loner would reinforce why he was stood in front of Robert De Niro's character from Taxi Driver as he was a loner in that film.
In the next shot, the camera pans around mark with a mid-shot, whilst zooming in on him slightly. This shot duration is around 4 seconds long which is double the length of the shots building up to this shot where we can clearly see that Mark is focusing on something.
The next shot we are looking at Diane from Mark's perspective in a long-shot, and as it is from his perspective we are able to see what he is looking at in the previous shot. Diane is leaning on the bar, alone in the background of the shot, however there is someone in the left of the shot in the foreground however the camera is focusing on the background, not the foreground and the other person in the shot is blurred showing the depth-of-field.
showing looking at something in a him looking building up to the appearance of Diane. In a median shot the camera is focused directly on Diane with a white light shining on her this shows how important she is. It cuts between a close up shot of Mark staring at her while she looks bored and disinterested in her shot. As she walks away the light is still on her show he is still watching her as the camera is still tracking her.
There is a two-shot of her with another man who speaks to her and then a median shot of Mark showing through his facial expression that he may be jealous. The camera stops for a duration of time to focus on Mark's emotion.
As she is leaving there is a long shot with the large red building as a background. There is a lot of the colour red in it with the background, the door and her coat. Red is often used to symbolise love and this shows love leaving.
This cuts to a slightly wider shot which includes the club's title "volcano" this parallels what is happening. Mark is moving around a lot showing his nerves. This contrasts Diane who is calm and walks strait on showing she has made up her mind. There are close together showing that there are comfortable around each other.
It cuts to a two-shot close-up showing both there faces on either side of the screen looking at each other. The scene uses symmetry showing romance between the two characters.
The next shot is an eye-line close up of Mark and we again see him standing in front of the Taxi Driver painting, he is shown as nervous as he is looking around to see the others before he decides to move, smoking a cigarette to calm himself. The shot cuts to other people, so we are seeing the action from Mark's point of view. The shot then cuts back to looking at him in a mid shot and we see him drinking a pint, mimicking what we have just seen others do in the club when we were watching through his point of view.
The next shot tracks Mark's movement through the crowd of people dancing in the club from multiple perspectives including Mark's perspective. The tracking is made up of multiple shots which are short in duration and they are also shot with handheld cameras. This makes us feel involved with the film as we are watching him move from the perspective of other people within the nightclub.
The next shot cuts back to the bar, again with a mid-shot at a wide angle. In this shot we see the same couple laughing whilst the man is putting his hand down the woman's top, again reinforcing the intimate nature of the nightclub.
The shot cuts back to the handheld camera in a close-up of Mark, we see he is looking at something.
The next shot we see a couple kissing whilst taking drugs in a two-shot close-up. This shot lasts for two seconds which conveys the quick, erratic behaviour which you would expect to see with party drugs. And then the shot cuts back to a mid-shot with Mark in the right of the frame and a couple kissing which takes us the centre and the left if the frame. The couple have red lighting on them which could be seen as symbolising love and passion, however the red light is not on
Mark, suggesting that he could be a loner. The idea that he is a loner would reinforce why he was stood in front of Robert De Niro's character from Taxi Driver as he was a loner in that film.
In the next shot, the camera pans around mark with a mid-shot, whilst zooming in on him slightly. This shot duration is around 4 seconds long which is double the length of the shots building up to this shot where we can clearly see that Mark is focusing on something.
The next shot we are looking at Diane from Mark's perspective in a long-shot, and as it is from his perspective we are able to see what he is looking at in the previous shot. Diane is leaning on the bar, alone in the background of the shot, however there is someone in the left of the shot in the foreground however the camera is focusing on the background, not the foreground and the other person in the shot is blurred showing the depth-of-field.
showing looking at something in a him looking building up to the appearance of Diane. In a median shot the camera is focused directly on Diane with a white light shining on her this shows how important she is. It cuts between a close up shot of Mark staring at her while she looks bored and disinterested in her shot. As she walks away the light is still on her show he is still watching her as the camera is still tracking her.
There is a two-shot of her with another man who speaks to her and then a median shot of Mark showing through his facial expression that he may be jealous. The camera stops for a duration of time to focus on Mark's emotion.
As she is leaving there is a long shot with the large red building as a background. There is a lot of the colour red in it with the background, the door and her coat. Red is often used to symbolise love and this shows love leaving.
This cuts to a slightly wider shot which includes the club's title "volcano" this parallels what is happening. Mark is moving around a lot showing his nerves. This contrasts Diane who is calm and walks strait on showing she has made up her mind. There are close together showing that there are comfortable around each other.
It cuts to a two-shot close-up showing both there faces on either side of the screen looking at each other. The scene uses symmetry showing romance between the two characters.
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