Trainspotting: Mise-en-scene
Questions in the exam could focus specifically on the ways in which mise-en-scene (setting, props, costume/make-up, figure behaviour and colour) creates meaning for audiences BUT a number of other types of questions may require you to make reference to mise-en-scene - even if the term is not in the title. Answers to questions on representation or aesthetics may be dominated by discussion of elements of mise-en-scene and you should mention elements of mise-en-scene in essays about ideology, institutional context and narrative. Lighting has been included as part of cinematography and was discussed in the previous post BUT it is fine for you to discuss lighting in any question about mise-en-scene if you wish.
To refresh your memory about the key terms for mise-en-scene, click on the links below.
Remember, questions on mise-en-scene will require you to discuss, in detail, certain scenes from the film - so make sure you have at least three that you can recall in detail. I would suggest you have detailed knowledge of the opening and closing scenes and one other key scene - and that you are able to make passing reference to a number of other moments in the film. Detailed notes on key scenes from the film, including the opening and closing scenes, can be found below.
The first, most logical, aspect of mise-en-scene that is worth discussing in relation to Trainspotting is setting. Trainspotting's distinctive style is partly derived from director Danny Boyle's preference for filming within controlled environments and unlike many realist films (which shoot in many exterior locations) much of the action takes place in interior sets. Much of Trainspotting was shot on sets built inside an abandoned cigarette factory in Glasgow. Boyle has suggested that this enabled the production team 'to create our own universe...we can work any way we like in terms of colour, light, space and movement'.
Production designer Kave Quinn collaborated with Boyle to develop the look of the film. Different parts of Swanney's drug den (the main setting for early parts of Trainspotting's narrative) were painted in a range of seductive colours - shades of green, yellow, red and blue - this stylised approach to setting differs dramatically from the location shooting favoured by realist filmmakers.
The walls in Swanney's drug den are bare and some of them have been knocked through to open up space. You may like to compare this with the setting of Renton's bedsit in London, which is cramped - highlighted by the tight framing in the shot above - particularly when Sick Boy and Begbie arrive and the trio sleep top-to-toe.
Much of what you may discuss in relation to colour can be linked to other aspects of mise-en-scene that have already been analysed, but...one important element of colour to note is the shift from the bright, bold colours of Swanney's drug den at the beginning of the narrative to the darker more muted sombre tones towards the end of the film. These can be seen in numerous locations but a particularly good example is Tommy's drab, gloomy room in the last sequence he appears in before he dies.
The first, most logical, aspect of mise-en-scene that is worth discussing in relation to Trainspotting is setting. Trainspotting's distinctive style is partly derived from director Danny Boyle's preference for filming within controlled environments and unlike many realist films (which shoot in many exterior locations) much of the action takes place in interior sets. Much of Trainspotting was shot on sets built inside an abandoned cigarette factory in Glasgow. Boyle has suggested that this enabled the production team 'to create our own universe...we can work any way we like in terms of colour, light, space and movement'.
Production designer Kave Quinn collaborated with Boyle to develop the look of the film. Different parts of Swanney's drug den (the main setting for early parts of Trainspotting's narrative) were painted in a range of seductive colours - shades of green, yellow, red and blue - this stylised approach to setting differs dramatically from the location shooting favoured by realist filmmakers.
The walls in Swanney's drug den are bare and some of them have been knocked through to open up space. You may like to compare this with the setting of Renton's bedsit in London, which is cramped - highlighted by the tight framing in the shot above - particularly when Sick Boy and Begbie arrive and the trio sleep top-to-toe.
Linked to any discussion of setting is an analysis of the props used in the film. Quinn and art director Tracey Gallacher collected many items which form part of the film's mise-en-scene, such as the cylindrical floor lamps in Swanney's drug den and the bottles strewn across the floor. This minimalist use of props throughout many of the locations in the movie, and an absence of the homely props of photographs, books, kitchen equipment and furniture, reflects the characters' rejection of a more conventional lifestyle in favour of an existence centred around hard drug use.
Furnishing is minimal in not only Swanney's den but also in other locations, such as Renton's flat and Tommy's flat (particularly towards the end of the narrative just before Tommy dies). In these locations we often see mattresses rather than beds. Floors are cluttered with bric-a-brac and drug paraphernalia such as needles. In the later part of the narrative, Renton's flat in London begins to resemble Swanney's drug den; once Begbie and Sick Boy arrive it becomes increasingly bare of furnishings and full of rubbish.
Furnishing is minimal in not only Swanney's den but also in other locations, such as Renton's flat and Tommy's flat (particularly towards the end of the narrative just before Tommy dies). In these locations we often see mattresses rather than beds. Floors are cluttered with bric-a-brac and drug paraphernalia such as needles. In the later part of the narrative, Renton's flat in London begins to resemble Swanney's drug den; once Begbie and Sick Boy arrive it becomes increasingly bare of furnishings and full of rubbish.
One key area of mise-en-scene that is central to creating meaning for the audience is costume (and make-up/hair).
We will deal with figure behaviour in more detail when we discuss performance, but...
Much of what you may discuss in relation to colour can be linked to other aspects of mise-en-scene that have already been analysed, but...one important element of colour to note is the shift from the bright, bold colours of Swanney's drug den at the beginning of the narrative to the darker more muted sombre tones towards the end of the film. These can be seen in numerous locations but a particularly good example is Tommy's drab, gloomy room in the last sequence he appears in before he dies.
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