Trainspotting (1996)Trailer AnalysisKerry Pether

The opening clip of the trailer shows four characters running dramatically through a street, however the audience isn’t told what they are running from or why. This shows an enigma code, as we are left to interpret what is happening within the scene, with the help of the dialogue in the voiceover. [“Choose life, choose a job, choose a career...”]This action isn’t explained throughout the rest of the trailer, which may encourage the audience to buy the film/watch it in order to receive catharsisEarp & Katz – ‘All men are violent’

The trailer begins in the centre of the disruption; although we do not know what the disruption is (enigma code) as we see the protagonist getting hit by a car. Although he doesn’t get hurt in the accident as we see him get up and run off, it is clear that he is running away from a disruption. The camera is placed within the car, which creates verisimilitude as it makes the audience feel as if they are running him over.

The first character that we are introduced to within the trailer is Renton, who we assume to be the films protagonist. The intertextuality which appears to tell the audience the character’s name and the direct mode of address allows us to determine that he is the most important within the film, as well as the fact that he was the first character to be introduced.O’Sullivan et al – ‘Representation of who is good and who is evil’The voiceover continues to list the choices that could be made to live a positive life, whilst the synchronous music shows how the characters are happy living their disruptive lifestyle

The next shot shows two binary opposite characters (Strauss) as the male character looks dishevelled, whilst the female character looks clean and sophisticated. This juxtaposes typical representations of females in social realist films. The wide shot highlights the mise-en-scene which shows a nightclub, a typical location shown in social realist films. The voiceover is now done by a female character, describing the male character as “A little bit crazy, a little bit bad…” which helps the audience to get to know the character better and adheres to Earp & Katz theory. The two characters have close proxemics which implies that they are in a relationship.

The next shot shows all of the films main male protagonists in what appears to be a bar (mise-en-scene), whilst all smoking cigarettes and wearing clothing which is typical to the era in which the film is set, making them look quite rough and violent. They are walking in an angry, determined way which implies that they are going to fight. Since there are no women in this shot, it could be a representation of how masculinity and femininity are socially constructed - O’Sullivan et al

The next character that we are introduced to through intertitles is Spud, who is shown in a toilet looking quite ill, and intoxicated. This highlights the lifestyle that they characters are living, whilst his nickname is quite classic for social realist films. The close up shot of his face could be used to make the audience feel quite uncomfortable, as he has obviously been using some type of drug. He also looks quite confused, which shows the negative impact of drugs.

This shot highlights the binary opposite characters (Strauss) as the drug addict, Spud, is sat alone towards the front of the frame whilst the upper class, professional characters, who we later find out are interviewers for a job opportunity, are sat together at the end of the room. This shows the differences between the two types of characters. The room is also very large, making Spud look small and outnumbered in comparison to the interviewers, which could be a representation of how society looks down on people who are living in poverty. (O’Sullivan et al – ‘Representation of who is good and who is evil’)

The next shot of Spud shows him looking very angry, juxtaposing against the background of the scene and his dialogue which talks about leisure and pleasure. (Earp & Katz – ‘All men are violent’)Although we are not shown entirely what he is wearing, it appears to be quite un-professional (e.g. he isn’t wearing a tie) which adheres to typical representations of lower class people, and drug users. This also adheres to the conventions of most social realist films, although he is trying to get a job which could be seen as subverting representations of low class people as they are usually seen within the media to not want to get a job or earn money.

In the next shot, the lighting has changed to show the characters in red, having connotations of evil, which could be a representation of the characters and their actions. The male on the left appears to be holding a knife, which also shows ideologies of the male characters being violent (Earp & Katz) whilst the clothing that they are wearing is quite unclean and not very smart, showing that they are living a low class lifestyle and that they aren’t really bothered about their appearance.

This show also adheres to Earp & Katz’ All men are violent’ theory, as we see the male protagonists pointing a gun at another male character. Although we never see him shoot the human, and he does shoot the dog instead, it still highlights the violent lifestyles of the characters, and could also be a representation of the lower class area in which they live. The framing allows the audience to see through the gun, adding a sense of verisimilitude as we are positioned to feel that we are about to shoot the male character.

The lighting suddenly becomes low key as we are positioned within a night club, and all that can be seen is the silhouettes of some hands and people dancing. This shows how the characters often go to nightclubs rather than staying at home or working, adhering to typical representations of low class people within the media. The low key strobe lighting and hand held camera adds verisimilitude, as the audience is positioned within the night club from the characters point of view.

We see another example of Earp & Katz ‘All men are violent’ when we see Begbie attacking a male character, who appears to have not provoked him in any way, with a snooker cue. This shows how the lower class characters are just looking for violence, rather than being provoked which shows negative representations of them. The setting is once more in a bar, again adhering to common conventions of social realist films.

The over the shoulder shot highlights the differences between the two male and two female characters. The dialogue that is used also emphasises this, as when asked what they are talking about the two male characters reply with “football” and the two female characters reply with “shopping”. The female characters are dressed in quite ‘chavvy’ clothing, showing negative representations of them.O’Sullivan et al – ‘Masculinity and femininity are socially constructed’Wolf – ‘ Beauty myth’Berger – ‘Men act, women appear’

We see another example of the characters using violence within the trailer as they are seen smashing a car window in order to steal it, or something inside it. (Earp & Katz) The camera is placed within the car, which makes the audience feel as if they are witnessing the crime first hand, whilst the foley sound of the smashing emphasises the violence which is taking place. The editing is becoming quicker as the trailer comes to a close, building up the intensity and making the themes of the films (e.g. violence, drug abuse) more evident.

There are more intertitles towards the end of the trailer which are showing the trailers house colours of red, black and white. The titles show some reviews from existing newspapers and magazines, which highlights social interaction for audiences as they will be able to recognise the large institutions and also encourages them to watch the film as they are positive responses.

One of the fast shots shows Renton swimming, fully clothed, with a bright light behind him. This could give the audience implications that he has died, or is dying, as the bright light has connotations of him travelling to heaven. Another interpretation could be that he has taking drugs and the audience is now seeing what he is seeing/feeling, adding a sense of verisimilitude to the shot. The synchronous dance music continues to play, showing that although the characters are living negative lifestyles, they are still happy.

One of the final shots of the trailer shows the films protagonist holding a large bag, as if leaving, whilst smiling. This implies that he has escaped the drugs/violence of the city and is leaving to begin a new life. This is reinforced by the dialogue in the voiceover; “Choose your future, choose life.” This suggests that the protagonist beginning a new equilibrium. Gamman & Marshment – ‘Female gaze’The mise-en-scene isn’t shown as the background is blurred and it is a close up shot, which leaves the audience wondering whether he has actually escaped his negative surroundings.

This shot highlights the different character types as we can see Renton (the presumed protagonist) has turned around, as if he doesn’t want to be part of what the other characters are doing, which represents him as the good character. The character on the far left looks small and insignificant compared to the others, and is also wearing brighter clothing which could represent him as being different or quirky. He also appears to be stood further back from the other three, again making him look smaller. (Propps character types)