Opening Sequence Analysis

This is the opening sequence of train spotting and I have chosen to analyse it as, like our own opening sequence, it involves running. The scene begins with some quite upbeat non-diegetic music to create an exciting fast pace and makes you feel like the characters. There is also narration in the background to give the viewer more of an insight as to what the film is about. It begins with two men being chased and the camera is infront of them so you can see their emotions and what they are feeling as they are running. There are also a lot of close ups on the men's feet so the viewer can see how fast they are running and also to again create a fast paced feeling. The camera also cuts to a point of view shot from one of the men so the viewer is put into their shoes and can see what he can see. The man then looks though a car wind screen into the camera and smiles which takes him out of the scene and makes it more unrealistic as he is looking into the camera. His name also comes up which introduces the character and this happens in the rest of the scene for the rest of the characters. This is an easy way of introducing characters but in my opinion it takes the realism out of the scene. After Renton's name comes up a shot of him smoking is cut to and this establishes him as a drug user as he passes out from it. The mise-en-scene used is quite grubby as in the clothes and where they live so this gives quite a bleak feeling, as our opening sequence does. This contrasts to the music which makes everything seem very happy when underneath it probably isn't. The lighting is natural which is also what our own opening sequence will be. The editing used is very fast paced as lots of cut shots are used which creates excitement along with the sound and cinematography. This opening sequence is similar to our own as it begins with someone running and so raises the same enigma as ours, why are they running? This is useful as we can use some of the techniques that they have used to create a realistic feeling of running and involving the viewer. A different scene is also cut to after the running which gives a possible insight as to why he is running, which is what our opening sequence does. It also establishes the main character, as our opening sequence will.