Trainspotting Use Of Sound

The scene begins with a sound bridge carrying over from the previous scene. The sound used is a non-diegetic voice over from the protagonist. Danny Boyle uses this technique to better connect the scenes together in the movie. The scene then includes diegetic sounds, such as the footsteps as well as some ambient noise from outside the location. This ambient background noise is used to establish the loud background of the city in the scene. The sound of the footsteps exaggerates the character's walking and could be used to highlight the characters determination in the scene.

It is only after establishing the scene when dialogue is included. The dialogue is dominant over any prior background sound as the details are important to the overall plot of the film. The dialogue is diegetic as it is between characters in the scene. Once the protagonist leaves the scene the dialogue changes to become non-diegetic voiceover heard at the beginning of the scene. The dialogue used conveys a sense of arrogance in the protagonists voice.

The scene then ends with the sudden train sound, which was probably used to unsettle the audience.. The Train sound is then replaced with classical music, which acts as a sound bridge between the opening title and the next scene. The classical music is used throughout the scene to further unsettle the audience as it completely contrasts to the tone of the scene, making it non parallel to the scene of the protagonist giving up heroin and showing his unpredictability as a character. The diegetic sound heard in the scene includes the keys, footsteps, and of several items being put down, corresponding with the non-diegetic voice over which describes the disgusting nature of him relinquishing from heroin. As the scene progresses, the voiceover contains more humour to contrast to the serious aspects of the film and not make it too depressing for the audience.

The scene ends with the music becoming background noise while still being non-diegetic. The primary sound heard is the diegetic talking of the protagonist before the scene ends, with the music once more acting as a sound bridge, making it easier to connect different scenes with different settings together.

Overall, sound is used effectively in this sequence to convey aspects of the setting, characters and differences in tone.