During the initial opening seen of the film "Trainspotting", a variety of different sound techniques and skills were used to create an appropriate atmosphere to heighten the effect upon the audience in relation to the directors intentions.
The scene begins with a small section of voice-over given by the main character "Renton", played by Ewan Mcgregor, which is an example of Non-diagetic sound as it is not a part of the world created on screen. A series of other sounds are featured within the opening of the first scene including, the faint sound of music being played on a sound system, within the "Crack house",where the scene is set, the sound from Renton walking on the old floorboards of the "Crack house" as he gets himself up from lying on the ground, and also the sound of a baby making noises that a child of that age would make in order to attract attention from someone. This type of sound however is Diagetic, meaning it is the opposite of Non-Diagetic because they are apart of the world created on screen. These sounds are also good examples of Ambient sound as they are simply background noises that aren't really that important to the scene and are merely used in order to set the scene. These particular background noises suggest that the atmosphere is unsettling and mildly chaotic as there is a mixture of sounds especially the fact that there is clearly a baby in such a shameful place as a "Crack house", where it clearly does not belong and should not be, under any circumstances.
As the scene continues, the background noises we previously heard fade almost completely leaving only the slight noises from the baby, more than likely so that the audience are fully engrossed in the dialogue that goes on between Renton and "Mother Superior", the assumed owner of the Crack house, regarding Renton's plans to relinquish his heroin addiction. The conversation between the two is very tense as "Mother Superior" attempts to belittle Renton's determined attitude to quitting. However Renton eventually walks away from the conversation and out of shot once he realizes "Mother Superior" won't be convinced, and the sound of the baby then becomes more noticeable and a second voice-over begins. This voice-over sounds relatively the opposite of how the previous conversation seemed to be going as Renton begins speaking in a tone that suggests he has high levels of confidence in his ability to relinquish heroin for good. One line that highly suggests this is when Renton states in the voice-over "Of course I have another shot" in a rather matter of fact, cocky tone.
Once Renton's voice-over comes to a close, a sound bridge is used, in order to flow steadily into the following scene, where we hear a very loud, overwhelming sound of a Train as if it were warning something to move off of the tracks. This is an example of Contrapuntal sound as the sound of a train has no relevance whatsoever to a "Crack house", determination to relinquish heroin, or anything to do with what we had just previously seen in the scene. It encourages the audience to think about what might be coming next in the film or what could happen later on that will link it to drugs and "connect the dots" from the film title "Trainspotting" to what we actually are watching in the film.
The following scene opens with the sound of the train merging with a piece of classical music, that then plays through the entirety of Renton's next voice-over. This piece of classical music is Non-Diagetic as it is not apart of the world created on screen. We hear Renton open the door to a very small accommodation within a flat that he then reveals to the audience that he will not leave until he has completely relinquished heroin from his system. Renton's voice-over, which is again an example of Non-Diagetic sound, is the focal point of this scene as he begins to reel off exactly how and what he'll use to relinquish his heroin addiction, in the style of how one may recite a shopping list or a set of instructions to himself. A specific example of this is where he states he will need "Magnesia, Milk of, one bottle" as apposed to saying "a bottle of Milk of Magnesia". The way in which he recites all of his necessities creates quite a comical effect due to the fact that a drug addict is reciting what he needs in such a orderly and articulate manner which we would not expect from a drug addict.
All background noises such as Renton throwing his keys on to a table and hammering planks of wood over the door of his accommodation to prevent him from leaving, are all Diagetic sounds, that are solely used for setting and so the audience are able to hear exactly what he's doing as he prepares for his withdrawal from heroin. When Renton tells us the last thing he'll need, "Valium", he describes where and from whom exactly he "procured" it from, "and one bottle of Valium, which I have already procured from my mother, who is, in her own domestic and socially acceptable way, also a drug addict," This is a very comedic yet clever way in which the director gets the audience to think about the fact that just because the drug someone is addicted to isn't illegal doesn't mean you won't be considered and/or labelled a drug addict.
Once he finishes reciting his long list of necessities, the voice-over then stops and we see Renton talking to someone on a pay phone outside his accommodation sounding more than a little worse for wear, which the audience would expect as his voice-over finishes with him saying "to sooth the pain, while Valium takes effect." Renton talking to someone on the payphone is Diagetic sound as it is a part of the world on screen. Meanwhile the piece of classical music continues to play, which is Non-Diagetic sound and also Contrapuntal as the music does not match the mood created on screen, and it's a complete juxtaposition between the character of Renton, a heroin addict preparing himself to relinquish his addiction, and a classical piece of music which we would usually associate with sophisticated and high class people, not a heroin addict. It creates quite an unusual atmosphere which makes the audience wonder how they should be feeling during this time in the film.
Renton says to the man, "Mikey Forrester", on the other end of the phone that he needs him to help him out. We then see Renton stood, outside his accommodation, with Mikey, holding 2 large pills in his hand, and a voice-over begins where we hear Renton say, "This was typical of Mikey Forrester". The voice-over stops and Renton then asks Mikey, quite aggressively, "What the fuck are these?". Due to the fact Renton had been speaking in quite a sophisticated manner previously, this is a shock to the audience which causes a comedic affect and closes the scene well as we see Renton revert back to a frustrated man who wants everything to go well and to have exactly what he needs to be able to successfully relinquish his heroin addiction.
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