PVR Movies First Magazine - June Edition 2019 June 2019 | Page 26

Decoding Danny Boyle
Born and brought up in a small town in England, Danny
Boyle worked his way into directing via theater, making
his name at the celebrated Royal Court. After learning
his craft on a series of TV shows for the BBC in the late
’80s and early ’90s, Boyle broke into films with  Shallow
Grave (1994) and Trainspotting (1996), two cult hits that
established him as a talent to watch.
He made his first splash in Hollywood with The
Beach(2000). Then came Slumdog Millionaire, for which
he won an Academy award, followed by a movie about a
solitary hiker trapped in a canyon in Southeast Utah, 127
Hours (2010).
There are few filmmakers who can claim to have forayed
into such a wide range of genres as Danny Boyle. The
director infuses pop culture into his work, creating
distinctive, visually striking films which stick with you
long after viewing.
Next time you watch a Danny Boyle film, notice these
signature elements:
• His films are all quick paced and fast edited. This
helps to make to create an exciting and adventurous
feel, even when the theme is depressing or
pessimistic.
• Boyle gives you an unexpected perspective through
tilted shots, close ups, and the use of handi-cam.
He likes to position the camera looking up or down
at his characters, rarely at eye level. Sometimes, he
puts cameras in impossible places, like in the toilet
in Trainspotting or inside a snowtube in 127 Hours.
• Most of his films open mid-action, with scenes edited
into a montage. This technique conveys the passage
of time or covers a lot of ground in narration quickly.
The opening of Trainspotting is a great example of all
these type of shots together. 
Decoding Danny Boyle
PVR MOVIES FIRST
• To create the effect of suffocation, Boyle goes
intensely close to the subject. For example, hard
drugs in Trainspotting to demonstrate how an
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Masters@Work
Fun Fact
For his psychological thriller Trance
(2013) Boyle made all the actors
undergo hypnosis as part of their
preparation for the film.
addiction can take over one’s life. And the use of
blazing light to create fear in Sunshine (2007). In
his films, the camera becomes like the characters
themselves, only able to focus on one thing.
• A fan of electronic music, Boyle generally avoids
traditional film scores and instead infuses his work
with pop songs and electronica-infused compositions.
The Trainspotting soundtrack becoming one of the
best-selling of all time.
Boyle in His Own words
I really like to do something different each time. I find
that very stimulating. If I have some hesitancy about
how in hell am I going to do something, that makes me
vulnerable and I think more interesting in my approach
to it.
I clear the crew when the actors arrive, so they have
total control of the set. Sometimes I might bring the
cameraman in or the script supervisor or somebody like
that if necessary. But basically it’s theirs. 
The best things tend to happen on shooting day. The
energy of the day itself, knowing this is your one chance
at it, makes everybody different anyway.
You should be working at your absolute maximum, all
the time. Whether you’re credited with stuff in the end
doesn’t really matter. Focus on pushing yourself as
much as you can.
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