SHUTTER ISLAND VISUAL ESSAY

BY TATUM EVANS

In this shot there is a quick editing cut to a spinning shot of a spiral staircase. This adds an element of illusion and confusion for the audience. The dim lighting expresses that the film is going to be dark and mysterious.

This shot is shown after another quick cut now displaying a dark lit room with a open gate letting in moon light. The rain adds to the mise-en-scene which makes the audience nervous as its shown as lightly coloured which contrasts with the dark background. Also, the nervousness could come from the idea that the gate is open but the place seems abandoned.

The camera has now switched to a close up on the shot of a mystery characters hand. As we only see the hand and nothing else it gives the character a hidden identity and makes us question who it is. Physical struggle is shown because the person is on the floor or touching the floor, so perhaps they are not able to stand or have had a fight.

This next long shot follows a loud crash of music. The shot is of a building with large gates at the front being held open as if the audience is being invited in. However, suspense is being built up because we don’t know what is behind the wall and are given the knowledge that they will see what is. The colour of red on the walls demonstrated danger will be inside.

This is a close-up shot of a foot being gently placed onto a gun suggesting recklessness. The foot slowly drags the gun away expressing danger and that this person will pick it up and use it, or it has been used. The weapon shows that there could also be a sub-genre of shutter island which is crime, using the weapon intrigues the audience.

It then flashes to a dark outside shot of bright, white, falling snow. The binary opposites of black vs white contrast by making each small piece of snow fall down. The dark background demonstrates that something could be lurking there making the audience feel tense.

This tilted frame shot shows the use of handcuffs and chains. These props give the audience a clue that the rest of the film is going to be in a prison-like setting as well as looking back at the gates. The bars show a representation that people are trapped there but are also dangerous.

This close up of a match in somebody's hand is only a second long in the middle of two black shots making this match unexpected and bright. This editing stands out as it makes the audience anxious and frightened. They may get the understanding that the film is going to be jumpy.

This is a long establishing shot showing signs of a abandoned island as there are no living things shown, except the odd darkened building. This suggests that the island is used to isolate the prison-theme so that they cannot escape.

The main title is shown last out of all shots in bold red writing at the centre of the screen. The title appears first small and then increases in size veering towards the audience, this makes sure the audience doesn't miss it.