visual essay shutter island

1. SHUTTER ISLAND VISUAL
ESSAY
BY TATUM EVANS

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.