Shutter Island Opening Credits Research (Thriller)

   Shutter Island

Credits:

• A film by Martin Scorsese
• Produced by Micke Medavoy, Arnold Messer
• Screenplay by Laeta Kalogriois
• Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane
• Director of photography Robert Richardson
• Ben Kingsley
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Mark Buffalo
• Edited by Thelma Schoonmaker
• Music by Robbie Robertson

The first camera angle is a long shot down a hall way, the camera is central in the hallway which straight away suggests order and a sense of control for the audience. The second camera angle is a high angle shot looking down the centre of a long flight of stairs, the rotation of the camera instantly removes the sense of control being portrayed in the first clip, this suggests there will be a huge contrast in the film. The fourth shot is an extreme close up of a hand pulling a tile from the floor, the fact that the audience cannot see the person's face gives a sense of mystery and makes them wonder if they will find out who it is. The fifth shot is a tracking mid shot of a pair of big, black, iron gates opening to allow someone in. The shot includes guards and buildings in the background that will intrigue the audience.

Throughout the opening credits, heavy, low pitch music is played to add tension to the clips. The music added to the footage of an asylum and chains makes the audience aware of the fact that the film is a thriller and will include a lot of suspense. 

Most of the clips in the opening scene use very low key lighting to support the idea that something bad is going to happen in the film and that it is a thriller. Also, each clip focuses solely on one thing to draw the audiences attention to certain objects, this makes the audience think what the relevance of that object might be. Black and white footage is used in some clips to create the idea of the film being set in the past or almost as if it is lost in history.

The transitions between the clips are mainly fades which suggests that all of the separate clips are linked in some way. Also, the clips are only shown for a short amount of time showing that they are not completely vital but when put together they give the audience some sort of clue as to what could happen in the film. The text in each clip is blood red which stereotypically suggests violence or death, coupled with the fact that the text flickers suggests that something paranormal or violent will happen in the film.