Opening title sequence analysis

Shutter Island

Camera and Mise En Scene

o Open with a shot of a dark, eerie corridor - builds suspense.
o The camera mostly is fixed and slowly zooms in on the object
e.g. a door.
o Rain is used to create a dark pathetic fallacy to resemble to
actions occurring in the film.
o Close up shot of hand identity of person is hidden creates
mystery and intrigue.

Sound and Lighting

o Music is sharp and full of suspense the soundtrack builds up
in certain places which makes the audience expect something
to happen.
o Most scenes are kept with a dark tone to create a sense of
ambiguity.
o Contrast of snow on the black background could represent the
good and the bad in the film.

Typography and Editing

o Red typography connotes danger and blood which is typically
associated with thrillers.
o Opening cuts to a shot of a spinning staircase adds illusion to
the audience as the credits havent given them any clues to the
movie yet.
o Scene with gates creates mystery as audiences want to know
what is behind the gates.
o The prop of a gun CU shot of a foot on the gun relates to
crime and danger, this gives some hints to what we will see in
the movie.