SHUTTER ISLANDOPENING SEQUENCE

ANALYSISLIGHTING AND SHOTS

The first mid-shot shown has low key lighting, this makes it hard to visualise what is actually included in the shot, by having low key lighting in this first shot would create many questions for the audience, creating the a of mystery. The way the only sense of light is by the dim hanging lights through the middle of the corridor emphasises the fact that is a small corridor and the audience is unable in this shot to have a clear view of the walls, suggesting to the audience that this corridor is the only way forward.

The second aerial shot is has quite a few similarities to the first, the low key lighting seems to be becoming a theme in this opening sequence. The aerial shot that is used creates distortion to the audience as they can sense how high up this staircase is, giving the audience an idea of how large and empty this building could be. In this shot the camera spins, making the audience feel the effects of dizziness and distortion, which could be a comparison to have some of the other characters in the film would feel. Linking in to the genre of film being a psychological thriller as it so far it has shown some themes of a thriller.

This mid-shot has been used in a different setting to the rest of the shots used currently in the opening sequence. The repetition of the low key lighting is once again shown, with the main element of lighting on the door. This puts emphasis on the opening, giving the audience some ideas of what the relevance of this is to the film. The mid-shot allows the audience to see a large quantity of the set although due to the low key lighting the audience is unable to see what is off centre. Once again this shot would open many question to the audience, not giving much away about what is to come in the film.

Its in this extreme close-up where the audience are first introduced to any form of character. An extreme close-up could have been used to show to the audience that this character could be important in future reference. The lighting in this shot is a large contrast to the all of the rest of the opening sequence so far. The lighting almost looks as if it is a spot light on the character, again suggesting to the audience that this is a important character.

This mid-shot is the only shot throughout the opening sequence which shows a large open space. This would show the audience that the past and future shots which are close up with low key lighting could show what the film is going to entail. Showing the outside using a high key lighting gives a large contrast from the last shots seen by the audience, the high key lighting of the outside could symbolise the freedom that the character would only have once outside the building. Also in this shot unlike many of the other shots in this opening sequence it is off centre, this would leave the audience distort, not knowing quite whether this is in somebody's point of view and if so whom, this would make the audience want to continue watching to find the answers for themselves.

A close up of a shot is used although the lighting in this shot is very low key which creates mystery to the audience as due to the shot being a close up the audience is limited to what they can see in the background and by making the lighting low key it makes the audience become more curious about where the shot is set and why. This further creating tension on the audience and make them want to watch the rest of the film as they would be intrigued.

Its near the end of the opening sequence that the setting changes by the use of an establishing shot but once again due to the lighting of the shot the audience still do not have a clear view on what is featuring in the shot. The low key lighting suggests to the audience that there is never any sunshine here, which would suggest this place/setting causes a lot of discomfort and unhappiness. This opening sequence only gives the audience bits of information making the movie have more of a sense of mystery, this links to the movie genre being a physiological thriller having themes of mystery and tension, created by the low key lighting throughout.