T.M. Technical Analysis of Shutter Island (Scorsese, 2010) Opening Sequence

Shutter Island Opening 

Camera Shot	Duration	Mise-en-scene	Sound
Establishing shot of a boat accompanied by thick fog.	7 seconds.	The fog connotes mystery, allowing the audience to build a sense of suspense due to the unknowing of what is ahead.	Eerie non diegetic soundtrack accompanied by diegetic sound of boat horn.
Mid close up on Teddy coming into the shot from a reflection in the mirror.	6 seconds	The characters facial expression suggests a sense of foreboding accompanied by the dialogue.	“Pull yourself together” dialogue suggests apprehension therefore creating tension.
Close up of Teddy anxiously looking out the window of the boat.	5 seconds	Again suggesting that the character is anxious, however his nervousness is not yet revealed as to why to the audience yet.	“A lot of water” His voice is only heard accompanied by a light eerie soundtrack running subtly in the background.
Tilt up from the sink view to then showing Teddy splashing water onto his face. And then starting directly into the camera.	6 seconds	The character directly looking at himself in the mirror portrays the characters reflexion which suggests connotations of split personality which later becomes relevant .	“Common”- diegetic sound is used, accompanied by an increase in volume of the soundtrack.
A pan shot follows Ted making his way outside of the boat.	4 seconds.	Teddy walks past chains and handcuffs dangling from the ceiling which suggests a dark, foreboding atmosphere.	Synchronized sounds of the boat and wind are heard to add to the sense of realism, and position the audience with the characters.
A still of Chuck looking out to the sea, Teddy then walks onto the shot. And the two begin a discussion, cutting between dialogues.	1 30 seconds	Little surroundings to where the boat is situated on the ocean is revealed, adding to the uncertainty of where the characters are located.	Dialogue from Teddy and Chuck is predominantly heard, however the continuation of diegetic sounds such as wind, accompanies the discussion.
Extreme Long shot of ‘Shutter Island’	6 seconds	The secluded island suggests that there is no escape for the characters, accompanied by the grey clouds suggesting a storm is brewing, meaning again that there will be no escape.	Low orchestral music increases the tension and creates an unsettled mood. The sudden rise of the soundtrack suggests that terror and corruption are associated with the island.