"Shutter Island" - Official Trailer Analysis:

CAMERA SHOTS

Long shot: A long shot is used to open the trailer with, the harsh and brutal conditions of the ship at sea set the tone for the rest of the trailer as it conveys a dangerous, mysterious and isolated environment which the film is set in.

Close up: A close up of the main character is shown after the establishing shot his facial expressions , it displays him looking past the camera, implying he is intrigued by his surrounding. Suggestive of an unfamiliar environment. The rule of thirds is also used here so as the audience is even more draw into the characters face. 

Establishing shot: The establishing shot demonstrates the mysterious and secluded environment of the area in which the film takes place. The establishing shot of the island reinforces the concept of mystery, anxiety and suspense in which a thriller movie is set.

Two Shot: This shot establishes to the audience the main characters in the film. Due this being a trailer, it is important to establish the characters early on in the trailer to enable the plot to be clearer. 

Tracking Shot (forward): The tracking shot immediately draws the viewer into the action after establishing the setting. This is effective in a trailer as there are lots of quick cuts and fast paced editing to build up the suspense of the trailer. 

Tracking Shot (backwards): This shot is in slow motion showing the main characters walking toward the camera and is framed as a mid shot. The slow motion walk conveys that the people in the shot are important and are of a higher status.

Two shot: another two shot, this time close up, shows the two male men in the shot yet the one who is speaking is physically back-grounded yet his importance is not subverted as all other characters in the shot are seen to be looking at him and paying close attention to his words. 

Close up: close up of the chief Marshall and it shows he is an authoritative figure therefore all attention is on him. It makes the audience feel intimidated as his eye line is very close to being directed at the camera. 

Perspective shot: This shot was hard to categorize as one shot as it demonstrates a five people in the scene with the chief Marshall facing away from the camera while the other four characters stand in a symmetrical pattern facing the Marshall. The shot isn't a direct point of view shot of the Marshall because the camera would be in front of the Marshall. if the camera was places in front of him it would make the Marshall seem intimidated by the other characters, yet the director wanted to have the opposite effect therefore by placing his back to the camera it makes the audience feel intimidated by him as he stands in front of everyone else and hold the most power. The two detectives are trapped between the other two guards who are back grounded implying that those guards are not as important as the chief Marshall who stand central in the shot.

Wide Shot: Establishing other characters in the trailer, in a new environment. The quick shot to a new environment helps in trailers to display the different locations in which the film takes place. 

Reaction Shot: The male detective is shown to react to the entrance of the new characters, he has a cautious, yet intrigued expression on is face. He knows the dangers of these patients as this is a very dangerous mental institution. This quick close up reaction shot allows for the audience to gain an understanding of the relationships between the characters as in a trailer this can be hard to convey in the space of two to three minutes of snippets from the film.

Quick cutaway shots: Multiple shots here are used to speed up the establishment of the location and the actions taking place. In this case, a shot of the the inspectors holding up their badges, followed by a pressing of a buzzer, then a shot of a warning light labeled 'Restricted Area'. Therefore the audience is quickly aware of the dangers in the space of two seconds. 

   
Panning Shot: The use of the pan down the female nurse, gives her an eerie vibe as it leads to another close up of a tray of needles and large syringes. This is a distressing image to the audience as the irony of the medical equipment looks as though it is being use to inflict pain rather than to help the patients.


Aerial Shot: The use of this aerial shot is not stereotypical with regards to a large space of establishing a stetting. it is used indoors to show a shot of a man with his fingers anticipating grabbing a gun which lays before him on the table. The use of the aerial shot conceals his identity adding a further air of mystery to the shot.  

Close Up: This close up is on a body of an inmate of the mental institution as it shows the prison bars over his tattooed body. Again his face is not shown like the man with the gun in the aerial shot. As thrillers trailers are all about suspense and building to a climax the use of not showing peoples faces adds to the suspense thus creating an enhanced mystery to the trailer. 

Mid Shot: A mid shot is then showed of the same tattooed body yet this time we get a glimpse of his face yet the shot is harshly lit on the left side of his face, therefore leaving the remaining right side of his face in darkness. Again adding to the suspense.

Crane Shot: Establishes the Prison in day light, the audience is now getting a better feel for the type of environment these characters have been placed in. The wide crane shot allows for the surroundings to also be shown, the sea, this emphasises the seclusion of the prison. 

Fast Pan: The fast pan down around the corridor conveys a paranoid state of the charter in the shot, constantly looking around, on edge, as he is suspicious of his surroundings.  

High Angle Shot: This high angle shot of the cell room shows the minimalist, dark and hostile conditions of the environment but it also makes the audience think they shouldn't be able to see into this room as the high angle shot with the camera placed on the floor is almost like a 'fly on the wall' effect.

Aerial Shot:  Again used like a 'fly on the wall' effect, it shows the detectives/inspectors looking around the room. It shows the audience an environment which is very secure making them think they are watching something that is confidential, once again adding to the suspense of the thriller trailer. 

Canted Aerial Shot: The use of this shot reflects the white male detective's own state of mind, his confused plethora of thoughts as he becomes vulnerable in this dangerous environment. 





EDITING TECHNIQUES 

Cutaway: A cutaway to a 'Deputy Marshall's' badge indicates that these two men are part of a police department and therefore suggests that the two main male characters are of higher authority than the other passive characters such as the police or guards in uniform.

Pace: The pace of the editing gets increasingly faster toward the end of the trailer as to build up to the climax, although the ending of the film is obviously not shown on the trailer, the trailer ends on a cliffhanging scene meaning the viewer is left wanting more. This guarantees that people will watch the full film as they already feel emotionally invested with the characters. 

Cross Dissolves Transition: Cross dissolve transitions are used throughout the trailer as a way to convey a compilation of footage from the whole film into one. It builds the bridge between each scene, as although in chronological order, there is still significant information missing between each shot and the cross dissolve (dip to black) allows to piece these shots together. 

Insert: A close up of the gun after it has been shown in the previous shot heightens the audience's awareness of the the danger of the gun and the type of violent environment which the characters are in. 

Cutaway: There is a cutaway to the detectives passing their weapons to the guards. the close up on this prop suggests that it forebodes the dangers that are yet to come in the rest of the film. An echo of violence throughout the rest of the trailer follows this shot and also places the two detectives in a vulnerable position as they unarmed in a place of the 'criminally insane'.

Slow Motion: The use of slow motion adds to the dynamic of the trailer, it is used to dramatise the scene, for action purposes or to convey to the audience a sense of empowerment.

Use of CGI: The use of the CGI in the trailer is there to convey an even deadlier environment such as the characters at sea and when the male detective is shown to be holding a crumbling person in his arms, the use of over exaggerated features like this heighten the excitement and diversity of the production. 

Over the shoulder Shot/Two shot: helpful when establishing relationships between certain characters.





MISE-EN-SCENE

Location: The location of the film reflects the nature of the film. The trailer conveys one main location (seen through the establishing shot) of an isolated island home to a large prison/metal asylum. The isolated location, reflects the isolation of all the characters and the lives they lead.

Set Design: All of the sets in the trailer are in the prison and are all seen to have minimalist features. The lack of 'Props' shows that the set was designed to enforce the idea of the mysterious and isolated island of the prison. 

Costume: There are many different costumes displayed with in the trailer, the policemen/guards have uniform on, the detectives are in typical clothing which we would associate with detectives (hats, smart trousers and shirts and long coats). The nurses in the hospital are in usual nurses costume, there is an eerie feel to them as they are in white pristine clothing yet the nature of the prison and the people it contains reflects the opposite tone. The inmates are not all fully dressed exposing their tattoos which the audience associates with gang culture. 

Lighting: Throughout the film the lighting is dark and very harshly lit in most scenes, there is no sense of light with in the film excluding very short periods of sunlight outside but this only occurs before the detectives have yet to of entered the actual prison. 





SOUND  

Non-Diegetic sound: Non diegetic sound is played over some scenes and is there to build suspense and or create mystery to the scenes that follow.  

Sound bridge: a sound bridge is used in one scene almost in the form of a voice over then it cuts to the next scene where the voice over turns to dialogue and the audience can see who is speaking.  

Dialogue: There is significant amounts of dialogue to fit with the tone of the trailer. It also establishes  sense of who/what the character is like therefore the audience can immediately identify who is the hegemonic stereotype or who challenges this convention. dialogue also helps to establish the setting of the trailer.      

E.g. 'It's a mental hospital for the criminally insane, we take only the most damaged and dangerous patients, these are all violent offenders.'

Score: The score plays throughout the trailer, it is a very discordant sound, using different pitches and tones and fast paced drum beats to build up a tense feel to fit with the footage.  

Synchronous Sound: The sound is matched with the editing cuts to make the trailer appear to jumpy to scare the reader whilst watching the trailer. 

Foley: Foley is especially good in thriller trailers in terms of making the audience jump and constantly be on the edge of their seats. Things such as the enhancement of footsteps, scratching on doors, creaking doors etc.. are all use in this trailer to build up suspense. 

Ambient sound: The ambient sound in the back ground highlight the eerie setting, there are screams and noises which are disturbing in the background of the scenes.  





NARRATIVE

EQUILIBRIUM: The prison guards and detectives are the main characters and are in control of the scene. 

DISEQUILIBRIUM: The detectives are entering an unknown environment, this foreshadows the rest of the narrative as there power is questioned in this unfamiliar environment.  

RECOGNITION: A prisoner goes missing putting the whole institution at risk

ATTEMPT: The detectives try to find the prisoner yet there are a lot of issues along the way 

RESTORTATION: There is no restoration as this is a TRAILER