Tegan's textual analysis' of thrillers - number one

Shutter Island
At the very start, text is used just to set the scene and give the audience an idea of what is going on; it states the setting and the year of the film - "Boston Harbor Islands 1954".

The scene starts off with a long shot of a boat at sea emerging from a thick mist. This is not just a very effective shot but an important one, as it clearly shows all the information the viewers need to known in order to set the scene. The emerging of the boat is accompanied by a very effective use of non-diegectic sound. Not music as such, but a good use of instruments in a minor key to create a dramatic effect. One of the sounds used is a horn like sounds, this works as parallel sound because it sound a lot like a fog horn and the scene is set on a boat. However, it could be argued that the sound is contrapuntal as the instruments and the tone that is used is overly dramatic for the scene which only really consists of two men talking. In the next shot they have applied a very interesting use of diegectic sound, a combination of the character vomiting and the chains clanging together. I think this is effectual because it creates a creepy feel and it starts to show you what the chains are used for. The non-diegectic fog-horn like music continues fairly quietly in the back ground.

The two male character's are wearing long brown mac coats and trilby hats. the costume used here is significant because the characters need to be wearing authentic costumes. We already been told that the year is 1954 and we are very soon to find out that the characters are detectives. So it is important that they are dressed appropriately as 1950s detectives.
The lighting used is very significant. It needs to be brightly lit because it has to create the effect that there is a storm coming.

The first shot used is a long shot of the boat so this is important to set the scene. The scene goes on to show the lead vomiting, here they have used a combination of medium shots and close ups to show that the character is unwell and sweating. They camera work is also unsteady as to create the effect that they are on a boat. They go on to use a shot with very interesting depth of field, this is significant because it allows the shot to show the chains and hand cuffs. This creates questions for the audience. It also reflects the character's unwell feelings.