Research and planning
The opening shot is a wide shot of a plain
white screen which is soon shown to be mist as we see the outline boat
that the main characters are on. The diegetic sound is the sound of the ocean.
I believe this is used to show the setting. Over the diegetic sound
there is non-diegetic sound of an eerie instrumental
soundtrack. The first shot overall creates enigma as you want to
figure out who is on the boat, where they are going and why they are going
there.
It then cuts to a wide shot of a
character with diegetic sounds of him heaving. It is then revealed to be
Leonardo Dicaprio in an over the shoulder shot of him looking into the mirror
with diegetic sound of his own voice. The editing pace then begins to speed up
as it cuts to a medium shot of him. The non-diegetic eerie instrumental
soundtrack starts to pick up again as the shot changes again to a close up of
him looking out of the window with diegetic sound of his voice. I believe this
has been done to make the audience think about what he was looking at. The
editing pace increases again as it then cuts to a medium shot with, then to a
tilt up with a match on action of him splashing water into his face. The next
shot uses a focus pull in a long shot from the hanging hooks to Dicaprio
walking out of the bathroom. There is diegetic sound of the hooks hitting each
other still with the non-diegetic eerie instrumental soundtrack also his
heavy breathing. The camera then follows him to the door where the shot then
changes to a medium shot from the front using another match on action.
The next shot reveals a new character through a long shot. The non-diegetic eerie instrumental soundtrack’s volume increases. The fact the character is turned around creates enigma as to who it is. There is then another match on action as the medium shot of Dicaprio walking changes to a long shot of Mark Ruffalo and Dicaprio. Through out their conversation it cuts to 8 different shots including extreme long shot, long shot, medium shot, close up and two shot with diegetic sound of their dialogue and the continuous non-diegetic eerie soundtrack. There is then a flash back to Dicaprio’s past using a simple cut to show it was a flash back. There is only non-diegetic sound of a new soundtrack which is operatic but at the same time gives you the chills as it hasn’t got a happy undertone. I believe this has been done to portray the relationship between Dicaprio and his ex. The colours from the present to the flashback have a significant difference as the colour in the flash bad is a lot more saturated than the present. This is had been done to show that bad times are ahead. The shot straight after the flash back is a bird’s eye view of the sea by the boat. This may have been done to show how Dicaprio’s ex passed away. The conversation continues as well as the changes shots.
The next shot is an extreme long shot of their destination,
As the boat gets closer to shutter island the camera slowly zooms into the dock, with the non-diegetic eerie soundtrack with high volume to. When the boat and character finally reach the dock, the camera pans them getting escorted the non-diegetic eerie soundtrack and diegetic sound of birds, footsteps and keys rattling. It then cuts to an extreme close up of a deputy marshal’s badge before it shows us who is wearing it. It then reveals who is wearing the badge with a medium shot of him. It then cuts to and from Dicaprio and Ruffalo to the deputy with diegetic sound of the deputy’s voice with the non-diegetic eerie soundtrack. The editing pace begins to speed up as Dicaprio and Ruffalo are getting on to the truck as the camera cuts to and from them to the officers around them. The facial expressions and body language of the officers surrounding them and the non-diegetic eerie soundtrack give the sequence a bad, mysterious vibe as the officers do not look happy to see Dicaprio and Ruffalo on the island. The end shot is an extreme long shot zooming in on the car that the deputy, Dicaprio and Ruffalo are in with the non-diegetic eerie soundtrack.
In conclusion the constant non-diegetic eerie soundtrack and different editing paces and camera shots/angles create enigma as there are lots of question to be asked about why they’re at shutter island and why all the officers there are on edge.
