Analysis of Shutter Island trailer

Camerawork:

Long shots are used to establish environment and also cause intrigue/mystery as the LS captures the mist surrounded boat as well as the isolated island, suggesting that this environment is vulnerable.
Close ups are used to capture significant moments, eg, the close up of the gun being passed to the officer suggests that the two men are now vulnerable, their safety is in jeopardy. Another Close up of a small piece of paper 'who is 67?' makes the audience question what the significance of this note means, and the close up suggests that it has a high level of significance furthering the audiences intrigue. Low angle shots are used to make the audience feel inferior to the situation, we don't know what is going on and what we are supposed to know. I have noticed that there are many long shots used throughout the trailer to constantly reiterate the fact that the island is isolated and this links to the idea of the island having significance to the narrative of the film and certain characters. The camerawork draws the audiences attention to specific elements of the narrative shown through the props (gun/paper) and the set (island/cell). There is a dominance of long shots, 2-3 shots and close ups to indicate that the location has great significance to the plot, that the characters have great significance to the mystery of the storyline and that particular aspects of the mise en scene have great significance in enhancing audience intrigue, for example, the piece of paper and the gun.

Editing:

What I have noticed is that the editing begins quite ordinary regarding pace, it is relatively slow paced to establish a storyline or a main part of the narrative so that the audience can grasp an idea of what the plot is about, for example, when DiCaprio is on the boat approaching the island and when he is about to enter through the gates. As the trailer continues, the editing begins to become more fast paced with a variety of jump cuts and fast straight cuts building up the tension and mystery as well as the excitement and energy of the trailer. This suggests to the audience that this plot has a lot more to offer than what can be seen at that moment, adding to the intrigue. Throughout the trailer, the pace of the editing could be at a calm pace and then all of a sudden a fast paced straight cut would occur revealing another camera shot linking to the complex narrative, this contrast in pace within a few seconds also adds to the excitement of a thriller film and the mystery and some what frightening aspect to it. For example, when the 3 men are approaching the gate and the editing is slow paced and then all of a sudden there is a straight cut to a CU of barb wire and a LS of papers flying in a room. Another thing that I noticed in analysing Shutter Island is that there are a number of fades to and from black used in particular places, this could show how the audience are in the dark about certain situations in the narrative and how some characters are in the dark about their position within the narrative. The fades to and from black could also be linked to memory, how memory is a large theme within the plot and the black used could signify how a character's memory is in jeopardy. The main thing about editing regarding the genre (thriller/horror) is that it adds to the build up of tension/excitement/intruige and mystery.

Sound:

The sound is probably, combined with editing, the most important aspect to a teaser trailer of the thriller genre. The sound evident in Shutter Island is a mixture of diegetic dialouge which reveals key mysteries to the plot, for example, 'who is 67?' and non-diegetic sound of bursts of music occuring in sequence to the transition of camera shots through editing to enhance the ambience a trailer of the thriller genre can offer. A few examples of key moments that sound enhances the atmousphere is when Ruffalo says 'all I know is that it's a mental hospital' and there is a series of camerashots seperated by fast paced straight cuts, these are combined by a non diegetic screeching sound and fast paced drum like beats in the background. This music combines with the other technical codes to intruige the audience and suggest a complex/frightening narrative. What I have noticed about this trailer in particular is that it has a number of sudden bursts of non diegetic music after a character reveals dialouge of significance, for example, when Dicaprio says 'for the criminally insane' there is a drop of non diegetic powerful, drum like music to suggest the complexity of the plot and the tension evident. Fast paced non diegetic bursts of music with various layers (a screech and a drum beat) are evident when the editing becomes fast paced. As the trailer progresses the background non diegetic music occurs of slow beats accompnied with diegetic dialouge to show that as the trailer is progressing so is the tension, mystery and complexity of the narrative. In the last 25 seconds of the trailer the non diegetic music quickens in pace constantly until the end of the trailer combined with the editing being at its fastest. This adds to the extreme build up of action/mystery/tension that a trailer of the thriller genre has to offer.

Mise en scene

The mise en scene in the trailer of shutter island is overall what you would expect to find in a trailer of that genre - horror/thriller. For example, the set/location throughout the trailer is an isolated island, dark confined spaces and rooms with minimal detail which could mirror Leonardo Dicaprios state of mind within the film. Props include cruxifix's, uniformed officers and doctors, reinforcing status therefore suggesting that something is evident which needs to be dealt with seriously - in this case 'the criminally insane'. Guns are a significant prop which inforces danger and fright as well as a defensive attitude. Handcuffs, photographs and peices of paper are all props which suggest that there is some kind of mystery evident, something is missing, the peices of the puzzle do not fit together. This causes intruige from the audience. It is important to note that the costumes change significantly throughout the trailer, Dicaprio starts off wearing a costume similar to that of a police officer/detective inforcing his status and ensuring the audience are on his side, but then we see him wearing white overalls suggesting that his individuality and authority has been stripped and he has more to do with the storyline than first predicted. These subtle costume changes cause mystery and add to the conventions of a trailer of the thriller/horror genre.

Conclusion

In the construction of my teaser trailer I plan to use some techniques that I have identified here. I will use LS to establish location, CU to show character facial expression and reaction. For the pace, I plan to begin the teaser trailer with a slow pace and build up in pace throughout to parrallel the build up of tension/mystery/suspense. Another idea that I am going to use regarding pace is, in the middle of the trailer, the pace will suddenly slow down revealing a significant/scary event to enhance audience fright/interest. I am going to use a similar idea of set, isolated, dark rooms and I also plan to use the idea of a significant costume change. I am planning to have the main female character wearing light colours initially, but as the trailer progresses she will be wearing dark coloured clothing to portray her change in character.