Tasha's Titling Task

Shutter Island

The name of the film 'Shutter Island' suggests that the film might be about being trapped or isolated, as the word 'Shutter' means to close something in for either security or privacy. Whereas, the word 'Island' is something that is isolated and secluded, this title therefore connects to the genre of thriller as the thriller genre is known for being mysterious and containing a sense of suspense. Therefore, I think this film title relates to the spectators as they will all be able to emphasis with the feeling of wanting to be alone and having privacy at one point or another in their life. Whereas, for the target audience, the title will create anticipation and wonder as they will want to know what the film is about due to the mysterious and deceiving name of the title.

The design of the film title is very bold and dramatic; the use of the colour red is a very commonly used colour as red is stereotypically iconic for a thriller film. This is because it connotes meaning of anger, blood, death etc. The fact that the text is positioned onto a black background makes it even more noticeable and abrupt. Due to the association with red relating to death and evilness, the fact that the all of the words are red suggest to the spectators that 'Shutter Island' is a dangerous place. 

As the credit sequence continues to play various institutional information is presented on screen. For instance, 'A film by Martin Scorsese' is presented as zooms into a shot of an abandoned location. The location shown is very dark and bleak, contrasted with the bold red text of the institutional information. This emphasises the thriller conventions as the lighting is very dark and gloomy with red being a predominant colour to use.

As the credits continue other institutional information is shown in the colour white; throughout the credits the colour goes back and fourth between the colours red and white. This could be symbolic to the fact that red represents evil while white represents purity.


The sequence is supported with a range of various superimposed shots of the location; informing the viewers where the film is set but also giving them a glimpse of what the film involves.

 As the sequence develops three actors are introduced, there are obviously more actors involved in the film but the filmmakers only put three of the actors in the opening credits as these are the most famous actors in the film.  They are introduced into the sequence through superimposed shots of the location and then appear on the screen for a few seconds in bold white text, positioned on the left hand side of the screen.

In relation to the order of the information presented, the main institutional information is shown first. For example, the production company's involved and the director. Then the main actors names appear alongside with more institutional information including who's involved in the making of the film etc.
 Sound included:
The opening credits start with non-diegetic background music playing; the music is full of suspense and mystery. The music tends to vary from a high and low pitch creating uneasiness amongst the viewers.  Towards the end of the sequence there is an establishing shot of an island which then fades to black, where the title starts to slowly increase in size. As this is happening the music increases in crescendo, building up pace and tension. Therefore, creating this suspense amongst the viewers which is an iconic element of a thriller. This is due to the fact that a thriller is full of uncertainty.