Shutter Island 

This commercial thriller directed by Martin Scorsese was a successful blockbuster in the year of 2010, this was partly due to the non-diegetic music used throughout the film to contribute into creating the unnerving atmospheric mood which Scorsese envisioned the movie to be. 

THE OPENING CREDITS IN THE MOVIE USES A FADE IN OF A DARK CORRIDOR WITH VERY LITTLE LIGHT ILLUMINATING THE LONG CORRIDOR. AT THE END OF THE CORRIDOR, THE AUDIENCE ARE SHOWN A CAGED AREA CONTAINING A BED WHICH SIGNIFIES THE DANGER IN THE BUILDING AND AS A RESULT OF THIS SETS THE TONE OF THE MOVIE IMMEDIATELY AS A THRILLER/ HORROR MOVIE. THE NON-DIEGETIC MUSIC IS IMMEDIATELY PRESENT AT THE BEGINNING ALSO HELPS AMPLIFY THE EFFECT OF THE DANGER WHICH WILL OCCUR IN THE MOVIE. ADDITIONALLY THE SLOW DRIPPING WATER, WHICH CAN BE SEEN FALLING ON THE WET FLOOR, DETONATES THE POOR CONDITION IN WHICH THE PSYCHIATRIC FACILITY IS UNDER AND CAN SUGGEST THAT SUCH A PLACE COMMONLY ASSUMED TO BE WELL FUNDED FOR THE SAFETY AND PROTECTION OF SUBJECTS SHOULD BE BETTER MAINTAINED.  

The next scene fades into view of the stairs in a spiral this denotes an eternity of darkness and the unknown which creates a sense of overwhelming panic which awaits the audience and the protagonist in the film. This is also achieved through the use of a crane shot which lowers the camera down the spiral of stairs to give off the impression of mental entrapment. Sixteen seconds into the opening credit the next scene fades into view of a guarded gate, which opens as the camera moves forward. This action of the camera provides the audience with an immersive feel of unnerving horror and dangers which the audience will witness in the scenes to come. The non-diegetic sound aids this feel which the creators of the film were seeking by gradually increasing the sound of the brass instrument. By bringing it from a background noise which the audience would note but not pay particular attention to, and bringing it to become the main focus increases the sense of danger and can imply how the twists of the story will be told in the film. As the scene fades into the darkness, the brass sound also follows suit to the scene recede into the background

The next scene fades into view of the stairs in a spiral this denotes an eternity of darkness and the unknown which creates a sense of overwhelming panic which awaits the audience and the protagonist in the film. This is also achieved through the use of a crane shot which lowers the camera down the spiral of stairs to give off the impression of mental entrapment. Sixteen seconds into the opening credit the next scene fades into view of a guarded gate, which opens as the camera moves forward. This action of the camera provides the audience with an immersive feel of unnerving horror and dangers which the audience will witness in the scenes to come. The non-diegetic sound aids this feel which the creators of the film were seeking by gradually increasing the sound of the brass instrument. By bringing it from a background noise which the audience would note but not pay particular attention to, and bringing it to become the main focus increases the sense of danger and can imply how the twists of the story will be told in the film. As the scene fades into the darkness, the brass sound also follows suit to the scene recede into the background.

 The next scene is a mid-shot that shows a fireplace and the chair getting gradually showing more of the fireplace through the use of dolling. This also provides the audience with an ominous feel to it additionally through the mise en scene: the chair seems to be blood red which contributes to the tone of the movie. The credit here is now in a white font and fades piece by piece into view and after a second fades out of view. In the next scene almost unseen in the background we can see a bloodied hand moving about struggling to grab the gun which is in the main focus in the current scene. This signifies the potential death and helplessness which will be inflicted onto characters in the film, however by not showing us the face of the character encourages the audience to speculate as to which unlucky character will be put in this position. The slow descent of the boot onto the gun provides a creepy chill to this scene as the owner of the boot slowly brings the gun away from the bloody hand. Towards the final section of the opening credits the non-diegetic music begins to play deep resonating sounds it then pauses and then continues. This conforms to the typical horror convention with its ending as it pushes the tension to the climax. Additionally with each section of the resonating sound we see different images which appear and disappear along with the deep sounds. Finally with the last section of the sound the title of the film appears out of the darkness in a crimson red and gradually gets bigger before disappearing.

Thank you For reading By Debo Awobayiku