Planning: Todorov's Theory

Comparing Tzvetan Todorov's theory against films I've already analyzed, and using the conventions to form my own ideas

	Panic Room	Harry Brown	Shutter Island	Our Narrative Ideas
Equilibrium	Mother and daughter move into new house	Every day life (from character's perspective)	Protagonist takes on job on island to investigate woman's disappearance	Everything normal-every day life (for characters)
Disequilibrium	Villains break in	Protagonist's wife dies (nothing more to live for), gang/drug culture out of control	Doesn't get much information from anyone - can't do job he went to do	Kidnap
Recognition of Disruption	Mother realises there are people in the house	Protagonist's friend gets killed - makes him realise the seriousness of the gang situation	Realises job isn't straightforward	Family/friends notice kidnap victim is missing
Attempt to Repair	Going into panic room - safety/escape. Using torch to flash to attract neighbour's attention	Protatgonist becomes vigilante and fights back - kills main culprits. Main fight with police on side	Determined to solve issue/do his job. Everything gets more and more confusing/trapped on island. Discovers he is in fact a patient on the island and has made up the story we've seen	Try to find her/save her. False hero situation?
Restored/New Equilibrium	Villains' deaths, police arresting surviving villain	Gang culture goes down after fight	Partial equilibrium - back to the way it was at the start (protagonist unaware he is a patient on Shutter Island)	Victim saved, everything okay/back to normal

Planning: Initial Ideas (My Own)

Narrative:

• some kind of hostage/kidnap situation - wrong hostage? innocent?
• motive - money/power/revenge?
• vulnerable protagonist/hero (single mother, pensioner, teenager/child)
• powerful antagonist (young - middle aged man(?) - physically/mentally strong)
• family/friends/colleagues of protagonist try to find hostage 
• follow Todorov's narrative structure of "equilibrium --> disequilibrium --> new/restored equilibrium"

Editing: 

• jump cuts
• quick
• straight cuts - frequent
• fades between some transitions - signify passing of time

Camera: 

• lots of establishing shots
• low-angle/worm's-eye-view shots to show dominance
• camera movements - not much use of static cameras - lots of panning/tracking/hand-held/steadicam
• high-angle shots to set locations/diminish power

Mise-en-scene:

• LIGHTING - extremely low-key, maybe slightly higher-key during equilibrium (however, low-key would foreshadow negative events to come)
• LOCATION/SETTING - kidnap location - warehouse/garage/shed, taken from street/alley at night, family searching in daytime - still fairly low key lighting even in daytime
• COSTUME/MAKE-UP - dark clothing (villains), plain clothing on heroes

Research: 'Shutter Island' - Trailer Analysis

Analysis of the trailer for the film "Shutter Island":

At the start of the trailer, we see a warning (pictured below) which shows that the trailer itself is suitable for the viewing of people of all ages, even though the film itself is only suitable for those aged 15 and up (in the UK). It would be too difficult for film promoters to only advertise in places that 15+ year-olds would see the trailers, as they are shown on TV in the daytime and also in cinemas, and it is impossible to control who watches them, so it is important to censor trailers enough so they can be aired whenever, whilst also including enough information in the trailer to inspire the target demographic to want to see the film.

The music within the trailer, which is non-diegetic, fades in and progressively becomes louder throughout the trailer and also when text/captions appear on screen, and then fades out afterwards. As tension increases in the trailer, the music becomes more intense and prominent within the trailer.

At 0.42 (below), we hear a loud scream which is playing throughout  two shots, and echoed in a third. It is not made clear whether the scream is diegetic or non-diegetic because of the different locations we are shown whilst the sound is playing, however the use of the scream signifies danger and terror, and its high amplification is very eery and adds to the confusion that the audience are experiencing.The white clothing worn in this shot signifies hospital staff and a clinical environment, which reinforces the location and setting of the film.

The tempo and pace of the sound increases throughout the trailer, which creates tension and suspense. All of the sound effects of any movement (e.g. dragging the gun across the floor) makes the audience feel uneasy, and anchors what we are seeing on screen.

Many of the transitions are straight cuts (the frequency of these increases as the pace of the trailer does), though there are many fades, flashes and there is also frequent use of jump cuts which show the passing of time and increases suspense, whilst also intriguing those watching into wanting to find out more about the film by watching it.

Props throughout the entire trailer are very scarce so that the audience focuses on the action within the film, and this then signifies the sense of abandonment felt by the protagonist who appears to be trapped on an island. The costumes are carefully thought out - the staff are in typical 1950s medical gowns and the clothes and trench coat worn by DiCaprio's character at the start of the trailer indicate the time period/location in which the film is set (1950s America).

Edit (29/01/12): Having now watched this film, I found it very interesting how the trailer presents and markets the film. With the trailer being put together from certain parts of the film, the editors have been very selective. Although there are lots of indicators of the film's narrative within the trailer, the film itself is a lot deeper and more intense than the trailer would suggest. This is due to its genre of "thriller". If too much had been given away in the trailer, it would definitely have spoiled the plot, however the suspense created throughout the film is very thrilling indeed.