Shutter Island: Movement

Camera movement in Shutter Island is very constant. Martin Scorsese tends to follow a similar pattern from what is seen in his previous films. For very dramatic scenes there is minimal camera movement, as thee camera is in focus on the subject at hand. And the opposite for action scenes. He pulls the camera out further and moves along with the actors. The beginning of the film has our two US Marshalls walking with a prison guard to their side walking towards the camera as the camera moves at an equal pace. This scene is not so much an action movement but it is meant to show the landscape and the building they are entering. This is quite a common occurrence for similar scenes of the film. Our actors themselves move in a realistic manner. They walk normal pacing and run like your local mall cop (not so much a Paul Blart). These movements the camera is moving equal and glides very smoothly to prevent an interruption from our story/scene. Thankfully Martin Scorsese does not use silly animations or freeze frames. Those mechanical distortions would diminish the quality of this film for the audience. Yet, he creatively adds slow motion. It is a very minor addition nevertheless… The scene must memorable with slow motion is where Teddy is having a dream about his wife. He is clutching onto hear while she holds his arms and he is weeping. While his wife beings to become ash and dissolve in his arms, Martin Scorsese slows down the scene just enough to play out the emotional drama a tad longer. These movements really help the audience in reading the context of a scene. They encourage us if a scene is serious or important.

Shutter Island: Cinematography

The cinematography found throughout this film relate to real world in many iconic ways. The shot of the island and the shot of the prison resemble Alcatraz Island, which is very iconic and historic. The photography used produces an eerie theme. The camera man primarily keeps his target center frame. The scenes where suspense or thrill is required, we notice the camera puts the shot off to the side, pushing outside the rule of thirds. This technique works to make the audience uneasy as they are not sure if something will pop out and catch them off guard because your eyes are moved out of the center (the moments that many, including myself, cover their eyes). As for centering, it is a technique that the director uses to keep an object in the complete frame and draw importance. It was common for the action and movement scenes in Shutter Island to be centered.

Shutter Island: Mise en Scene

Above, Teddy Daniels is our man in a white jumpsuit, and the most dominant figure to first draw our eyes. The main reason for the easy visibility is due to the high contrast between the white, and the dark background. This particular scene is a long shot from far back to get a lot of the background in and using an angle to look down upon the actor. The most dominating color is blue which we see in the water and amplified to the rocks. This scene appears to be a clean shot without the use of a filter. Next to the dominant blue, the lighthouse is a great second eye-catcher. With the placement of Teddy Daniels in white and the lighthouse over the water, the rue-of-thirds is implemented. This also allows an easy open and loose framing, as the placement of all these objects suggests is continues out the frame. The characters are given plenty of room to walk around, and in this scene, there is some distance to cover to get over to the lighthouse which is far ahead of Teddy which we can tell by its depth. Teddy is facing to the right with his back towards the camera, and since he is the sole character, he doesn’t have to worry about bumping into others.

Shutter Island: Dramatization

The way Dennis Lehane wrote Shutter Island, to the screenplay adaptation by Laeta Kalogridis, the story is very visual oriented. In order for this story to be recreated for theatrical, there would be a lot of key information lost. It would not be an easy task for the staging team for creating different scenes. Just the scene of the cliff where Teddy is attempting to scale down and the camera is able to be at the top of the cliff looking down on his face so the audience can see the fear clearly expressed. This is not something a theater can recreate or something you would find at the Globe Theater. It would be difficult to say the least. The director chose that camera angle for a good reason; to show Teddy’s fear and to show the height and shape of the cliff and its dangers below. For the film in particular, numerous sets were created. I would assume they had to put in a lot of work for the asylum’s jail. The whole building was built in small scale by hand. The lighthouse scene where Teddy enters the base to view the vast amount of stairs, was actually only a portion of the stairs with a green screen on the top in order to reproduce the stairs spiraling up. The cliff when Teddy and Chuck are scouting the island, was actually about 6 feet tall next to a parking area (or concrete pad), where blue screen was laid at the base and the end of the tree line. Additionally, the costumes used were all dated 1950s attire. The US Marshall’s suits and hats, not something you see in this day of age, almost a mafia style outfit with the flat brimmed hat. For those who worked for the island, white pants and white shirts, a very common theme seen in many movies featuring an asylum (for example, One Who Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest). The actors do retain their natural looks though, as there is very little makeup to alter their appearances.

Shutter Island: Acting Review

Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Kingsley are all professional actors and most certainly quite popular. Leonardo DiCaprio is the headlining star as we know. These actors are very important to the success of the film. They each bring their own style to the table for the director to use how he pleases. Martin Scorsese has had a connection with Leonardo for years, as you can see he plays in a number if Martin’s films. Be that as it is, Leonardo brings artistic skills which I am sure he has a say in. Throughout the film, there are a number of “jump cuts” and few cuts in which the actor didn’t finish his line or her/she made an error. These “jump cuts” however may be purposeful to create a tension effect (i.e. looking into different directions). Highlighting is clearly evident. I mean, Martin has a thing for Leonardo, so expect to see Leonardo because he is the giant head on the poster, and more realistically, he is the main character. This is quite noticeable as he has been in a number of box office hits throughout the past few years. The style of his acting is very iconic, as it doesn’t change much, if the slightest. His values always portray “the American dream” (i.e. The Great Gatsby, The Wolf of Wall Street). The idea many at a young age look to obtain. Each actor is using a 1950s stylized approach to acting, from their dialogue, to their gestures, and to their movements (body language, person-person interactions). Ben Kingsley, who portrays Dr. Crawley, actually looks like a doctor with his serious looks and smart tongue. Mark Ruffalo, who portrays Chuck Aule, maintains facial expressions well, or he always looks that way, because his face makes you wonder what is wrong with Teddy Daniels, pay attention and you’ll notice it too. 

Kick Ass: Mise En Scène

Matthew Vaughn's Kick Ass, is a classic take on action and humor with the creative use of comic styling. Kick Ass involves crime fighting "super heroes" who are trying to make a difference in their life. For this analysis, we will be looking at the Mise En Scène for this particular frame:

Mindy, aka Hit Girl, is the center of the frame. We can clearly see that she is what the director wanted eyes to focus on. The effect of the high-key lighting in the background spotlights the character by creating strong contrast of her dark outfit, while the medium shot leaves the additional dark bookshelves on the left and right sides of the frame. The camera proxemic range is social, as it appears to be roughly 10 feet away facing slightly upward from waist height. The color used is primarily black with the vibrance turned down slightly with no appearance of a filter being used with the standard lens. Our subsidiary contrasts in this frame include the 3 dead villains and the one behind the right bookshelf who is half in frame and half out frame. Also noted, the density, as there is high contrast and a lot of texture details, such as the bookshelves. The bookshelves shape the composition of the frame to be segmented into the center, creating a funnel-like directive. This suggests action and movement. The form of the frame is definitely closed, as it is unrealistically balanced for the left and right due to where the objects and figures are placed. We can see that Mindy is mid sprint charging at her enemies, and on the verge of a juke/dodge, suggesting a loose framing because there is room to move. Mindy is almost at the villain behind the bookshelf in this frame, as we can tell he is in the foreground (and closer to the camera) by the angle of his gun barrel. Mindy would technically be in the foreground, as the dead villains lay in the midground and the elevator door is the background. As for placement and positioning, which is side by side with depth, Mindy is our main character so as such she is placed right in the middle so all eyes are on her. Her head is at a slight angle to the right while her body is facing directly at the camera. Our dead villains lay on their backs sprawled out, below the horizon line at the edges of the bookshelves leaving the center clear, almost like a runway. And the one villain left, well he is all by himself at the right edge of the frame, slightly outside of it as well, facing towards Mindy with his back to the camera because he is up to no good. Our foreground characters proxemics are personal, along with our main character's slain enemies. 

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest: Acting Review

"One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" directed by Milos Forman, features a man who fakes being crazy in order to leave prison and transfer to a mental institution where he can escape labor duties. R.P. McMurphy is played by Jack Nicholson, one of the stars in the movie. In addition, Louise Fletcher (playing Nurse Ratched), Danny DeVito (played Martini), and Christopher Lloyd (playing Taber). From a viewers response, it seems that the actors had much influence into the artistic collaboration of the film. The ongoing conflicts between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched is a great example of that. Jack Nicholson brings some of his own style that we have seen in other movies, such as The Shining, into his scenes. It must have been difficult for Louise Fletcher to keep a straight, serious face during those times. The director kept the stars in ensemble for many scenes without solely highlighting only one star, except for Jack Nicholson who was in a majority of the scenes.