The document provides questions to analyze the setting, characters, and their relationships established in the opening of the film Shutter Island. It asks the reader to determine what the setup reveals about the isolated island location serving as an asylum for the dangerous and mentally ill, the main character Teddy and how his role as an investigator is presented, and possible conflicts hinted at. It also prompts the reader to consider how the opening establishes conventions of the thriller genre through technical elements like camerawork, sound editing, and mise-en-scene shown in screen grabs.

1. Shutter Island – Narrative (set up)
• What does the set up reveal to the audience about setting? Where
is this place? What gives you information?
• What does the set up reveal to the audience about characters?
Choose one character and explain HOW the set up reveals this
information.
• What does the set up reveal to the audience about interrelationship
between characters? About their goals? Are there any things you
learn here that become important later on?
• What is this ‘world’ like? Safe? Happy? Dangerous? How do you
know?
• What possible conflicts or strains are there that will become part of
the story later on?
• How does this film opening fit with the codes and conventions of
Thriller films?

2. Technical Conventions
• Take 10 screen grabs from the film opening
and annotate these to explain how they fit the
technical conventions of Thriller films -
Camerawork, Mise en scene, Sound, editing.
• A copy of the film is in the ‘Student Resources’
drive on the Macs.