Poster Analysis - Shutter Island

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The overall dark colour pallet connotes the central themes of the narrative- mental health, danger, and

suspicion.

The larger image of Di Caprio's face emerges from the dark sky, and is debatably the central focus of the poster. The fact that his face is positioned above the island, suggests that he is the protagonist, and the centre of suspicion. There is heavy shadowing on this central figure, thus alluding to the idea of mental health and his split motives as a character- these are later revealed in the film, making the connection between the poster and the film stronger.

The brighter object of the flame also stands out as it juxtaposes the black sky and grey tone of the island. This symbolises the search for hope and emphasises the mystery within the plot.

All the text on the poster has been grouped together at the bottom, whereas the central image is grouped at the top of the poster. This creates a stronger, more dramatic impact on the viewer as the dark shadows and theme of suspicion takes over this product, and therefore makes it more visually significant for the viewer.

The smoke rising from the flame is connected to the anchorage text of 'Someone is missing.' which immediately creates intrigue for the audience. The white of this Sans Serif text contrasts to the grey cast over of Di Caprio's face. This is in order to heighten the suspense of the narrative and in one short sentence, provides a plot overview for the audience. The credit block is rather insignificant on this poster as the small, thin white text is lost amongst the vast image of the sea. The audience is however drawn back through the red text of the release dateincreasing the marketing impact.

The title of 'Shutter Island' is written in a vibrant, bloody red, as is the release date- 'October'. These features juxtapose the rest of the poster and add another dimension to the grey, almost monochrome pallet. The red here depicts the violent, bloody aspects of the film , thus alluding to the film noir genre. The audience is therefore aware of the film's genre due to the connotations of this colour.-strengthening the marketing of the film.

The title is positioned at the bottom of the poster in order to the strengthen the impact of the figure, anchorage text and the island. The natural gaze of the audience would begin at Di Caprio's eyes, and would next be drawn to the bold red title, reinforcing the title of the film so as not to be forgotten.

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