Shutter Island soundscape

As Hazel previously mentioned, we have decided to look at soundtracks as part of the editing process. This particular post analyses part of Shutter Island in terms of it's soundtrack.


This is relatively simple in terms of sound. at the start of the clip, all we can hear is talking and rain. This makes the dialogue stand out and means that more attention will be payed to it. Obviously the dialogue is important. It would be unrealistic to use a condenser mic mounted on a boom pole to record this audio due to the special effects at the end, so I would guess that the dialogue was recorded in a studio post filming. This will stop any noise from wind and the water etc. Of course, the main difficulty with this is lip syncing, certainly not an easy thing to do.

As the clip progresses, the audio starts to build up with more and more layers. The rain can be heard from the beginning however it would seem that it gets louder as the clip progresses. This is more of an illusion than anything else however it adds to the tension of the clip. The tension is clearly building up with the dialogue and so the other sounds must complement this. I would say that the rain is actually Foley sound. It has been recorded post filming and is not necessarily actually rain!

Up to now, we have only heard sounds that the characters can hear; these are called diegetic sounds. Non-diegetic sounds cannot be heard by the characters. They are used to help tell the story to us. The non diegetic sound is the ever so slight build up of a repetitive low pitched sound. Lower pitched sound can often be found in Thrillers. as it builds up suspense. This sound of course slowly gets louder and louder until the door opens and there is a crescendo. This is where the sound suddenly stops, helping to build tension. When the door does open, there is a horrible screech; this is the hinges and is a diegetic sound. The rain is then evermore louder. This illustrates the fact that the two characters are now in the open and are in perhaps in danger. Rain is a predictor of bad things.

The final layer of sound is the deputy speaking. This would have most certainly have been done in a studio and has been edited to sound like it is coming from loud speakers. The editing of course makes it sound much more realistic.

The sound builds up to make a soundscape and all adds to the tension. Diegetic sounds make it seem very realistic whilst non diegetic sounds help to build up the tension.