Opening Credits Research

In the opening credits of Shutter Island, the following roles and personnel are displayed:

- Who the film was made by, i.e. the director (Martin Scorsese). Red font, on the bottom right of the screen.

- The producer of the film (Micke Medavny and Arnold Messen). Red font, on the bottom left of the screen.

- The person who has done the screenplay (Laeta Kalogridis). Red font, on the middle left of the screen.

- The author of the novel the film is based on (Dennis Lehane). White font, on the middle left of the screen.

- The director of photography (Robert Richardson). White font, on the bottom right of the screen.

- The lead actors are named:
Ben Kingsley, bottom left in white font.
Leonardo DiCaprio, top left in white font.
Mark Buffalo, top left in white font.

- The editor of the film (Thelma Schoonmaker). White font, on the bottom left of the screen.

- Who has done the music (Robbie Robertson). White font, on the bottom right of the screen.

- The title is finally shown (Shutter Island). Red font, increasing size from the centre of the screen.

By putting all of the credits on the side of the screen and varying their positions, it makes the opening appear more important than the film thereby keeping the audience engaged with the film. This idea is furthered when the title is shown in the centre of screen. The title grows in size also showing that the film is starting.
A mixture of red and white is used, highlighting the fact that there is innocence and purity as well as danger and death.



In se7en opening credits there are a few differences:

The production company is mentioned.
Who has done the casting.
The costume designer.
Who has designed the production.
Who are the coproducers and co-executive producers.
Who wrote the script.