YEAR: 2014
CATEGORY: Visual Communication, Data Visualization
ROLE: Data Collector, Film Analyst, Poster Designer
CLIENT / TYPE: Semester Project, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences
COLLABORATORS: Independent work
TOOLS / MEDIUM: Film analysis, tally sheets, data collection, analogue and digital analysis, image processing, poster design
OUTPUT: Two large-format posters

Movie Mapping Shutter Island

In this project, Martin Scorsese's 'Shutter Island' underwent a comprehensive analysis, resulting in a graphic short adaptation.

Challenge
A feature film is built from many layers: image, colour, sound, rhythm, characters, objects and narrative structure. The challenge was to capture these elements statistically without losing the atmosphere of the film.

Approach
The project analyses Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island through a visual and data-based method. Key elements of the film were counted, structured and translated into graphic systems.

Process
The film was watched, paused, counted and analysed scene by scene. Visual, narrative and atmospheric data were collected manually and digitally, then reorganised into poster formats.

Result
The result is a two-part poster series. One poster gives a broad overview of the film’s structure, plot elements and cinematic parameters. The second focuses on colour, showing how the film’s visual atmosphere changes over time. Together, the posters make the film readable at a glance.

Reflection
The project was highly labour-intensive, but the effort paid off. By translating a complex film into data and visual structure, Movie Mapping Shutter Island became both an analytical tool and a strong piece of visual communication.