Shawshank Redemption was directed by Frank Darabont, who successfully interpreted the film, which was taken from the book 'Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption' written by Stephen King in the early 1980's
Shawshank Redemption was directed by Frank Darabont, who successfully interpreted the film, which was taken from the book 'Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption' written by Stephen King in the early 1980's. Shawshank Redemption was released in 1994 and was set in Mansfield, Ohio correctional institution; a large almost medieval type of building which helps create the atmosphere of the film.
The film fits under many different themes: imprisonment, liberation, redemption, hope, survival and patience. But is apart of the drama genre, it is also in the sub-genres of prison drama and character study.
Throughout Shawshank Redemption Darabont uses imagery to express his ideas.
Darabont shows the audience prison life from Andy's point of view, for Darabont to do this he has to develop Andy's character so that the audiences' perception of him is that he is innocent. The audience doesn't always perceive Andy as innocent but due to the audience seeing prison life from his point of view they sympathise with him, this quickly makes them think Andy is innocent. We see imprisonment through a different perspective to other prison dramas; this is done by Darabont letting the audience see prison life from the Prisoners point of view instead of the prison officers.
Darabont used different types of media throughout the film to show the audience different aspects of the prison life:
* Voice over- Darabont uses a narrator to tell the story he uses one of the main characters to do this. (Red)
* Camera angles- Darabont uses a variety of camera angles
* Lighting- Darabont uses the lighting to create atmosphere in scenes. He also uses pathetic fallacy.
* Sound effects
"Fear can hold you a prisoner. Hope can set you free" throughout the film Darabont presents this in numerous ways, using the wide range of media available to help him express his ideas to the audience.
Darabont uses camera angles alot during the introduction to Shawshank scene, the use of camera angles gives the audience the image of imprisonment. The scene starts with a dramatic crane shot that shows us the prison from a birds eye view, the sweeping views establish and emphasise the prisons size. Creating the feeling of this being a whole new world. As the inmates begin running we notice just how insignificant they are; they are like small insects compared to the sheer size of Shawshank. In this scene the prisoners are just one of many and are seen as nothing. This quickly changes during the film, soon the audience are on the prisoners' side.
After the view of the prison the camera angle changes. We see Andy encased in a van this is a very claustrophobic shot compared to the vast amount of space, which had just been shown. The camera is showing us what he is seeing; this is a great way of putting the audience in Andy's shoes and drawing them on to his side. As the van pulls up to the prison gates the camera is focused on the window where we can see the gates opening; representing the start of the film and a new life for the prisoners.
The journey to Shawshank in the introduction scene was fast almost too speeded up, but once the van enters the prison suddenly the speed rapidly slows down. Darabont did this for a reason; it's a very effective way of showing the long stretch of time, which awaits Andy in the prison. Also it could represent the image of how compared to time outside every minute in Shawshank passes like an hour.
Another piece of technology that Darabont uses to his advantage is lighting and use of shadows. The first significant use of light also links in with ...
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The journey to Shawshank in the introduction scene was fast almost too speeded up, but once the van enters the prison suddenly the speed rapidly slows down. Darabont did this for a reason; it's a very effective way of showing the long stretch of time, which awaits Andy in the prison. Also it could represent the image of how compared to time outside every minute in Shawshank passes like an hour.
Another piece of technology that Darabont uses to his advantage is lighting and use of shadows. The first significant use of light also links in with camera angles. When the new inmates are leaving the outside world, the camera sweeps up the dark eerie building and only stops when it reaches the light of the sky, this could show a last look up to freedom or represent the hope of the prisoners.
When we actually enter the prison there are contrasting colours, in one step it's gone from light to dark portraying an image of freedom to imprisonment. Inside the prison its dark, lit by natural light from the small windows protected with bars. This creates long shadows along the floor, which give an eerie, cold feeling. The prisoners are lined up made to look like bars, and the warden himself is stood in a shadowed area, portraying him as a dark character.
Slow music, played by strings and drawn out base is very emotional in this scene. Music is an important aspect as it creates the atmosphere of the scene and gives the audience a feeling of what's happening. The sound effects in this scene create a feeling of imprisonment instead of hope: highlighting the new inmates' fear. Once in the prison there is no music played, this action has been thought about by Darabont because even though its silent it's still creating an image for the audience Contrasting with the dramatic music played on arrival but giving the audience the same feeling.
Having a voice over is a simple but effective way of getting a clear picture across to the audience, in the introduction to Shawshank scene Red sets up the story and gives us a small amount of background. He introduces characters in to the story by giving us their points of view. Darabont has carefully thought about what language would be best used by Red and choose for Red to speak informally (colloquial language) which will relate to the audience keeping them on track with the story line.
The atmosphere and use of media in the introduction to Shawshank scene, leaves the audience un-settled. At this point the characters have not been developed enough for the audience to have opinions of them. When all the media in this scene is put together the audience can see all is not right, but it is too early in the film for them to put their finger on it.
The rooftop scene was set in 1949 after Andy had been in prison for twenty ears. This scene is brilliant for representing hope, as each and every one of those men on the rooftop had a sense of short-lived freedom. Throughout the scene Andy knew what he was doing, as well as being liked by the prisoners he was also secretly out smarting the guards.
Camera angles and lighting played a huge part in this scene. The scene starts off by using a close up shot of the men chosen for the job, clearly showing that the guards had been bribed to let them have the job, by Red. Once we actually see the men working we can sense the feeling of freedom and hope from the prisoners, although the camera angle shows the audience that the boundaries between the guards and prisoners are still evident. Andy shows no signs of fear when he decides to cross the boundary, even though the other prisoners warn him of the consequences. As the guard holds Andy over edge of building, the camera angle shows the drop that he faces, making the audience nervous, fast movement of the camera is used creating a more intense atmosphere. Once Captin Hadley agrees with Andy's deal, the camera no longer shows the height of the building but instead shows both prisoner and guard as equal. Andy had successfully secured the deal, giving him more hope about his future.
The sound effects being used during the rooftop scene is very up beat and has a quick tempo, country and western was used in this scene which reflects the happy mood and atmosphere of the scene. This scene shows a strong feeling of hope within the prisoners because finally they feel free once again. This short encounter with freedom renews the hope that Andy started the film with.
Red adds the final touches to the scene by giving the audience more background about the scene. Red explains how he manages to bribe the guards, so that his men could do the job, he uses humour and speaks light heartily which lets the audience relate to the scene. Why didn't Andy take part in the beer drinking? Red explains to us that he got a sense of freedom by just watching the other men drinking knowing that it was he who made the event occur. This was the starting point for Andy's whole sense of hope, from that day he knew whatever goal he had could be reached. We also find out how Red felt about the whole event and for the first time we see signs of hope from Red as well.
This was not the only time that Andy used his wit to give the prisoners a feeling of freedom. In the scene where Andy plays music out to the whole prison, we can see the whole atmosphere of the prisoners' change. For a short while he made the prison feel like a free place somewhere that people would want to go.
The camera sweeps round the prison showing close ups of different prisoners' faces. Everyone had a look of enlightenment and liberation on their faces. For a few minutes the prisoners had temporary redemption.
Andy's great sense of hope infatuated the audience keeping then interested in what he was going to do next.
In the scene where Andy escapes to freedom there are a lot of crucial things, which happened before hand. The director cleverly diverts the audience away from the clues that he shows. The audience is convinced that he has lost all hope and that he has asked for the rope so that he can end his life.
The first significant camera angle used is when Andy is placing the books in the safe for the very last time. The angle is shot from in side the safe looking out towards him. As the door is shut so is the metaphorical door on the audience because they no longer know what's really going on in the film. Then the director shows us a photographic shot of the rock hammer used by Andy when he escaped showing just how much effort it had actually taken for him to escape. From this point there is a use of flashback to let the audience re open the metaphorical door.
We now see the actual escape and with the help of Reds voice over the audience finally click onto the intriguing story line. As we see Andy in the tunnel we get an intense feeling of claustrophobia, compared to the wide open space which a waits him at the end of a tunnel. This is a metaphor of rebirth and that Andy has just left a tiny place to be met by the whole world. Andy then shows a sense of redemption by looking using a Christ-like image once he's out.
The use of light in this scene is brilliant the, storm (lightening) creates the perfect atmosphere for an extremely tense scene. It reflects the danger that Andy is putting himself in and the mood of him. This is pathetic fallacy that the director has chosen to use, pathetic fallacy is where the weather reflects the atmosphere of a scene. The darkness inside the prison doesn't let us see Andy's face clearly. That's where the flashes of lightening help they allow the audience to have a quick glimpse of the expression on his face. As Andy reaches the end of the tunnel the director used imagery to create light at the end of the tunnel.
Probably the most important part of this scene was the use of sound effects as the escape could not have took place without it. The use of thunder aided Andy because he simultaneously tries to break the pipe as the thunder roars this hides the sound of him breaking the pipe. The thunder also creates an atmosphere for the scene. The background music played is up beat then slows down making things more tense for the audience, but the music changes dramatically once Andy reaches freedom.
During Red's voice over he lets all the secrets out to the audience. He explains how Andy outwitted the guards and managed to break to freedom:
"Some birds aren't meant to be caged because their feathers are too bright, and when they fly away that part of you that knows it was a sin to lock him up does rejoice."
Red says this during the voice over, it shows that throughout the film Andy always had hope and determination. It also shows that he managed to get the audience on to his side. Red also says that "Andy crawled through a wall or shit and came out clean on the other side" this shows that Andy went through a lot to get out again but finally he managed it and it was all worth it for him.
Andy never loses his hope through the film in his scene with Red just before the escape most of us thought that prison life had got the better of him. Darabont's use of light in this scene is very significant. First of all we see Andy in the shadow talking to Red who is in the light. As their conversation develops we see the roles reverse, when Red loses all hope and suddenly moves in to the shadowed area.
There are many metaphors of hope and freedom during the film! When Brooks is told he can now leave the prison he decides to let his bird go. When we see the bird fly away there is hope that Andy will be able to spread his wings again, this scene symbolises freedom in a great way.
Overall Darabont uses numerous different ways to get the story line to the audience. He uses imagery, pathetic fallacy, similes and metaphors to reflect different images throughout the film. Andy is always one step ahead of the guards and even though the audience doesn't know what Andy is planning they always know that with Andy's hope and determination he will be free again.
VIKKI CURRIE 10.7