Acting Types- Shawshank Redemption

There are different acting types throughout film and stage and some of them are portrayed in the different characters in The Shawshank Redemption. I have chosen the three characters and outlined their acting types in depth below.

Andy Dufresne- The acting type used here is realism as the actor, Tim, Robbind, truly portrays the correct characteristics of a reserved banker accused wrongfully of murder. Realism does not draw attention to the acting and instead portrays genuine human reaction and emotion (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). Throughout the film Andy uses realism to convey the despair of his dire situation and each emotion and reaction is genuine in nature and heartfelt.

Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding- The acting type used here is realism also as the actor Morgan Freeman portrays a prisoner that has been locked up for many years very skillfully and believably. Throughout the film, Red portrays a wise convict who befriends Andy and helps him along the way. He was convicted of murder some 40 years before but has changed into an insightful, humbled old man who is nothing but helpful to the other inmates.

Warden Norton- The acting type used by Warden Norton, who is played by Bob Gunton, is more of a stylized acting type blended with realism, as he is very over the top and his facial expressions and dialogue are often almost “too much” at times but he does nail the part of a hard nosed warden. Throughout the film. he is brash, abusive, irrational and participates in illegal activity by laundering money through the prison books. His stylized acting type shines through but you also see the realism as the tough warden of a men’s maximum security prison and the abuse of power that has taken place in the real world many times.

To focus on the character Red (Morgan Freeman) who although in prison for murder is a kind, caring, wise individual with a sense of humor. In looking at his other roles in different films he seems to play the same type of character. Driving Miss Daisy, Million Dollar Baby, and Bruce Almighty, where he actually played God, are just some examples of where he is a wise man always willing to help out and be there for others. In the clip shown below, he is helping Andy in Shawshank Redemption to figure out an issue; below that he is helping Bruce in Bruce Almighty do the same. The characters acting styles do make a major impact on this film as the realism really brings it to life for the audience. Although most people have never been to prison, let alone convicted of murder, wrongfully or not, you can almost relate to the characters and feel their pain and struggle through their acting.

Dark Sanctuary BBS (2011 June 11,). Get busy living or get busy dying. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46GwJbrMghQ

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.

MovieClips (2011 June 1,). God teaches Bruce to pray. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOgdjlPRWMg

Sound in the Film Shawshank Redemption

There are three basic categories of sound in a film- dialogue, music, and sound effects. In Shawshank Redemption, all three are used at different points in the film. Dialogue between the characters is the main use of sound and is used throughout the film and at some points is quite intense in nature. For example when young Tommy re-accounts to Andy how Elmer Blach admitted to killing his wife and lover, which is the crime Andy is serving life for, his voice is thick with intensity and seriousness. Effective movie dialogue expands upon what you see on the screen but does not need to to be said in words (Goddykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). There are also many sound effects that attribute to the overall mood of the film, including the slamming of cell doors within the prison and other sounds that are frequently heard in a prison setting. The one sound effect that sticks out to me is the sound of Andy’s rock hammer hitting the wall as he tunnels his way out over a span of years. He does so after lights out when the prison is quiet and still so every scrap of the hammer is painfully loud though probably not so in real life. The sound effects are very haunting like you would find in a psychological thriller or drama genre, both of which Shawshank applies to.

There are six different musical pieces played in Shawshank but the most memorable by far is when Andy locks himself in the warden’s office and plays a Mozart song so that the prison can be subjected to a moment of beauty, no matter what the cost (clip shown below). He ends up in the hole for his shenanigan but he goes with a smile knowing that he had brought a ray of sunshine to an otherwise dark place, if only for three minutes. Overall, the film uses sound effectively and the dialogue is a crucial part of this film as it tells a story that leads up to the climax of the film, Andy’s escape. As he is escaping the sound effects of the storm, the thunder, as he emerges from the drain pipe leaves the audience with such a dramatic effect if the scene was without these sound effects, the shot would not make such an impact. I would characterize the effects in this film as realistic ones which really make the film come to life for the audience.

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.

Qutrmoonshow (2011 May 4,). The Shawshank Redemption Opera Scene. Retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzuM2XTnpSA

Mise en scene/Lighting- The Shawshank Redemption

As the film begins low-key lighting is used to establish the theme of the dark, dreary prison that Andy is to live in for the rest of his life. The benefit of using low-key lighting is that it makes an impact on the audience that Andy is in a “dark” place, both literally, and figuratively. In one particular scene lighting is really a vital asset to it playing out so dramatically. When the warden asks young Johnny to meet him outside and attest to the Andy’s innocence but then orders him to be shot, the lighting has an amazing effect on the scene, as shown in the attached clip. As the film progresses, both three- point traditional lighting and high-key lighting are used in different scenes but it is the low-key lighting that best translates the overall theme of this film and relays the intended message effectively. Low-key lighting is often used for intense dramatic scenes, horror films, and mystery thrillers, like Shawshank Redemption (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). Shawshank falls into the suspense/drama genre as it is very suspenseful but at the same time it is a drama that is very intriguing and easy to follow. The lighting used throughout this film highlights the dramatic scenes and truly sets the overall mood of the film. In contrast to the low-key lighting, the final scene of the movie that shows Red and Andy being reunited in the free world, is set on a sunny beach and uses the high-key lighting to represent the happy, shining moment that it is.

Crackerdamus101 (2008, October 23). Tommy’s death in Shawshank Redemption. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahdhGZteyK8

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.

ShawShank Redemption

Title: Shawshank Redemption

Writer: Frank Darabont

Director: Frank Darabont

Year: 1994

Actors: Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman

Story: In 1947 In 1947 Andy Dufresne is convicted of double murder for killing his wife and her lover and sent to serve two life sentences at Shawshank State Penitentiary in Maine. It is there Andy finds a man that will come to be his good friend named Red. Andy casually exerts his innocence until one day a new young inmate, Tommy Williams, comes forth with an account of a man named Elmer Blash who confessed the crime to Tommy while serving time with him in the past. Andy, who was a prominent banker, is also handling the dirty, money laundering books for the warden who is very sinister and responsible for many “obtuse” actions against the inmates, including the death of Tommy Williams when he comes forth to proclaim Andy’s innocence. It is then Andy creates a plan to escape that involves tunneling his way out using only a rock hammer through his cell wall. He succeeds and once Red is released, he joins him on a far away island, an innocent fugitive forevermore.

Plot: An innocent man is imprisoned for double murder where he spends 22 years behind the bars of Shawshank State Penitentariry before escaping after tunneling a hole through his cell wall. His closest friend Red, who he resided with at Shawshank, is paroled after Andy makes his escape. Red goes directly to the spot Andy had told him to before his escape and they are reunited once again.

Chronology: This story is written in chronological order with only a couple of brief flashbacks that are actually being re-accounted in the present day by one of the characters. This choice had a major impact on the audience by walking them through the events chronologically over a 22 year span not only helped to create a bond with the main characters but also built up anticipation and emotion when Andy finally escaped the terror he had sustained at Shawshank.

The chronological order also helps the audience to relate and sympathize with Andy and Red, even though most have never been in any type of close situation. Red, a self-proclaimed guilty murderer, develops into a character that is respected and even lovable, which is usually not the case for such a character. Had the film been told non-linearly it would not have allowed for such endearment the audience grows to have for the main characters as non-linear films events are randomly arranged events,rather than chronologically arranged (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014).

FanArt,(2015). Shawshank Redemption. Retrieved from https:///fanart.tv/movie/278/the-shawshank-redemption/

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.