Film and Cinematography styles used in the Shawshank Redemption Free Essay Example, 1250 words

Sound: Sound makes a crucial part of The Shawshank Redemption. The audience location is directed by the sound effects, where the clattering of steel cells takes the audience into prison. It is undeniable that sound plays a pivotal role in the films storyline. Without Red’s offer to connect the viewers to Andy’s story, the plot would be meaningless; to be precise, the story would be nonexistent. Thus Red’s voice together with Andy’s and other character are indispensible part of the entire piece of work. Thomas Newman’s music is used to set tone for the scene. The film opens with the sound of gun shots in the prison where piano-driven music is used to elicit a dark feel and somber mood. However, the situation changes in the last scene where Red and Andy reunite in Mexico. The viewers are driven to think that Andy is on the brink of fulfilling his dreams, thus the music matches this idea by adopting a more inspirational tone. Editing: In The Shawshank Redemption, continuity editing style is employed. The film does not make use of rapid cuts with all the scenes set in such a manner that they dissolve into each other as the movie progresses. We will write a custom essay sample on Film and Cinematography styles used in the Shawshank Redemption or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now In the film, the closing of the cell doors signifies the end of a scene in most cases. For example, in the scene where the prison warden goes to speak with Andy, after the two are done, the cell door bangs, light fades and the stage is set for the next scene where Andy appears seated and chatting with Red in the prison area. Andy is neither alone and nor with the prison warden, but with Red indicating to the audience that time has elapsed from the period when the viewers saw Andy’s encounter with the warden. Cinematography: In The Shawshank Redemption Roger Deakins, the film’s photography director, adopts a realism approach to photography for the movie. The inside of the prison is presented as dark, which makes the audience flow with the movie. The dark inside of the prison takes the audience into the prison with and make the viewers feel part of the prison life. When the inmates are outside the cells in the prison area, the darkness lightens up. A bright light is used, which brings a unique feel from that inside the cells. This is an indication of the slightest freedom that the inmates can get in relation to when they are confined in their dark cells. Here, Roger does an excellent job with the variation of lighting and camera work. The Shawshank Redemption utilizes shots of certain sizes throughout the movie. Darabont uses an establishing shot on several occasions in the film.