Download The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption.
Question: Analyse how at least two of the following were used to help you
understand the main idea and/or message.
Camera work Editing Special effects Music Lighting Acting Sound effects.
In the drama film The Shawshank Redemption, directed by Frank Drarbont, the main
is hope. This idea is conveyed and made clear to me through the use of camera work
and lighting.
The idea of hope is very evident in the ‘roof top’ scene. The main character, Andy
Dufresne, wins his fellow convicts a beer each by agreeing to help one of the guards
with his financial issues. The soft lighting in the scene symbolises liberty, it is early
morning before the heat of the midday sun. As the convicts’ drink their beer, the
camera pans to show the satisfaction that is shown on each of the convicts’ faces. The
continuation of the pan ends with a close up of Red who is relaxed and sitting with his
back to the guards who are in the background of the shot. This camera work
reinforces the idea of hope. There is hope for them yet, one day they might become
free men again, “We sat and drunk with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free
men. Hell we could have been tarring the roof of one of our own houses.” This sense
of freedom gives hope for the future. The lighting and camera work throughout the
scene helped to reinforce the main idea of hope. The lighting symbolises freedom
which has a direct connection to hope, whilst the voice-over and close-up of Red,
further aided in my understanding of hope.
Brooks ‘release’ scene illustrates hope, or rather ‘hopelessness’, through numerous
examples of camera work and lighting. The dim lighting of the half-way home
represents gloom and depression which directly reflects how lost Brooks felt. This is
reinforced by a close-up of his face that reveals his doubt and fear. His loneliness is
highlighted by the fact he is always filmed alone. Through a voice-over, he wonders if
he should “rob the Foodway” in order to return to his ‘normal’ life back in prison. “I
don’t like it here, I’m tired of being afraid all the time. I’ve decided not to stay. I
doubt they’ll kick up a fuss, not for an old crook like me.” This voice-over is
sequenced with a mid-shot of Brooks looking at himself in the mirror as if he is
questioning his purpose to live. It shows his revelation that his future holds no hope.
This sequencing extends my understanding of hope. Without hope, Brooks feels more
trapped on the outside then when incarcerated in Shawshank. The lighting symbolises
hopelessness which reflects how Brooks felt. The Camera work and voice-over of
Brooks, helps to enhance my understanding of hope.
Red’s ‘release’ scene is a deliberate reflection to that of Brooks. This helped me to
understand how important hope is. Red is relocated into the same dimly lit half-way
home, showing the same depressive and hopeless environment. Red too has the same
reflective moment as a mid-shot showed him looking at himself in the mirror. “Forty
years I’ve been asking to piss,” this indicates his revelation about how
institutionalised he has become. He parallels Brooks’ voice-over by saying, “All I do
is think of ways to break my parole.” The message of hope in conveyed by a panning
shot showing guns and compasses in a pawn shop. This leads the audience to believe
that Brooks’ and Reds’ release scenes will end the same. However, one thing changes
this - hope. This is reinforced through camera work as the pan rests on a close up shot
of a compass. This symbolises that Red, unlike Brooks, has direction in his life. “One
thing stops me. A promise I made to Andy.” This promise gives Red the hope that he
needs. The camera work in this scene reinforces my understanding to the complex
idea of hope that is portrayed throughout this film.
The camera work, voice-overs and lighting in the roof-top scene, Brooks’ release
scene and Reds’ parallel release scene, have made significant contributions to my
understanding of the main idea of hope that this film, The Shawshank Redemption
portrays.