Acting Styles

Morgan Freeman plays red. Red is the guy who knows how to get things. He is an easily likeable person, has fairly neutral point of views, but does express his moral concerns. In the films I’ve seen with Morgan Freeman in them, it seems like his character is often this way. It leads me to feel like that is his personality outside of acting. I believe him to be a personality actor.

He is often the good guy as well. He always plays a wise character. When he explains to Andy that everyone in prison is “innocent”, it feels like the wisdom is coming straight from Morgan Freeman. I would also think that he is a wild card actor. Two roles he played that didn’t seem to fit this persona were Lucky Number Slevin and Wanted, where he played bad guys. It’s surprising to me to hear him drop the “f-bomb”. It’s not what I’m used to hearing from him in his acting. Something so simple puts him out of character to me. He also played Nelson Mandela recently, which makes him an impersonator.

Tim Robbins plays Andy. He isn’t an actor that I’ve seen in many movies. Shawshank Redemption and War of the Worlds are about all. He seems like a different kind of guy in both roles. I would think that he is a personality actor too, just from what I’ve seen. He has a weird way of seeming like his head is in the clouds, but right on point in conversation. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he calls people “obtuse” in real life.

 

Bob Gunton plays the warden. He too is an actor I’ve only seen in two movies. Shawshank Redemption and Demolition Man are those two movies. In both of these he plays a role that is conflicting to the protagonist. He isn’t a right-out bad guy, but sort of does things to get in the way of the protagonist. The way he seems so satisfied when he puts Andy in the “hole” is so befitting of him. It’s very hard to see him playing any other kind of character. I would also label him as a character actor.

 

 

Invictus (2009) Screenshot Retrieved from http://www.thegate.ca/reviews/07268/dvd-tuesday-invictus-and-valentines-day/

Demolition Man (1993) Screenshot Retrieved from http://juntajuleil.blogspot.com/2010/09/film-review-demolition-man-1993-marco.html

The Shawshank Redemption – Sound

In most movies nowadays you have three basic categories of sound. Dialogue, sound effects, and music make up the sounds of a movie being played through the speakers of your TV. Dialogue is simply the characters speaking. A line spoken by an actor or narrator is dialogue. Sound effects are noises of things happening in a movie. Most times specific sounds are intensified to create the environment that the director wants you to feel like you’re in by watching the film.

 

More times than you’d imagine, a film uses a Foley Artist to create sounds to match certain parts of movies. For instance, the laser sounds from Star Wars are created by someone tapping on a tight wire, and Darth Vader’s breathing is a microphone next to a breathing regulator on a scuba buoyancy control device. Lastly, you have the music. Most movies have a soundtrack that plays throughout the duration of the movie. The soundtrack can be created by one composer with an orchestra, or it could be a playlist of songs that weren’t even created specifically for the movie. Most times the soundtrack is played during any action sequences or establishing scenes, and cut out during scenes with a lot of dialogue.

 

In The Shawshank Redemption, a major portion of the dialogue is narration. The movie is narrated by one of the most recognizable voices in the U.S., Morgan Freeman. Morgan Freeman plays Andy Dufresne’s best friend Red. He tells the story from when Andy is sentenced to prison until he escapes through 500 yards of filth. I don’t think the film would be as good without his narration. Sound effects in the film range from punching sounds, background noise in the cafeteria, and chipping with a rockhammer.

 

The movie utilizes a soundtrack composed specifically for it. The scores are fairly ominous throughout the film, portraying the unpleasantries of prison in the mid 1940’s. There is one track not made for the film, and it’s the opera song played over the loudspeaker. For a movie that makes one feel tense from one scene to the next, it makes you feel peaceful. The inmates finally get to feel something not from the effects of punishment.

 

 

 

The establishing starts with Morgan Freeman narrating, briefly describing his function in prison, as well as a brief background on Andy. The discription of Andy let’s you know that this is most likely a Crime/Drama genre. There is a long take, shot from the air, circling the prison and following the bus Andy is riding in on. You hear a loud siren, alerting everyone that new prisoners are inbound.

 

The music is orchestral, with deep tones and an overall depressing sound. As the bus pulls through the gates there is a lot of background noise of cheering and clapping. It’s not exaggerated because there are hundreds of excited prisoners. Without the cheering and clapping, you wouldn’t feel the excitement for the upcoming scene, “Fresh Fish”.

 

 

Video Clips Retrieved From YouTube

http://www.youtube.com

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. 

 

The Shawshank Redemption – Lighting

Lighting – The Shawshank Redemption uses natural lighting throughout most of the movie, but also low-key lighting for a lot of the scenes. Majority of the movie is filmed in the courtyard of the prison. They used the natural sunlight that was present for these scenes. To achieve the dull/depressing colors of the prison, they would film the darker sides of the actors that aren’t exposed to the sunlight. (Phillips, 2007)

In the lighter, happier scenes, they used the sunlight to their advantage. Rather than filming the darker sides of the actors, they changed the angle to film to side the sun was shining onto. It makes you feel happy for the characters with this subtle change.

Much of the movie is filmed indoors. In the scenes filmed in the corridors, they used high-key lighting. It has a very “real” feel, considering the light would be coming from high above in actual prison corridors and cafeterias. Some of the darker scenes are filmed in low-key lighting. There are 3 scenes in particular, and those scenes have multiple times that they play out. Any time Andy is in the warden’s office doing taxes, it’s low-key. When the sisters attack, it’s low-key. The scene when Bogs the Sister enters his cell after a week in the hole, it’s low-key.

The movie is a Crime/Drama, but it’s got some elements of thrillers and mystery. The low-key lighting definitely feed both of those. Every scene that is low-key lighting is very suspenseful. It’s almost like the movies are built off of the suspenseful low-key lighting scenes, and the natural lighting and high-key lighting scenes are more filler and informational scenes. Overall the natural lighting was fitting for the film. It wouldn’t be practical to try anything else, and it wouldn’t feel very realistic if they did try. If the low-key lighting scenes had been left out, I don’t think I would get into this movie as much as I do.

IMDb (n.d.) Shawshank Redemption Info. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052357/trivia

Phillips, K. (2007) Yahoo Contributor Network. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/the-cinematography-lighting-shawshank-redemption-318701.html

Shawshank Redemption Film Clip – Beer [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsjndJd4R7A

Screenshots Retrieved From http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Shawshank-Redemption-Blu-ray/2885/#Screenshots

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From Watching To Seeing. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

 

The Shawshank Redemption

Title: The Shawshank Redemtion

Writer: Stephen King (short story “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”), Frank Darabont (screenplay)

Director: Frank Darabont

Year: 1994

Actors: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton

Story: Beginning in the 1940’s, Andy Dufresne is a lucrative banker who suspects his wife of having an affair. After being convicted of murdering his wife, he’s sentenced to a life in prison. Initially, Andy isn’t accepted by the other prisoners, but as they realize that he isn’t your typical criminal they begin to warm up to him.

Plot: Banker Andy Dufresne is belligerent after he finds out his wife is having an affair. When he follows the two of them, he sets the tone for a crime to be committed. With footprints, an empty liquor bottle, and a missing revolver, he is sentenced to prison for a life’s term. It doesn’t take long for the other prisoners to notice something is a little off about Andy. That doesn’t stop him from making friends.

Andy discloses his in-depth knowledge of taxes to the guards, and soon has himself and his friends receiving privilege that other inmates only dream about. As he becomes a functioning member to Shawshank, and having inside information about the dealings of the warden, all hope of ever being free again begins to fade away. The warden intends to keep Andy around for good. Andy has other plans.

Chronology: The Shawshank Redemption is presented mostly in chronological order. Both the beginning and the end of the movie have scenes, with the use of editing, that only imply certain events. Specific scenes happen in a way that some people wouldn’t notice any holes. At the very end of the movie, all of the parts that were strategically left out are plugged in, causing the story to go in a completely different direction than you initially might have thought.

Resources

IMDb (n.d.) The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From Watching To Seeing. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.