Title: The Shawshank Redemption
Writer’s: Stephen King, Frank Darabont
Director: Frank Darabont
Year: 1994
Cast: Tim Robbins ( Andy Dufresne ), Morgan Freeman ( Ellis Boyd ‘Red’ Redding ), Bob Gunton ( Warden Norton ), William Sadler ( Heywood ), Clancy Brown ( Captain Hadley ), James Whitmore ( Brooks Hatlen)
Dialogue: Characters talking to one another in either a group setting or just one on one conversations.
Sound effects: Films include sound effects to enhance the visuals presented on screen. These have to be mastered so they do not outdo character performance or overtake the scene by being too present.
Music: The background music is usually used to dramatize the good or bad moments in movies. Sometimes the characters will listen or sing songs to help the audience connect with the character.
Explain how the different categories of sound are being used in your chosen film.
One of the biggest things in the film is the voice over narration. Without the film being narrated there would be a lot of silent or less dramatic impact scenes that if they were cut the story of the film may not make sense. This film has the narration telling the story which helps the viewer’s follow every part of what is going on.
Assess the impact of sound in establishing the theme.
The sounds in the film mainly point to the mood of the character Andy Defresne as he has stayed positive in tough times throughout his years in prison. At one point he plays a song over the loud speakers because the music made him happy. In turn he caught the attention of the entire prison as everyone stood still and listened until it was turned off.
How does the use of sound inform the mood of the scene, or the film overall?
The sound goes along with the scenes that go on. If the setting is dark or there are things negative going on than the music reflects that. In scenes where the mood around Andy are lighter than the music will follow in that direction as well. When Andy finally escapes the prison the music is telling the story of triumph over a long struggle.
Can you identify specific sounds in your film that allow you to infer a particular genre?
The specific sounds that would make me think of a crime drama are basically the sounds of the court javelin. The sounds of the cell bars closing and even the sounds of the guards shouting commands to all of the prisoners.
Since each category of sound may produce a range of effects, how might you characterize the effects in your film? For example, realistic and expected sound effects may have a different effect on a viewer than exaggerated or unexpected ones.
Throughout the entire film I think the use of realistic and expected sounds are the most present. There are not any times I can think of where the sound came out as surprising or unexpected or sound effects seemed out of place.
Assess how the scene or sequence would play differently if you changed or removed a key category of sound.
The key element of sound for the Shawshank Redemption would still be the voice over narration. If that part was removed I do not think it would have the same effect as the story unfolds. This is one of the most important parts and it was placed perfectly to separate scenes.
Resources:
IMDb (1990-2014). The Shawshank Redemption. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/?ref_=nv_home
SparkNotes Editors. (2007). SparkNote on Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. Retrieved October 20, 2014, from http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/rita-hayworth-and-the-shawshank-redemption/
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