Task 1: Introduction
The simplest way for directors to attract an audience is by having famous actors in the film, directors that make the scenes intersecting and posters/trailers that catch the views attention. The attraction of seeing a film from a particular genre makes the audience feel engage by allowing them to know what is going to happen.
A filmmaker catches the audience attention by spending money to mix the film in different genres and using visual effects to bring the film to life.
The word ‘Hybrid’ means a thing made by combining two different elements e.g. a mixture.
Case study: Prison genre
Films that I mostly associate with prison genre are
-
The Green Mile
-
The Shawshank Redemption
-
Magdalene Sisters
-
lockdown
-
In the name of the father
-
Chicago
The codes and conventions of the prison genre
-
The location ( rundown terrible area )
-
The way the prisoners are being treated
-
Deaths
-
Suicides
-
Weapon of choice e.g. gun or knife
-
Brutal guard character
Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont 1994)
The scene I’ve chosen to analyse from Shawshank Redemption is escaping from prison. In the scene Andy Dufresne escapes thought a hole in his prison wall with a pick that he has been picking with. In the film he stuffs clothes through the hole covering it with a poster for not being seen. He then climbs through the hole to the other side falling in a piled of waste trying to escape for a better life. When he finally escapes the rain pours down with his arms across (this represents hope and freedom). He is captivated and run off to a fantastic place of his escape.
In this scene hope is the main thing. It helps us to develop an instant connection between the character and audience allowing us to feel like we’re in the characters shoe.
It makes us feel sorry for Andy after being accused of killing but then in the end he came out victorious.
The mise en scenes are
-
Props: Lighting
-
Costumers
-
Make-up
-
location
-
Body language
-
Colour
-
Bag
Characters:
-
Andy Deferens– Andy is the main character in the film. He has been charged with murdering his wife and her lover and was sentenced to life in prison for the crime he committed .The film forces and revolves around Andy from the crime he committed to the time he escape from prison.
-
Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding – Red is a convicted murder who serves a life sentence in prison for his murder. He’s smart, wise and also narrates the whole film from beginning to end.
-
Prison Officers Samuel Norton & Bryon Hadley- Samuel and Bryon are warden prison officers in the film who is corrupt and brutal to the prisoners. They own and is in charge of Shawshank prison in which they take no chances to injure the prisoner wiping them within an inch of their lives.
Theme:
-
Hope- Hope is the minor theme in Shawshank Redemption. It show us the theme of this wanting to be free feeling from inside when placed in a disastrous situation for something you haven’t done. The uprightness of Andy Dufresne in an important theme in the story especially in prison. The film gives us a great gesture of how character can be set free in prison or unfree in freedom. The religious theme of Andy Dufresne having a bible show that the main character keeps a faith to believe and hoping that he can escape from the painful situation that lies within.
-
Friendship- Friendship is the minor theme in the film. It shows us how the friendship between Andy and Red grew when they both had different situation but understood each other’s problems.
-
Identity- Identity in the film is important in the films crime
Jessie Boo 