Shawshank Redemption Titles Analyis

1. ‘Shawshank Redemption’ Titles
Analysis
By Mary Hainsby

2. Production Company
The first title to appear in the films
opening sequence is the production
company’s, Castle Rock Entertainment.
The title being in capital letters, a large
front size and being in the centre of the
shot makes it standout to the
audience. ‘Castle Rock Entertainment’
stands out even further by the film
makers use of colours, the white text
on a completely black background
makes sure the audience’s focus is full
on the productions company’s name.
The presentational techniques used to
ensure the audience’s focus would be
on the title would suggest that it holds
significant importance.

3. Actors
Using the same colour scheme means like
the production company’s name the actors
titles stand out to. To drawn larger audiences
many film makers use Gledhill’s star theory,
which suggests the bigger the actor the
bigger the audience. Morgan Freeman is an
example of this, he is well known and
recognisable Hollywood actor. Therefore, by
incorporating his name in the opening titles
the film is attracting both fans of Morgan
Freeman and fans of the films genre. The
fade in and fade out between the titles
makes the transitions clean and keeps the
audiences attention at the centre of the shot.
The second set of actors titles being on a
moving background rather than plain black
would suggest they are not as important. The
audiences focus would be taken a little off
the tiles and more on the background as this
is our first sighting of any action.

4. The Movie Title
The same colour scheme of
white text on a black
background has again be used
for the movie title. However,
the movies title is a slightly
larger size symbolising its
importance. The use of two
contrasting block colours
creates a dramatic affect. The
colour black used in the titles
background has connotations
of shadows, death and
mystery which are themes
commonly used in
psychological thrillers.