Recommended: The use of camera techniques in Hitchcock's films
Hitchcock utilizes sound, camera work, MacGuffins, and plot twists to tell the storylines of the movies. Hitchcock understood the importance of camera work and sound because he began his career making silent films.12 It is why he uses many close up shots so the audience can pay attention to specific details and the emotions on the character’s face. He does not rely on dialogue to tell the story. He uses sound to help convey the message of a scene.
The Fighter used many types of shots through-out the movie. An extreme long shot, a wide view of a location, was used in the scene after Dicky was released from prison and he stormed out of the gym. Everyone thought he was going back to his old ways and was headed to the crack house.
Q – ‘’Alfred Hitchcock’s film Rear Window explores ways of seeing and spectatorship’’ The protagonist of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rear Window’ is trapped, stuck in a wheelchair with a broken leg and we share his pain, we are also trapped. In a different way of course. We are trapped in his point of view. As the successful photographer that is L.B Jeffries (Jeff to his fiancée), played by James Stewart, passes his long and limited days and nights sitting by his window and shamelessly keeping an eye on his neighbours around him, we too share this obsession.
Alfred Hitchcock successfully performs suspense and shock in a number of ways. One way was when he reveals that the cop is following her, making us think that he found out concerning the money she stole. Another way is when we see Norman staring through the hole, examining her as if he is waiting to make his move. The last technique that Hitchcock constructed suspense is when we identify a shadowy character gazing at her take a shower, making us wonder who it could
Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock is a fillm full of symbolism and motifs that provides viewers with a bigger meaning. It shows these rhetorical appeals through Hitchcok’s eyes that would not be recognized if not analyzed. Through these appeals I have recognized the window as being a symbol and marriage and binoculars as motifs. After understanding much more than what the eye anitially sees when viewing this film there is a fine line between understanding what is going on in the film and observing what the protagonist Jeff is viewing.
With Rear Window (1954), Alfred Hitchcock proved himself to be one of the best directors of suspense thrillers filled with mystery and humour. He himself called the film his most cinematic one because it was told only in visual terms (Morrow), but it was also a challenging “editing experiment” as the entire film was shot from one place, Jeff’s apartment that overlooked his backyard. The Film follows L.B. Jeffries “Jeff” (James Stewart), a photographer confined to a wheelchair in his apartment after breaking his leg at work. He spends his days watching his neighbours and eventually suspects that one of them killed his wife. His caretaker, his girlfriend Lisa and his detective friend, at first unconvinced of his suspicion, eventually join him in his voyeurism and help him to solve the crime.
Diction is employed in the line “He gazed out the window of the rocket, blankly.” with the application of the word ‘blankly’ (108). The term ‘blankly’ presents incomprehension and ignorance. It acknowledges that Hitchcock truly does not understand what is on the outside and ignorantly refuses to educate himself on reality. Bradbury develops diction here with the purpose of exhibiting that the advancement of technology has the effect of pushing people to become ignorant of reality because while in the rocket, Hitchcock only believes in “…you and me and this rocket ship.”
Camera narration is crucial to the effect the movie has on its audience. It is noticed that the viewer rarely gets close to the apartments or characters across the courtyard. The viewpoint is mainly fixed to Jeff’s apartment, apart from a few occasions where the camera plunges out of the window. The fronts of the buildings facing the main street are never shown either; instead all of the action takes place within the mystery and secrecy of the backyard, hence the title name ‘Rear’ Window. Perhaps Hitchcock realised that many people would not behave the same way in their front facing windows.
After watching The 39 Steps (1935), I realized that Alfred Hitchcock really did have a talent for establishing suspense through films. Even though suspense was the primary focus, Hitchcock managed to effectively and intelligently mix humor, romance, and thriller. He uses a variety of techniques to convey these feelings to the audience. According, to some of his interviews with Francois Truffaut, Hitchcock mentions his love for The 39 Steps, specifically about the techniques he uses to create a bewitching experience throughout the film. In this film, he uses a variety of themes that he continued to constantly use throughout his later films.
Both of Alfred Hitchcock’s films, North by Northwest and Rear Window, were great movies with lots of suspense. The suspense, however, would not have been created without the entire mise-en-scene of the movies. Hitchcock was a master at using the elements of lighting, sound, and cinematography to heighten the suspense in his movies. The first key element of mise-en-scene that played a significant role in both movies was lighting.
To the unknown eye, Hitchcock has carefully and skillfully used Mise-en-scene to his advantage, causing the audience to feel fear and a sense of caution towards the character of Norman Bates. It isn’t until we reflect back on the scene and notice how intelligently Hitchcock uses the positioning of props and the characters, lighting, camera angle and staging, that we notice how he has added meaning to his characters but has also to the film, creating suspense and fear from one scene to the end of the film. Ultimately proving the point that Hitchcock “the master of suspense” uses Mise-en-scene to not only help make a brilliant film but also uses it as his disposal to add meaning in his
The film Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock employs various clever camera movements and sequences which seem to portray the main character’s state of mind. Right from the opening sequence the cinematography in this film had me intrigued. The viewer is show the red filtered eyes of a mysterious woman which zooms into a black void where animated colored rings spin and zoom to a menacing and mysterious sounding score, all of this provides the foundation for a film about illusions. The film also does a good job at using an unreliable main character who is oblivious to the trickery going on around him. The character of Scottie is flawed through his naivety and his investment in romance.
Hitchcock creates the “big” suspense in the film. Let the audience guess when the other will discover the murders and watch the murders how to hide their crime during the time of the party. While Mrs. Wilson is tidying up the “table”, a scene keeps showing a chest on the left-hand side. After that, Mrs. Wilson wants to put the books back to the chest after she has tidied up. Hitchcock designs, these settings in the sequence to increase the tension between the chest and Mrs. Wilson.
These were explored by the use of the motifs of birds, eyes, hands and mirrors (Filmsite.org, n.d.). Hitchcock skilfully guides the audiences through a tale
In the film Rear Window, the director, Alfred Hitchcock uses a variety of techniques to create suspense and leave viewers on the edge of their seats throughout the film. Hitchcock uses a good assortment of tempo to create thoughts in the viewer's mind. He slows down the pace to create anticipation, and speeds it up to show a change in intensity. In the ending scene of Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock uses changes in pace and tempo, lighting, and a short term deadline to constitute an immense atmosphere of suspense in the viewer's mind.
