Major Project: Director Research - Alfred Hitchcock
Who Was Alfred Hitchcock?
Alfred Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, London on August 13, 1899. His father was a greengrocer and was brought up a strict catholic. At 16 Hitchcock got his first job as an draftsman and advertising designer for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. During this time he would regularly visit the cinema, which began his interest in film and storytelling. Here Hitchcock would write and send short articles to the in house publication.
Hitchcock began his film career in 1920 as a title card designer for silent films, at Famous Players-Lasky Company. His artistic ability was quickly noticed during his time here and quickly rose through the roles to become an Assistant Director. He ended up directing a portion of Always Tell Your Wife after the director fell ill and Hitchcock was required to step up and take over. It was here where he would meet his wife Alma Reville.
Hitchcock directed his first film in 1925, a thriller, The Pleasure Garden. It was here where Hitchcock would begin to become one of the greatest and most influential directors of all time. The Master of Suspense would own the 'thriller' and the first of over 50 films of his films created.
Hitchcock would go on to move to Hollywood and become a US citizen, where he would later create greats such as North by Northwest, Psycho, Vertigo and The Birds. He would win the American Lifetime Achievement Award in 1979. He passed away at in 1980 in Bel Air, California, survived by his wife Alma Reville who he regarded as his lifetime partner, assistant director and closest collaborator.
Techniques/Style
Hitchcock's style and techniques are vast but a few that I picked up on through watching his films and research were Dramatic Space, Secrets, his Focus on Simplicity and his camera as a character style of shooting.
Dramatic Space
Hitchcock uses space as an effective tool within his films. This combined with framing he can escalate the tension in the room simply through blocking and camera movements. Dramatic space allows to actors or forces to converse within the frame, done through foreground and background usually. A key example of this is within The Perfect Crime:
What makes this so effective is the combination of elements that surround the space. The large gap in the beginning stands as a battleground of words to be exchanged. As the characters come closer the camera too comes closer, closing in the framing to more and more uncomfortable and invasive shots. The camera is forced to move as the performance on screen dictates the movement.
This not only creates suspense but the tension that is portrayed within the scene can be seen in the actors performances. It goes hand in had with their dialogue exchange, the beginning starts with general assumptions of those elsewhere and ends with direct confrontation face to face. While the characters do not shout the silent background, only accompanied by horse steps makes for all the more tense moment.
Keeping Secrets
One technique seen in Hitchcock's films is the use of secrets. He kept hings from the audience within his films, like any good film does. However, how he did this is what is effective. Hitchcock would tease the audience into with the secrets. Coming to moments where the audience almost find out the big twist, before taking it away or revealing it.
The reason for this is the added suspense it creates. Notably it can be seen within Psycho in which 'Mother' is almost revealed to the audience through Arbogast's investigation of the house. These tease of the identity of 'Mother' is rewarding in itself.
While successfully leading the audience to believe the mother is the killer, from the deaths of Arbogast and Marion, without even seeing her face. This is a perfect example of keeping secrets from the audience, and Hitchcock's ability to keep them. This not only builds and maintains suspense throughout the film and at key scenes, but also it provides for a more dramatic and climactic twist at the end of the film. With the mother's identity and face being revealed, the audience are shown the true murderer and then explained to the reason.
The final twist is effective because of these secrets. A trademark and common storytelling technique of Hitchcock's.
Focus on Simplicity
Hitchcock famous focuses on simplicity in his films. During a heated argument, to focus on the characters and potentially a single object adds a degree of tension and visual storytelling. Hitchcock uses 'understatement' as a method of storytelling in which he focuses the attention of the audience and characters to a specific object. He will cleverly keep the big reveal or moment away from the audience or key character and instead distract them with something trivial.
This creates suspense and tension as the 'elephant in the room' or ignores issue becomes overbearingly obvious to the audience but in a way that causes an uneasy or tense situation. Hitchcock's use of simplistic storytelling or 'understatement' can be seen throughout his work. He uses the object as a metaphor or flash-point of an argument, the object becomes a character in itself and holds the narrative power.
Tension is further built with the use of a 'secret', something that either the audience or a character does not know. By withholding information and allowing the audience to take a proactive role in watching and absorbing the events on screen, Hitchcock uses the tension of the situation and the audiences imagination to build a sense of 'whats going to happen next?'.
Camera as a Character
In Hitchcock's films, the camera moves like the eyes of a person. He understood that a camera can be worked and used more than just a camera. He understood that it acts as not only the eyes of the audience but also as the eyes of the characters.
Through his use of editing shots he provides visual reference to shots, things characters are looking at and essentially places the audience as a character within the story. Hitchcock's style of storytelling, has a heavily directed feel to it but in a way that allows the audience to feel immersed and part of the action. He cuts to objects and holds on characters emotions and reactions to place the audience in the centre of scene rather than viewing like theatre.
This can be linked to Hitchcock's beginnings in silent film where each and ever object, movement and moment had to be displayed visually. As film transitioned to having audio, many productions were dialogue heavy. Hitchcock saw the value in dialogue but also saw where its power was key, not to be overused and combined this with his ability to visually tell the story. An example of this is within Vertigo.
It is in this way Hitchcock is able to use the camera more than just a camera, but as a pair of his own creative eyes to provide context and tell the story to the audience.
Common Themes
Suspense
With the title 'Master of Suspense' it is clear to see why, as his influence within film and the thriller genre has set him up as one of the most immersive filmmakers of all time.
Suspense commonly features within thrillers and Hitchcock had a great ability for creating tension within his films. He did this through his use of music, camera angles, framing and vision, by doing so he was able to create a moment or entire film that had audiences squirming.
One Example of this is within Psycho.
Audience as Voyeur
Hitchcock is known for his voyeuristic camera angles throughout his films. He once said that he 'enjoyed playing his audience like a piano' and by manipulating his respectable audiences, he was able to provide shots that would place them in a voyeuristic perspective.
This is notably done within Rear Window.
Within this shot we can see how the 'snooping' actors essentially play the role of the audience during this tense moment. Hitchcock uses this style in a way that encapsulates the audience, it immerses us by removing the audience watching film style, and instead replaces it with character watching character. This perspective allows the storytelling to feel more natural, we see a characters perspective rather than a directors and this only reinforces Hitchcock's camera as an eye style.
Ordinary Person/The Wrong Guy
Another common theme within Hitchcock's films is his use of the protagonist or characters being 'Ordinary People' or 'The Wrong Guy'. These two themes feature a lot throughout his work, making for comedic and also tense situations. One of the key examples of this is North by Northwest:
According to interviews, Hitchcock's reason for this theme in his films was down to his childhood. As the youngest of three, Hitchcock said that he regularly was blamed for things he didn't do and was punished by his parents to stand at the end of his mother's bed or sit on a naughty step. He found that writing stories of moments of which he had experienced, allowed him to tell the story well, even if exaggerated.
The effect this theme has is it allows the audience to instantly feel empathy and understand the character, the audience will root for this type of character, understanding their feelings of betrayal and confusion.
Short Films
Always Tell Your Wife (1923)
An Elastic Affair (1930)
Bon Voyage (1944)
Aventure Malagache (1944)
Television
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-61)
Suspicion (1957)
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962)
Feature Films
The Pleasure Garden (1925)
The Mountain Eagle (1926)
The Lodger (1927)
The Ring (1927)
When Boys Leave Home (1927)
The Farmers Wife (1928)
Easy Virtue (1928)
Champagne (1928)
The Manxman (1929)
Blackmail (1929)
The Shame of Mary Boyle (1930)
Murder! (1930)
The Skin Game (1931)
Mary (1931)
East of Shanghai (1931)
Number 17 (1932)
Strauss' Great Waltz (1934)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
The 39 Steps (1935)
Secret Agent (1936)
Sabotage (1936)
The Girl Was Young (1937)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Jamaica Inn (1939)
Rebecca (1940)
Foreign Correspondent (1940)
Mr & Mrs Smith (1941)
Suspicion (1941)
Saboteur (1942)
Shadow of Doubt (1943)
Lifeboat (1944)
Spellbound (1945)
Notorious (1946)
The Paradine Case (1947)
Rope (1948)
Under Capricorn (1949)
Stage Fright (1950)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
I Confess (1953)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Rear Window (1954)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
The Trouble with Harry (1955)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
The Wrong Man (1956)
Vertigo (1958)
North By North West (1959)
Psycho (1960)
The Birds (1963)
Marnie (1964)
Torn Curtain (1966)
Topaz (1969)
Frenzy (1972)
Family Plot (1976)
Effects on my Work/Similarities and Differences
Camera
Within Double Exposure we aimed to work the camera in a similar fashion to Hitchcock. By having the camera act as a pair of eyes, following movements, actions and subtle movements, it creates visual storytelling, with little need for dialogue or explanation.
In Double Exposure, the first part of the film features little to no dialogue or explanation. The films story is told visually, it acts as almost silent. So much so that the narrative can be understood with the sound turned off. A feature that I was looking to achieve through detailed visual storytelling, and detailed research into masters of visual storytelling, such as Hitchcock.
It was through this research that the methods used in Hitchcock's work find their way into mine as I looked to learn visual storytelling and put it into practice.
Secrets
Another technique used in my work in comparison to Hitchcock's is the use of 'secrets' within narrative. Especially within thrillers, Hitchcock creates secrets that either characters or audience are unaware of to create suspense and tension within his films.
This is something that features within Double Exposure as during the story the audience is left to wonder whether Emily killed Steph, the secret being that Emily in fact killed Dan. This is not the only secret during the film though, the one within the characters is whether Dan knows that Emily knows of his affair, combined with Emily questioning whether Dan knows that she killed Steph.
The mix of questions within this story can be complex to understand upon first viewing but, through visual and audible references through the film, it helps the audience to understand that two timelines exist. The one Emily has created in her head, and the real one. These are blurred at the end as the film loops back to the point of Emily's delusion. A narrative that is open ended and leaves the audience wondering the fate of Emily.
Dramatic Space
A Hitchcock technique used in Double Exposure is he used of dramatic space. During the scene in which Emily and Dan first interact since the night of the 'incident', Emily enters the room and sits at the table. The entire room separates them as Dan stands by the window.
This is use of dramatic space. I chose to use this space and its gradual shrinking in conjunction with the growing tension of Dan drawing closer to Emily. This was to highlight the growing tension within the room. The role Dan plays within this moment is as Emily's conscious and guilt within her mind. At this point Dan is not really there, so his presence is purely within her mind.
The tension built in this scene highlights the use of dramatic space, combined with framing and holding longer shots.
References
Alfred Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, London on August 13, 1899. His father was a greengrocer and was brought up a strict catholic. At 16 Hitchcock got his first job as an draftsman and advertising designer for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. During this time he would regularly visit the cinema, which began his interest in film and storytelling. Here Hitchcock would write and send short articles to the in house publication.
Hitchcock began his film career in 1920 as a title card designer for silent films, at Famous Players-Lasky Company. His artistic ability was quickly noticed during his time here and quickly rose through the roles to become an Assistant Director. He ended up directing a portion of Always Tell Your Wife after the director fell ill and Hitchcock was required to step up and take over. It was here where he would meet his wife Alma Reville.
Hitchcock directed his first film in 1925, a thriller, The Pleasure Garden. It was here where Hitchcock would begin to become one of the greatest and most influential directors of all time. The Master of Suspense would own the 'thriller' and the first of over 50 films of his films created.
Techniques/Style
Hitchcock's style and techniques are vast but a few that I picked up on through watching his films and research were Dramatic Space, Secrets, his Focus on Simplicity and his camera as a character style of shooting.
Dramatic Space
Hitchcock uses space as an effective tool within his films. This combined with framing he can escalate the tension in the room simply through blocking and camera movements. Dramatic space allows to actors or forces to converse within the frame, done through foreground and background usually. A key example of this is within The Perfect Crime:
What makes this so effective is the combination of elements that surround the space. The large gap in the beginning stands as a battleground of words to be exchanged. As the characters come closer the camera too comes closer, closing in the framing to more and more uncomfortable and invasive shots. The camera is forced to move as the performance on screen dictates the movement.
This not only creates suspense but the tension that is portrayed within the scene can be seen in the actors performances. It goes hand in had with their dialogue exchange, the beginning starts with general assumptions of those elsewhere and ends with direct confrontation face to face. While the characters do not shout the silent background, only accompanied by horse steps makes for all the more tense moment.
Keeping Secrets
One technique seen in Hitchcock's films is the use of secrets. He kept hings from the audience within his films, like any good film does. However, how he did this is what is effective. Hitchcock would tease the audience into with the secrets. Coming to moments where the audience almost find out the big twist, before taking it away or revealing it.
The reason for this is the added suspense it creates. Notably it can be seen within Psycho in which 'Mother' is almost revealed to the audience through Arbogast's investigation of the house. These tease of the identity of 'Mother' is rewarding in itself.
Psycho (1960)
While successfully leading the audience to believe the mother is the killer, from the deaths of Arbogast and Marion, without even seeing her face. This is a perfect example of keeping secrets from the audience, and Hitchcock's ability to keep them. This not only builds and maintains suspense throughout the film and at key scenes, but also it provides for a more dramatic and climactic twist at the end of the film. With the mother's identity and face being revealed, the audience are shown the true murderer and then explained to the reason.
The final twist is effective because of these secrets. A trademark and common storytelling technique of Hitchcock's.
Focus on Simplicity
Hitchcock famous focuses on simplicity in his films. During a heated argument, to focus on the characters and potentially a single object adds a degree of tension and visual storytelling. Hitchcock uses 'understatement' as a method of storytelling in which he focuses the attention of the audience and characters to a specific object. He will cleverly keep the big reveal or moment away from the audience or key character and instead distract them with something trivial.
This creates suspense and tension as the 'elephant in the room' or ignores issue becomes overbearingly obvious to the audience but in a way that causes an uneasy or tense situation. Hitchcock's use of simplistic storytelling or 'understatement' can be seen throughout his work. He uses the object as a metaphor or flash-point of an argument, the object becomes a character in itself and holds the narrative power.
Tension is further built with the use of a 'secret', something that either the audience or a character does not know. By withholding information and allowing the audience to take a proactive role in watching and absorbing the events on screen, Hitchcock uses the tension of the situation and the audiences imagination to build a sense of 'whats going to happen next?'.
Camera as a Character
In Hitchcock's films, the camera moves like the eyes of a person. He understood that a camera can be worked and used more than just a camera. He understood that it acts as not only the eyes of the audience but also as the eyes of the characters.
Through his use of editing shots he provides visual reference to shots, things characters are looking at and essentially places the audience as a character within the story. Hitchcock's style of storytelling, has a heavily directed feel to it but in a way that allows the audience to feel immersed and part of the action. He cuts to objects and holds on characters emotions and reactions to place the audience in the centre of scene rather than viewing like theatre.
This can be linked to Hitchcock's beginnings in silent film where each and ever object, movement and moment had to be displayed visually. As film transitioned to having audio, many productions were dialogue heavy. Hitchcock saw the value in dialogue but also saw where its power was key, not to be overused and combined this with his ability to visually tell the story. An example of this is within Vertigo.
Vertigo (1958)
It is in this way Hitchcock is able to use the camera more than just a camera, but as a pair of his own creative eyes to provide context and tell the story to the audience.
Common Themes
Suspense
With the title 'Master of Suspense' it is clear to see why, as his influence within film and the thriller genre has set him up as one of the most immersive filmmakers of all time.
Suspense commonly features within thrillers and Hitchcock had a great ability for creating tension within his films. He did this through his use of music, camera angles, framing and vision, by doing so he was able to create a moment or entire film that had audiences squirming.
One Example of this is within Psycho.
Psycho (1960)
Audience as Voyeur
Hitchcock is known for his voyeuristic camera angles throughout his films. He once said that he 'enjoyed playing his audience like a piano' and by manipulating his respectable audiences, he was able to provide shots that would place them in a voyeuristic perspective.
This is notably done within Rear Window.
Rear Window (1954)
Within this shot we can see how the 'snooping' actors essentially play the role of the audience during this tense moment. Hitchcock uses this style in a way that encapsulates the audience, it immerses us by removing the audience watching film style, and instead replaces it with character watching character. This perspective allows the storytelling to feel more natural, we see a characters perspective rather than a directors and this only reinforces Hitchcock's camera as an eye style.
Ordinary Person/The Wrong Guy
Another common theme within Hitchcock's films is his use of the protagonist or characters being 'Ordinary People' or 'The Wrong Guy'. These two themes feature a lot throughout his work, making for comedic and also tense situations. One of the key examples of this is North by Northwest:
North by Northwest (1959)
According to interviews, Hitchcock's reason for this theme in his films was down to his childhood. As the youngest of three, Hitchcock said that he regularly was blamed for things he didn't do and was punished by his parents to stand at the end of his mother's bed or sit on a naughty step. He found that writing stories of moments of which he had experienced, allowed him to tell the story well, even if exaggerated.
The effect this theme has is it allows the audience to instantly feel empathy and understand the character, the audience will root for this type of character, understanding their feelings of betrayal and confusion.
Short Films
Always Tell Your Wife (1923)
An Elastic Affair (1930)
Bon Voyage (1944)
Aventure Malagache (1944)
Television
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-61)
Suspicion (1957)
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962)
Feature Films
The Pleasure Garden (1925)
The Mountain Eagle (1926)
The Lodger (1927)
The Ring (1927)
When Boys Leave Home (1927)
The Farmers Wife (1928)
Easy Virtue (1928)
Champagne (1928)
The Manxman (1929)
Blackmail (1929)
The Shame of Mary Boyle (1930)
Murder! (1930)
The Skin Game (1931)
Mary (1931)
East of Shanghai (1931)
Number 17 (1932)
Strauss' Great Waltz (1934)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
The 39 Steps (1935)
Secret Agent (1936)
Sabotage (1936)
The Girl Was Young (1937)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Jamaica Inn (1939)
Rebecca (1940)
Foreign Correspondent (1940)
Mr & Mrs Smith (1941)
Suspicion (1941)
Saboteur (1942)
Shadow of Doubt (1943)
Lifeboat (1944)
Spellbound (1945)
Notorious (1946)
The Paradine Case (1947)
Rope (1948)
Under Capricorn (1949)
Stage Fright (1950)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
I Confess (1953)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Rear Window (1954)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
The Trouble with Harry (1955)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
The Wrong Man (1956)
Vertigo (1958)
North By North West (1959)
Psycho (1960)
The Birds (1963)
Marnie (1964)
Torn Curtain (1966)
Topaz (1969)
Frenzy (1972)
Family Plot (1976)
Effects on my Work/Similarities and Differences
Camera
Within Double Exposure we aimed to work the camera in a similar fashion to Hitchcock. By having the camera act as a pair of eyes, following movements, actions and subtle movements, it creates visual storytelling, with little need for dialogue or explanation.
In Double Exposure, the first part of the film features little to no dialogue or explanation. The films story is told visually, it acts as almost silent. So much so that the narrative can be understood with the sound turned off. A feature that I was looking to achieve through detailed visual storytelling, and detailed research into masters of visual storytelling, such as Hitchcock.
It was through this research that the methods used in Hitchcock's work find their way into mine as I looked to learn visual storytelling and put it into practice.
Secrets
Another technique used in my work in comparison to Hitchcock's is the use of 'secrets' within narrative. Especially within thrillers, Hitchcock creates secrets that either characters or audience are unaware of to create suspense and tension within his films.
This is something that features within Double Exposure as during the story the audience is left to wonder whether Emily killed Steph, the secret being that Emily in fact killed Dan. This is not the only secret during the film though, the one within the characters is whether Dan knows that Emily knows of his affair, combined with Emily questioning whether Dan knows that she killed Steph.
The mix of questions within this story can be complex to understand upon first viewing but, through visual and audible references through the film, it helps the audience to understand that two timelines exist. The one Emily has created in her head, and the real one. These are blurred at the end as the film loops back to the point of Emily's delusion. A narrative that is open ended and leaves the audience wondering the fate of Emily.
Dramatic Space
A Hitchcock technique used in Double Exposure is he used of dramatic space. During the scene in which Emily and Dan first interact since the night of the 'incident', Emily enters the room and sits at the table. The entire room separates them as Dan stands by the window.
This is use of dramatic space. I chose to use this space and its gradual shrinking in conjunction with the growing tension of Dan drawing closer to Emily. This was to highlight the growing tension within the room. The role Dan plays within this moment is as Emily's conscious and guilt within her mind. At this point Dan is not really there, so his presence is purely within her mind.
The tension built in this scene highlights the use of dramatic space, combined with framing and holding longer shots.
References
- Hitchcock IMDB Bio
- Hitchcock Bio
- Living Famously - Alfred Hitchcock
- Film Techniques of Alfred Hitchcock
- 10 Ingenious Techniques used by Alfred Hitchcock
- Breaking Down the Master's Techniques
- Hitchcock's Themes
- Hitchcock's Style
- 5 Hitchcock Techniques
- Stairs Scene - Psycho
- The Perfect Crime Long Shot
- Hitchcock Films
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