HITCHCOCK 20

WHAT I HAD TO DO FOR TASK 1

For this task I have to watch a range of Hitchcock 20 series. I had to watch episodes 2,3,5,6,7,8,11 and summarise each episode to see how Alfred

Hitchcock created suspense and tension in his movies. Hitchcock was a film director and producer and was well known for creating suspense in the 20th

century. I also had to note down what I learnt from film making strategies and how to build tension and suspense for the film that I create.

HITCH 20-EPISODE 2:BREAKDOWN BROKEN DOWN

At the beginning of this episode Hitchcock creates expectation of the villain or the antagonist for the audience. The first tip for creating suspense is done through still shots. This means that if the character is still or frozen then the camera provides movement which builds tension between the camera and character. The second tip for building suspense is through stream of consciousness which means that as the body is frozen we still hear the character’s voice and it is the key to the performance. As the episode carries on Hitchcock plays more with the camera shots and movements by his use of axis of proximity. This creates sudden intensity for the audience. The camera moves from close-up to wide shot to emphasise the helplessness of the audience when a character is stuck in a situation. Hitchcock also uses a screen jump, it allows the audience to live through the characters’ story and becomes the character. In the episode Hitchcock shows a visual sentence for the characters to speak to the audience’s thoughts through editing. The third tip for creating suspense is through the use of settings. Most of Hitchcock’s films started as a happy scene with characters in a busy or relaxing setting. However, Hitchcock fools the audience with a positive atmosphere, he sets up what happens later on. Hitchcock also creates suspense through montage which is a breakdown of scenes; one shot after the other. During this technique the actor’s face changes before and after the camera shot. Suspense can be built through another tip, following the eyes. This is done through a messy shot, the camera movements causes the audience to be in the character’s shoes and see what the character sees, for example if the character looks left and sees a table the audience will also see that table. Another way of building suspect is through eyes, feet and objects. This involves movement, cinematic language, plot and hearing. One other for building suspense is by setting clear and simple goals. This was Hitchcock’s fun way of teasing the audience, he gives the audience many chances to notice something. Throughout this episode Hitchcock takes the audience on an emotional journey.

EPISODE 3:THE PELHAM COMPENDIUM

Hitchcock also builds suspense by creating the feeling of anxiety., particularly in this episode. The first tip is to cast against type. In this episode a character is worried but the audience is unsure why. He also creates anxiety by showing the character’s reaction and facial expressions, he exaggerates this to lighten the fear of the situation which develops empathy. He amuses the audience to create suspicion. Another tip for creating anxiety is through character allegiance. Allegiance means commitment or loyalty to a group or a cause. Hitchcock formed an allegiance between certain characters. This is also a belief of separating two identities. Hitchcock uses this tip by the character looking at the audience directly as if we are in the same room. One other tip to creating anxiety is by the use of mental location. Wherever the character is most of the time, their locations become a routine. This also appears in set design. This tip shows whether the character is mostly indoors or outdoors. Lastly, another tip is by hands, feet and objects. This shows the character’s thought process through shots which builds anxiety. For example, when a character picks up a note the audience react before the character’s. Hands, feet and objects are typically used to examine a character’s reaction. Overall the cause of events don’t necessarily need information or an explanation.

EPISODE 5: WET SATURDAY EXPOSE

The main focus of this episode is how Hitchcock creates a sense of humour and how he shares secrets. He provides secret information to involve the audience in on the secret that he is keeping. This builds tension because a secret can keep the audience guessing and they want to know more about the secret; the audience want to know whether the secret will be exposed or not. A secret can be hidden through unpredictable characters, these characters often surprise the audience as Hitchcock films carries on. This also makes the audience on whether the character will make a surprising move. The clothes that the characters wear portray them as a different character (e.g. all black). Glasses can be a visual metaphor of an intellectual person. Hitchcock has a way of being playful in serious situations, for example if a murder happens the murder is not the important part of the film instead it is the relationship between the characters involved, in fact sometimes Hitchcock helps the audience to forget about the murder. When a character is in a messy situation the audience can share the feeling of anything could happen. At the end of the film the character talks to the audience and tells us the secret which puts us all at risk. In this episode it shares how Hitchcock can take the audience on an emotional rollercoaster.

EPISODE 6:CARTE BLANCHE ON BLANCHARD

In this episode it reveals that clarity is a necessity. This is revealed through vagueness and creating interest. Hitchcock often controls what the audience believe and guides them, this is a demonstration of misdirection. He demonstrates misdirection by bouncing the story back and forth between fiction and reality. Hitchcock builds tension by making the audience question whether the character is up to something. He sometimes uses the character to symbolise a real life barometer. He also links to reality with the conspiracy theory making it real or imaginative. Hitchcock creates a cinematic image by provoking imagination. For example in this episode it shows a woman, at first the camera doesn’t show the bad description of what she sees in that way he forces us to believe her innocence, it is almost as if he is using this character to deceive us. Furthermore, once Hitchcock has convinced us that bad conspiracy is friction, he misdirects suspicion with camera and gives us information that the character doesn’t see. Before seeing the first frame of the film we are pushed to believe Mr Blanchard (character) has something to hide, as the audience we know that he has a secret as Hitchcock brings us in on it. The use of music is also another misdirection. Hitchcock plays the audience in different ways like a rollercoaster.

EPISODE 7: ONE MORE MILE TO KNOWThis episode describes the common use of chain of events. Hitchcock inserts humour into serious situations through the use of his technique, understatement. The chain of events start by when he withholds information by briefly hiding the story. He mostly does this through silent scenes. He sometimes has the audience looking from outside a window which divides a line between the characters and the audience. As the audience we wonder what the characters are saying and what is going on. In this way Hitchcock wants us to play a proactive role so that we can project our own ideas and suspicions. He purposely doesn’t want us to hear what they are saying as the scene is not as important as the audience may believe it is. The chain of events continues when Hitchcock changes the normal heroic characteristics, this time he exposes that the hero does wrong. His exposure shocks the audience when this episode later reveals that the hero committed a crime secretly. He also gives information that only the protagonist knows which is where the story starts. The character’s actions show the next move, this is done through visual sentence. Through the use of cutting he creates a narrative. To continue the chain of events Hitchcock covers up something for a long time. This closely follows the logic of hiding evidence. He creates a sense of anxiety by making the audience feel empathy for the protagonist. As the character is driving, nothing happens in that scene so Hitchcock invites the audience to spend time with him therefore we build connection. Lastly, the chain of events end when the hero almost gets caught. This reveals the second half of the show and the hero’s guilt. When the secret is nearly exposed it builds anticipation because Hitchcock uses the police a an obstacle and we want to know if the hero gets caught. However, the scene has a twist, Hitchcock presents the policeman as friendly and lonely but at the same time he is used to push the hero’s anxiety higher. As the scene continues we are all eager to know the secret and we also want the police gone. The audience is so close in to finding out the conclusion. Tension is build through camera shots: close ups and quick pans from one character to another. Suddenly, the camera moves to another secret.

EPISODE 8: PERFECT CRIME PRIMER

• Hitchcock gives the audience humour in the intro and outro of a film. Most of his films start and end with him telling jokes about the TV set and viewers. In his films the camera movements have presence and personality which gives us a clear sense of what is behind each move. When a character paces back and forth the camera follows them as if the audience is sitting at the centre of the living room. Sometimes we can hear the conversation that the characters are having. In this episode it talks about how a murder is shown through camera shots. When a murder happens the camera shows a close up and zooms in, almost as if it was reaching for help. Instead of making the murder tragic Hitchcock presents a perfect murder. Perfect murder is noticeable because Hitchcock walks through the set at the end and reveals the plot.

EPISODE 11: DIP IN THE POOL SCHOOL

• In this episode the main topic is leading the audience. This I shown through the relationship between a husband and wife. It shows that the husband looks suspicious when giving pills to his wife after putting it into her drink. Immediately, we think that it is poison but later it is revealed that the pills were sea sick medicines. In this way Hitchcock deceives the audience by showing what them what they think they’re going to see. Hitchcock also shows you what you need to see and when you need to see it by changing the camera proximity. Changing the camera proximity would manipulate the story and the audience’s emotions, this is done through orchestration. Through shots the story focus is told. Standard medium wide shots provides an empty canvas. Close-ups tell a story, the role of this shot is to be an emotional indicators. When we see an image it may have a purpose or a point. Extreme wide shots are sometimes used at the beginning of scenes to remind us about Hitchcock’s sense of humour, overreached limits, how he creates mystery, builds tension, twits stories and how he later on puts a cherry on top.

WHAT CAN I LEARN?

• From this task I can learn how to build suspense by building tension into a surprise or a shock. I can also build the storyline in steps, the storyline will also have the audience questioning and develop their own ideas in our title sequence. Another way that I could build suspense for my opening sequence is by deceiving the audience by showing the audience what they believe that they would see and also through the use of character; the character may look innocent through the use of clothing but may end up doing something that will shock the audience. Meanings can also be created through the use of camera shots particularly camera proximity.