No Film School

A guaranty of formal unity during the shooting, that light/color/tone in the #38 shots are the same in the 278# shots. You can easily lie on that with grading in a Vimeo distribution but on a big screen it's another story.

Experience, fast and confident way to work, abilities for improvising when using accident or natural environment, keeping a "do it yourself" spirit to resolve problems, knowing how to manage director thoughts trough his technical staff.

8 years ago

Article Comment – 6 Cinematic Techniques Alfred Hitchcock Used to Create Suspense on TV

The films of Alfred often speak of the same subject : a couple who try to make love. Madam really want cuddling from Mr… but we don’t know exactly why, Mr Mister does not feel confortable with that.

« North by Norwest » :

- Georges, come close to me…
- I CAN’T !! I I A PURSUED BY THE FBI CHINESE ILLUMATI IN BLACK!!!"
(in realty : George watch a TV show)

- George, kiss me…
- I CAN’T !!! I'M FALLING OF THE RUSHMORE MOUTAIN!!!"
(in reality : Georges is falling from the sofa]

- Georges ! Take me now!!!
- But we are in a public train station !!!
(in reality : the living room curtains are open)

And finally, when they find a proper place (train cabin), Georges stop to be panicked and they just do their love affair.

« Rear windows » : an impotent man [big « SYMBOL » sign blink here] who one of the most beautiful woman in the world (Grace Kelly) comes to him almost each evening, her eyes crying for embracing him

And what that pervert prefer than kissing her ? Looking at the neighbor panties with binoculars and imagine paranoid story about what he saw. Again, a man who’s afraid of her lover (physical) desire and invent fantasies to avoid it.

« The man who knew too much » : a couple who travel for a sort of « second weeding night », but cannot find their moment to have sex due to their stupid children mess.

« Vertigo » : it's praticaly the subject of the film, a man who transform a woman into another because he cannot have sex with her again.

« The Rope » : two gay males who does not stand it and choose to kill neither to kiss.

« Psycho » : same as Vertigo, it’s the subject of the film. An old boy stuck in his closet, that kill rivals (= other woman) who impeach him to be loved by man.

The only remarkable exception is "The Bird", entirly writen about women desire and with extroardinary women characters. To me it's a model on how to make understand the audience character's deeps feelings with just simple shot and no dialog.

The mother, that any other director would presents as a cartoon is subtilely describe on her pain and freight to be abandoned.

The former « school teacher » girlfriend being trapped in a sentimental
dead end with amazing sequence with her current "rival".

That middle-age woman in the bar, describe as emancipated : traveller, scientist smoking & drinking, the only one who understand that the problem are not natural.

Tipi Hedren wants to be as a woman like this one, but her family tree always make her feels as a spoiled « daddy’s girl »… and she got the same problem as an ordinary male Hitch char, sexual obstruction.

She start as an hard cold and complicated woman and end totally tired and sad, all her depression falling on her shoulders as she cannot even walk.

« Beware of the woman sadness » told us Hitch (to be correct : the Daphne Du Maurier novel he has adapted ).

Sadness of the mother, of the old girlfriend, of the mother about her children in the bar, of a mother about her widow statues . That’s the sadness figured by the birds and no one wants to see it, just focusing on consequence and not on reason.

And that is the proper genius of Hitchcock (and many other directors), make an « ordinary movie » that everyone can see with extraordinary subtile writing structure and sub-speaking.

(sorry for my grammar, I'm not english native)

8 years ago