Topic > Analysis of the filming techniques that make up Alfred Hitchcock's unique style

Alfred Hitchcock once said: "The only way to get rid of my fears is to make films about them." And he certainly made it on his way to becoming one of the greatest directors of all time. He has over 50 film credits to his name. Many of his films have numerous similarities that reflect Hitchcock's unique style. Hitchcock is often called the master of suspense, and rightly so. In the world of knots, a “hitch” is a rope that ties other ropes together to form one. Hitchcock's filmmaking style had a “hitch” that tied together some techniques used in most of his films. These include his innovative use of camera movement, music, and investigation of the questions underlying his characters' motivations and actions. Three films that display these skills are the 1954 film Rear Window, 1959's North by Northwest, and the 1960 film Psycho. Through these films audiences can see numerous techniques that connect to Hitchcock's overall style. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Hitchcock's use of music is absolutely superb. Music is an important element in the making of a film. Hitchcock understood the importance of having something orchestral to create the atmosphere. The use of music helped create suspense in his films, such as the shower scene in Psycho and the cornfield scene in North by Northwest. The shower scene in Psycho uses silence to grab the audience's attention. When the music suddenly increases, our anxiety/fear also increases. The music in the cornfield scene in North by Northwest is very similar to that of Psycho. He achieved this with the help of his composer Bernard Herrmann. He worked with Herrmann for most of his career. Together they created some of the most memorable soundtracks in cinema history. In an article by Edward Rothstein, he goes on to talk about how important music was to Hitchcock: Bernard Herrmann, for example, who created the scores for "Psycho", "North by Northwest" and some of Hitchcock's other masterpieces, said that there were only "a handful of directors like Hitchcock who truly know the score and fully understand the importance of its relationship to a film". But it was more than that. For Hitchcock, music was not simply an accompaniment. It was a focal point. And it didn't just reveal something about the characters who sang the songs on the soundtrack or who moved beneath its canopy of sound; the music might seem like a character itself. Hitchcock definitely treats the music as a character in its own right, offering additional emotional insight throughout the film. This is perhaps what makes the interaction between music and action in his films so seamless. One technique that Hitchcock is also known for is his innovative camera movement. He uses point of view to evoke emotion in his audience. The POV used in Rear Window is made to mimic the view that Jeff, our main character, sees through his camera lens from his apartment. In a way we feel what Jeff feels all the time. In North by Northwest Hitchcock focuses on the face of Roger, the protagonist, to show emotions making us feel as if we are there with him. It is best said in an article by Kurt Lancer: "Hitchcock made dialogue scenes cinematic by filming the subtext: what the characters think and feel is made visible through his characters' eyes, gestures, and entire body language.performers". Hitchcock uses a camera effect known as "dolly zoom". When using this technique, it creates the illusion that the world is closing in around us. It gives the audience a sense of paranoia or imminent danger. L he use of camera angles actively conveys the feeling of suspense. North by Northwest and Rear Window, Hitchcock puts in a lot of long shots long is about Jeff's back yard, where he takes part in a bit of voyeurism while he is immobilized and recovering from a broken leg there is more variety than long shots. The shots are often in motion making us feel the stress of being chased as the main character. Hitchcock's films tend to use a specific mold when it comes to women. He uses many blondes. His most famous films each have a blonde in the central role. Blondes, however, aren't just eye candy projected onto the screen. While there's no doubt that women are gorgeous, they also hold much greater importance in the films in which they appear. They also project the qualities of independence, poise, sexuality, determination and, most significantly, mystery. No Hitchcock film would be complete without the use of “Icey Blondes”. Hitchcock is also unique in the sense that he often portrayed many sensual moments. Before North by Northwest, no one had talked so openly about sex in films. They never openly said the word “sex,” but they undoubtedly alluded to it. North by Northwest has an easy and more pleasant use of intimacy. In Psycho he explores the darker and more sinister side of sex. Norman, the antagonist, has psychologically disturbed perception. He feels guilty for having so many sexual thoughts that he thinks killing someone will make up for his lustful thoughts. There are a lot of "mother issues" in Hitchcock's films, especially in Psycho. Norman suffers from major mommy issues. He has a bit of an Oedipus complex. Theorized by Sigmund Freud, the Oedipus complex states that "the idea of ​​the young person who has obsessive fantasies and feelings of possessing the parent of the opposite sex and of getting rid of the parent of the same sex to get rid of the rival". This theory is abundantly clear in Psycho, Norman never transferred his love and continued to love his mother too much and in a very twisted way. He killed her out of jealousy towards her new boyfriend. Now, every time she finds a new love interest, she ends up killing him too. In North by Northwest Roger and his mother simply have a fundamental lack of trust and understanding of each other, which of course is nothing compared to Norman and his mother. North by Northwest, Psycho, and Rear Window all have a common psychological theme. They all have an underlying theme related to crime. In North by Northwest our protagonist doesn't commit a crime but becomes accidentally involved in a complicated conspiracy. In Psycho the characters actually broke the law. There are two criminals, Marian and Norman, although they vary in the severity of their crimes. Hitchcock makes his characters have a strange sense of morality. He demonstrates that “Hitchcock's avoidance of abstract moralism may seem irrelevant, but it is key to the parallel he draws between the normal and the abnormal and the transferability of desire.” In Rear Window, Jeff, the protagonist, does not commit a crime himself (although his voyeurism is ethically troubling) but instead witnesses a crime. In addition to having the theme of crime, the films also have in common the fact that the central characters are also, in their own way, victims. Roger was the victim of a trade.