Directions Unit: Alfread Hitchcock Presentation
Alfread Hitchcock (pictured), was one of, if not the most renowned and highly praised directors of his time. Born 13th August 1899 in Essex, England, Hitchcock quicly discovered his talants for art, and a keen eye for film. He began as a set designer around 1920 but soon landed a seat as a director.
His first opertunity to direct a film from start to finish was in 1923 when he took the lead on the production of "Number 13", which although cancelled, Hitchcock remade and released later on in his areer.
1960 saw the release of purhaps his most famouse film "Psycho", which had great box office success and followed the classic Hitchcock formula, but also broke traditional film conventions and pushed boundries. Although Hitcock was a renowned director at this point, this only boosted his fame.
He continued to produce high quality films throughout his life time, with hits like "North By Noth West", "Vertigo" and many, many more up until his death in 1980.
He released many films throughout his career, some of the most successful/well renowned include:
Psycho 1960
North By North West 1959
Vertigo 1958
The Birds 1963
When it coms to directing style Hitchcock has a broad ability to create intricate and gripping plot lines. But he is most recognised for being "A master of suspense). Suspense and drama are something present in each and every one of his majour films and he tends to wrap up the plot quickly right at the end of the film. Leaving a trail of hints but only tying things together right at the end in under five minuets. Two scenes that I think demonstrates this perfectly are the respective endings of "Psycho" and "North By North West"
Hitchcock puts considerable effort in to his mise en scene and set designs since he started out as a set artist, This is very present in films like Psycho and Vertigo and gives important cluues about characters.
He likes to push boundries and brake conventions, especially when it comes to editing styles he prefers unique disolves and fades rather than traditional cuts.
But what he relies ont eh most is soundtrack. The music is ever present in all of his films and he unsures that they are scored as effectivly as possible to craete suspense and drama.
The scene I want to adapt and direct myself is the final scene of Hitchcocks 1958 film "Vertigo". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-sWReV2DDQ
There are several reasons I chose this cene and film. Firtly this film is a classic example of Hitchcocks use of plot and narative. This scene in particular demonstrates his ability to tie plot points together in a short space of time. And although i initially didnt want a scene that was too dialouge heavy (as I felt a lack of action my loose audience interest in my scene), this scene does a great job of keeping the plot and action moving foward. Creating that feeling of suspense that Hitchcock is renowned for.
This film also has a very sudden end which is a trait often preasent in hitchcock films, and i feel if I am directing a single sceene it should have some form of closure, but still have that shock factor that leaves the audience woundering what happens next, Vertigo is a great film for this.
Another reason why I chose this film is it allows me to be a little more creative with camera/editing techniques than some of hitchcocks other films, since tehre is so much to symbolize (Jhon/"Scotties" fear of heights, his obsession with the deceased Madaline and the feelings of fear and shock felt by the characters).
No comments:
Post a Comment