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Pioneer Editing 16.1

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock was a well-known British film director and producer, who was most famous for his suspense and physiological thriller genres. Many called him the master of suspense. Alfred used a lot of techniques such as framing shots to maximize anxiety and fear, mimicking a person’s gaze and forcing viewers to engage in ghoulishness.

These techniques were very important for it helped to make the movie more intriguing to viewers and also helped to tell a story. Techniques such as camera distance, camera movement and editing all contribute to the visual structure, suspense and narrative of the film. Alfred Hitchcock worked on many thriller movies such as The Lady Vanishes, 39 steps, Vertigo and The man who knew too much. He used a variety of editing techniques in his movies to create high tension.The techniques he used were quick shots, reaction shots, non-diagetic sound, overhead establishing shots, close ups, shot reverse shot, eye line matching and long shots.  All these techniques help to withheld information and build up suspense in the movie.

Alfred has influenced many editors and directors from the amazing techniques he uses in his films. The two people who mentioned Hitchcock as an influence on their movies were Wes Craven who is the director of scream and Craig McKay, the editor of silence of the lambs. Directors such as Martin Scorse, Brian De Palma and Steven Spielberg have also used a few of Alfred’s techniques when directing. I noticed that when watching their movies that I could see a lot of similarities in the techniques that Alfred also used in his films. The techniques I spotted were quick shots, close up, eye line matching, long shots and shot reverse shot. Alfred has made a huge difference in filmmaking for he knows how to keep the audience engaged and wanting to know what will happen next. This is what every director and editor wants.

For this assignment I am going to analyze one of Alfred’s well-known horror films, Physco. I decided to analyse the shower scene for it has a variety of different shots throughout the clip.

The scene first begins with a long shot of a woman in the bathroom, who is turnt to the side. The camera then captures a close up shot where we see the woman’s hand flushing an item into the toilet; both of these shots make the viewer-watching feel like they are intruding in her private space. It also makes the woman seem vulnerable.

The next shot we see is a mid shot of the woman as she walks to the bathroom door and closes it. Then we see another close up of her feet stepping into the bathtub. This gives us evidence that she is going to take a shower and that there is no one else around

Alfred uses a more intimate shot with the lady showering. This shot is divided into three quick shots, the first one we see is a close up of the woman washing her face and neck, the camera then switches to a mid shot where they reveal more of her body and the last shot is a close up of the water spraying out.

The water represents a cleanser of her sins and is bringing her joy. At this time we get an idea that danger is lingering around but the audience is not too sure what will happen next.

The next technique he uses is an overhead shot of a dark figure behind the shower curtain, the woman is not aware of this and continues to enjoy her shower. By the woman prolonging the pleasure of her shower it leads her to the fatal consequence.

The tension is slowly being built up for we now suspect that she is in danger, the camera then slowly zooms in onto the dark figure. A non- diagetic sound is added as soon the person reveals themselves with a knife in their hands, the auidence now know that the woman is in a high risk of being harmed. As the scene becomes more tense the shots also become smaller, then they were in the beginning. This makes the auidence feel trapped and unsafe just like the lady in the movie.

The mid shot has been used once again but this time, we can only see the outline of the person. After, there is a triple attack sequence which are close ups of her screaming. We then see a close up of the woman hand sliding off the wall. This shot is quite effective because even though we cannot see her facial expressions, we know that she has been attacked and is holding on to dear life.

The camera then pans to the rest of the woman’s body as she slides down flat on the bath. The last two shots are close ups of her feet which let us know that she is no longer alive.

Alfred Hitchcock had a very distinctive style, which was very hard for other directors to copy. He used a mixture of romance, humor and thriller in his movies, which gives his audience a good variety. This also leaves his audience with mixed emotions. Alfred was very specific with the frames he uses and tried to make his movies as realistic as possible. Alfred had a clever way of playing with spaces making the audience feel trapped and unsafe. This forces them to engage within what is happening in the movie.  Alfred also makes us adapt with his characters by showing us their viewpoint.

Even though Alfred was mostly known for directing he also had many other talents such as editing, scripting and art direction this is what helped him to become such an amazing director and be credited for his work. Alfred is no longer with us but his legacy with live on for many years through his films.

I really enjoyed learning and watching Hitchcock’s films. For his movies were very different and unique. All of his movies kept me engaged and wanting to find out what is next going to happen. I liked how he mixed different genres together such as horror and romance. I feel that this was creative for it wasn’t a predictable storyline. 

Alfred has a distinctive identity that very easy to recognize when you watch his movies. I loved how Alfred used his quirky, edgy personality within his films and this is what made it a pleasure to watch for he was just being himself and used that within the characters and scenes that reflected him.

16.2.2

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