North By Northwest Film Techniques

How auteur theory can be applied to the study of Hitchcock’s North by Northwest and Vertigo

The film “Snow White and the Huntsman” depicts the journey between the two main characters Snow White and Ravenna the evil Queen. Snow White, who is played by Kristen Stewart for majority of the film, has been locked in her slain father's castle for years. The character is imprisoned by her father’s evil second wife played by Charlize Theron, whose now queen. The Queen also lives in fear of losing of her young appearance and uses the blood of virgins to restore it. She tests the success of this with the well-known mirror on the wall. When the magic mirror reveals that Snow White is the source of her immortality, the queen seeks to kill Snow White. In “Snow White and the Huntsman” many patterns are used like the camera shots of the film, lighting and color. The pattern of camera shots is seen throughout the movie using close ups shots and wide range shots. For example, when Snow White fled from the castle and is chased by the Queen’s horsemen into the Dark Forest, there are close up shots of medieval like armor enforcing the idea that the film is not in modern day and the action of the film will be done with weapons like swords and axes. Close up shots of Snow White and Ravenna dictates who is in power and who is not. The shots show Snow White wearing peasant’s clothing, whereas the Queen wears jewelry, expensive clothes and a crown. Wide range shots are shown in film with vast plains, castles and battles’ giving a sense of realism to the setting. Lighting is another pattern

Alfred Hitchcock’s film North by Northwest (1959) is famed as a classic man-on-the-run thriller, following protagonist Roger Thornhill as he flees across state lines in a mad dash to save his life and unravel the mystery to his extraordinary predicament. However, mid-way through the film Thornhill’s quandary is further complicated by the introduction of Eve Kendall, a beautiful yet mysterious woman he encounters on a train during his escape from the authorities and people trying to kill him. During the dining room scene on the train, Hitchcock expertly uses the camera to convey the characters thoughts and feelings. Interestingly, in a film that has several sequences with complicated cinematography and editing, the dining car scene is

The signs of the time are also shown through the use of specific camera shots, which humble the characters and show their frailty. Long Shots, in particular, are used to exemplify the smallness of the characters (without power) in the vastness of the world around them. In the scene in which the

Lee makes excellent use of these shots as a way of bringing the viewer into the action of the movie. His use of high and low angle, point of view shots both heighten tension and give the feeling that the characters

This shows that Pilbara is a very desert-like and country land. The film uses under shots to make viewers feel small and over shots to make the viewer feel big. An undershot in the movie is when the men place bets on how fast Red Dog can eat. This makes us feel intimidated and scared and small. Over the shoulder shots are used when characters are talking and close-ups on the faces when they are talking. This lets viewers see the reactions and expressions on the characters face when listening and talking. Medium shots are used to show viewers a bigger area of the targeted character. Long shots are used to show the character and where they are. It shows viewers the landscape and gives people an idea of where the character is at that point of time. Close up shots are used to focus on the characters face and to show emotions in detail. This is especially needed in a movie like Red Dog because you have a character who cant speak and the only way to show his reactions is through facial expressions and body language. Eye level Angle is used to show things in the characters perspective at their eye level hence the name. It's really good for what they call a real life affect. This is an example of Red Dogs view its good to see how big it looks to

The elements of cinematography in the film include a low angle shot looking up at the farmer as he chops wood at the beginning of the scene. The shot is preceded by the infamous extreme long shot of the military convoy. The director uses close ups to capture emotions throughout the entire opening scene. Fear in the faces of the farmer’s daughters as they come face to face with the Jew Hunter. Fear in the face of the farmer when he prepares himself as the military convoy approaches. Close ups are used at the table when the confrontation looms; the camera zooms in when the farmer begins to crack under the

The director uses multiple camera shots to highlight the love during troublesome times and the emotions that are present. A wide shot is used when the audience watches Guido marching in front of the soldier shortly before his death. Guido does this as he is aware that his son is watching and still wants the experience of the camp to be a fun game and does not want Giosue to be afraid of what is happening. Close up shots are commonly used throughout the film to give more detail into the emotions that the characters are feeling. A

The first half of this course focused on Alfred Hitchcock and how his techniques are now recognized as iconic. From class discussions and film screenings, it is clear that Hitchcock pays every attention to detail when he crafts a scene. Many Hitchcock films we have seen this semester highlight how he builds suspense through cinematic elements such as shadow, dialogue, and composition. While many of his suspenseful scenes stir feelings of intensity and uncertainty, Alfred Hitchcock builds a more romantic suspense in his 1955 film To Catch a Thief in the fireworks scene (1:06:35-1:11:00).

One particular scene uses close up to effectively show the emotions displayed on Mani and Lola’s face. Mani portraying fear and anguish while Lola has a face of stress and her body language gives of the feel of her feeling responsible. This scene takes places as the start of the film and gives the story of the plot and an opening to the story. Close ups are used to get the audience's empathy or connection to the character. It gives a clear view of the emotions that are being depicted by both Lola and Mani.

The Alfred Hitchcock film; Vertigo is a narrative film that is a perfect example of a Hollywood Classical Film. I will be examining the following characteristics of the film Vertigo: 1)individual characters who act as casual agents, the main characters in Vertigo, 2)desire to reach to goals, 3)conflicts, 4)appointments, 5)deadlines, 6)James Stewart’s focus shifts and 7)Kim Novak’s characters drives the action in the film. Most of the film is viewed in the 3rd person, except for the reaction shots (point of view shot) which are seen through the eyes of the main character.(1st person) The film has a strong closure and uses continuity editing(180 degree rule). The stylistic (technical) film form of Vertigo makes the film much more

In addition to camera movements, he uses camera distances and framing to create images that make the audience feel cheerful. When he frames a shot, if it takes place outside, there is ample amount of bountiful nature within the frame. The most prominent example of this is toward the end of the film when the narrator is describing the after effects of the massive storm. It is a medium close up but the narrator is only in a small portion of the frame, the rest if a

Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller ‘Rear Window’ (Hitchcock, 1954) begins with the immediate use of mise-en-scène in order to establish a sense of atmosphere, equilibrium and the mundane, soon to be disrupted as the events of the film unfold and are observed through the eyes of the voyeuristic protagonist, Jeff. Setting, cinematography and various other expressive mise-en-scène techniques work together to influence the overall appearance of the film. Though, by taking a closer look, these techniques reveal the significance of the narrative and characters. In the opening sequence, Hitchcock’s original visual style provides signposts for the audience to recognize what will be significant in the future: instead of establishing what is only happening in the moment in time; mise-en-scène is used to suggest what is to come. This arrangement of the “Classical Hollywood” narrative - starting with the setting and characters in a state equilibrium - acts as a seemingly all-purpose, archetypal opening by establishing location and introducing character. Simultaneously we can see that this sequence is vastly different from the rest of the film: it is leading the viewer into a false sense of security – the calm before the storm – as Jeff soon happens to piece together information leading to the possibility that one of his neighbors murdered their wife. This sequence is one of the only moments in the film we see things the protagonist does not, thus this carefully constructed opening is preparing

In all of the previously mentioned films, there are a range of camera techniques being utilized to their advantage. In the horror film Psycho, they use extreme close ups to help show emotions or to add drama. Point of View filming is also common in all three of the films, as POV can make the viewer feel more engaged and being able to see what the victim in the film can see adds an element of fear that wouldn’t be able to be achieved if everything was shot in 3rd person. For example, in Scream, it is often filmed in the Point of View of the victim who is being stalked and later killed by the antagonist and shows things such as the girls boyfriend tied to a chair or the killer running through her house. Another technique that is used in these films is Mise-en-scene.

To help create his debut film Citizen Kane, Orson Welles assembled a talented group of artists and technicians who together produced a film that redefined cinema forever. During the film’s production process, Welles himself stated that making a film “is the biggest electric train set any boy ever had.” By this he meant that the production studio was his playground and he intended to use every tool at his disposal. Starting from the film’s very first shot; he proves this to be true. As the film begins, the camera silently cranes up over the fences that surround Charles Foster Kane’s mansion and then slowly transitions to a montage of palatial estate. In this unique sequence the viewer understands that they are watching no ordinary film! Since its release in 1941, Citizen Kane consistently is called one of the greatest films ever made. It also is one of the most analyzed films ever created as well. In watching the film, a person can select from a countless number of famous scenes on which to review, comment, admire, and draw conclusions. For this assignment, I chose my personal favorite scene from the film to analyze in depth. The scene occurs near the end of the film just as Kane’s second wife Susan Alexander leaves him for good. The scene lasts about 3 and a half minutes in length, consists of 12 shots, contains almost no music, and just one word of dialogue is spoken. However, even with these limitations, the scene has more impact and film techniques packed into it