Yilda Sanchez
Alfred Hitchcock in America
Dr. Sullivan
7 December 2017
"To Sound or no Sound"
In Hitchcock's own words: "I think what sound brought of value to the cinema was to complete the realism of the image on the screen. It made everyone in the audience deaf mutes." Because he is known for his visual techniques, Alfred Hitchcock’s unique use of sound is a topic which does not receive the attention it deserves. This is what this paper will try to accomplish, to explain why his unique use of sound deserves so much attention.
Sound is an important element in Hitchcock's techniques. This created and amplified the suspense in the scene tremendously and it was a way to express character emotion. He uses surrounding sounds to amplify whatever
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In his own words he stated the following: “If Psycho had been intended as a serious picture, it would have been shown as a clinical case with no mystery or suspense. The material would have been used as the documentation of the case history. We’ve already mentioned that total plausibility and authenticity merely add up to a documentary.” Hitchcock was dogmatic about the dramatic innuendos and sequences that the functions of sound and music created. He often interwove his suggestions into the screenplay even! Sound was so important to Hitchcock that no matter how much Hitchcock trusted his composer and sound mixer, he always dictated detailed notes for the dubbing of sound effects and the placement of music. Everything needed to be perfect in the eyes or in this case ears of Hitchcock. His meticulous and perfectionist ways are definitely evident in his films. In Psycho, Hitchcock wanted "no music at all though the motel sequence". Hermann, the person behind most of Hitchcock's films scores, at first did not quite understand where Hitchcock was going with this. Hitchcock was so pleased with the "black and white" score use of only the cello and violin and he dubbed it a masterpiece. Hermann found it peculiar that Hitchcock did not wish for an percussion but after the film was completed. He realized that the meticulous way Hitchcock wanted the score created an eerie and unnerving suspense that the film
Hitchcock has characteristics as an auteur that is apparent in most of his films, as well as this one.
In conclusion in “Rear Window” Hitchcock is shown off as an auteur and realist though his modification and implementation of his own creative mind and as a realist by conveying reality and occurrences of everyday life respectively. He also used methods such as eye line matching, cinema as window and frame, and potentially character specific lighting to connect the audience with the characters and to give the main characters more individualized
The decade was largely dominated by silent films, but the creation of movies with sound followed afterwards. These innovations greatly improved the movies and made them more immersive and exciting for the viewer. Soon after the invention of sound in movies, the silent era movies...
Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a thrilling film filled with mystery and suspense. However, Hitchcock left many unsolved issues at the end of this film. In contrast, when comparing Vertigo to more recent films of similar genre’, mysteries are usually always solved and thoroughly explained by the end of the film. Ironically, Hitchcock’s failure to explain everything to the audience in Vertigo is one of the film’s best attributes. This lack of knowledge allows the viewer to use their own imagination and speculate as to what might or might not have become of certain characters.
Furthermore, to increase dread and trepidation, affect the audience’s feelings, and intensify fear the film director skillfully uses the non-diegetic music. “Filmmakers carefully choose which sounds to include on the soundtrack, knowing that emphasizing a particular sound helps to shape the audience...
There are many different ways to create sound on a film, often sound is used to symbolize certan things, and music is used to generate suspense, fear, joy, and many other different emotions. There are three different types of film sound used to create the world of a film; speech, noise, and music. In the scene "Breakfast Montage" Orson Welles uses many different sound techniques to create the world of film. Orson Welles used non digetic music to symbolize the change in Charles Kane and his first wife Emilys relationship. At first the music in the background was sort of romantic and uplifting ; later in their relationship when they were no longer seeing eye to eye on certain things the music was much more fast passed and symbolized a hostile enviroment. Welles also used non diegetic music to create tension between the two. Later in the scene Charles kane and Emily were arguing over something, its not very clear as to what they were disagreeing on but emily says "but people will think" and Charles responds with "what i tell them to...
Cinema’s director Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most important and influential filmmakers of all the times. Using revolutionary techniques and controversial topics, Therefore, Hitchcock captivated the public as no other director of his time. One of the techniques that he made famous, his use of the hearing as a voyeur of the action on the screen. Hitchcock used this technique to dim the line between the innocent and the guilty. As well as to the public in the position where they were personally involved in the characters of the film. In the Alfred Hitchcock movies, you can see how many of its protagonists “look”. In RearWindow (1954) the protagonist observes his neighbors through binoculars. Moreover, The man who knew too much (1956) Ben McKenna
In Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein, sound is used as an effect to scare people and create a “spooky” feeling. They used the sounds of a storm with rain and thunder, the sound of footsteps coming up from behind people, and other noises like creaky stairs, floors, and doors. This created that “haunted” or “spooky” feeling that would be used over and over again in horror films for decades. When they used sound effects, it was to emphasize that something was either happening or about to happen.
Sound is an incredibly relevant part of filmmaking. Although often misunderstood, it helps to generate a more realistic episode by recreating the sonic experience the scene needs. Its main goal is to enhance the emotions that each section is trying to convey by adding music and effects alongside moving images. Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960), is one of the most popular films of the XX Century (Thomson, 2009). Commonly recognised as a masterpiece for its cinematographic, editing and musical values, it changed cinema forever by “playing with darker prospects (…) of humanity such as sex and violence (Thomson, 2009)”. This paper will analyse the sound effects used in the shower scene and its repercussions
Cinematography of Hitchcocks Psycho Alfred Hitchcock is renown as a master cinematographer (and editor), notwithstanding his overall brilliance in the craft of film. His choice of black and white film for 1960 was regarded within the film industry as unconventional since color was perhaps at least five years the new standard. But this worked tremendously well. After all, despite the typical filmgoer’s dislike for black and white film, Psycho is popularly heralded among film buffs as his finest cinematic achievement; so much so, that the man, a big
As an audience we are manipulated from the moment a film begins. In this essay I wish to explore how The Conversation’s use of sound design has directly controlled our perceptions and emotional responses as well as how it can change the meaning of the image. I would also like to discover how the soundtrack guides the audience’s attention with the use of diegetic and nondiegetic sounds.
With the discovery of techniques such as continuous editing, multiple camera angles, montage editing, and more, silent filmmaking developed from simple minute-long films to some of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring films that have ever been created—in only a few decades. In Visions of Light, someone alluded that if the invention of sound had come along a mere ten years later, visual storytelling would be years ahead of what it is today. This statement rings true. When looking at the immense amount of progress that was made during the silent era of films, one must consider where the art of film has been, where it is, and where it is
Sound calls our attention to both the spatial and temporal dimensions of a scene by putting the audience in the scene of the movie. The majority of sound in a film is completed during post-production making it possible to make a scene come to life. Time and space can be captured on film through not only the scene itself but with sound as well. Many films over the last half century use sounds and music to provide the audience with this experience. (Barsam, Monahan 366)
Sound is what brings movies to life, but, not many viewers really notice. A film can be shot with mediocre quality, but, can be intriguing if it has the most effective foley, sound effects, underscore, etc. Sound in movies band together and unfold the meaning of the scenes. When actors are speaking, the dialogue can bring emotion to the audience, or, it can be used as the ambient sound. Music is one of the main things to have when filmmaking. The use of Claudia Gorbman’s Seven Principles of Composition, Mixing and Editing in Classical Film gives audiences a perspective of sound, and, how it can have an impact on them.
Sound is important in film and how it is used to drive a narrative progression. I will analyse how and why in this essay. Covering the history of sound in films and the essential component it plays in the film industry.