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
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...
Hitchcock has characteristics as an auteur that is apparent in most of his films, as well as this one.
Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, was an exemplary and ground-breaking work. In narrative structure and film style, Welles challenged classical Hollywood conventions and opened a path for experimentation in the later 1940s. Gregg Toland’s deep-focus cinematography and Welles’ use of low-key lighting are often discussed aspects of the movie. True, these were areas of innovation, but when watching the movie in class I was particularly struck by the use of camera movement, or “mobile framing” as described in Film Art. In this historical analysis, I will take a detailed look at how Welles and Toland use camera movement to develop and challenge the Hollywood style. By referring to other movies viewed in Professor Keating’s class, including The Cheat, Wings, Applause, Double Indemnity, The Last Laugh and Bicycle Thief, this paper traces one aspect of innovation and diffusion in the movie many call the greatest film ever, Citizen Kane.
Bergan, Ronald. "A History of Creative Sound in Film (Abridged)." The Guardian. n.p, 17 July 2008. Web. 11 Jan 2014
The 1960 movie Psycho includes some eerie music in order to accurately relay the theme of the movie to the audience. Even though a similar melody can be heard throughout the movie, Hermann does an excellent job of incorporating the music at the appropriate time. Throughout the film, Hermann solely utilizes a stringed orchestra. Although a mixture of instruments may have benefited the movie even more.
Towards the end of the scene they give us a pan of all the blood. A crossfade tilt shows us the drain turning into her eye to symbolize how her life just went down the drain. As she lays there with her head out of the tub looking lifeless, resembling a bird. That foreshadowed when Norman was telling Marion about his hobby taxidermy and how he likes to taxidermy birds the most. Sound effects in this film were different than in any other, such as “re-re-re” that give the audience a sense of suspense and fear. Makes us want to know what's going to happen next, and when it happens it seems to shock everyone. Violins are used for most of the music. These violins helped create a frightening atmosphere for the audience. Without them, Psycho would not have received the same reactions of simultaneous entertainment and terror. In this esteem, the music made Psycho the film that it is. The shower scene is still important, since something as innocent as a bathroom quickly becomes tainted, but it’s the music that truly clinches the horror
Alfred Hitchcock’s unique sense of filmmaking and directing has allowed him to become a very famous and well known film maker of his time. He uses similar recurring themes, elements, and techniques in many of his films to engage the viewers in more than just the film, but the meaning and focus behind the story.
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.
Moving on too Psycho, Hitchcock both produced and directed the movie, so he had “ a great deal of involvement in the actual planning and filming of Phsyco. His originality in this area constibuted greatly to the unique nature of the film” . Hitchcock successfully made the audience feel like they were “right inside the situation instead of leaving the to watch it from outside, from a distance”. As a director he broke the actions into details “ cutting from one to the other, so that each detail is forced in turn on the attention of the audience and reveals its psychological meaning.”
Suspense is only one of Hitchcock’s many techniques and themes. His themes range from the obvious violence, to the depths of human interaction and sex. From Rear Window to Psycho, Hitchcock’s unique themes are present and evident. Rear Window starts with something we all do at times, which is nosing in and stalking on others business, and turns it into a mysterious investigation leaving the viewer second guessing their neighbors at home. Psycho on the other hand, drags
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)
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 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 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
In brief, the audience can see how this 1931 sound film could be shaped by sound in a number of ways. Considering that sound at this time was a new phenomenon it is understood why mostly diegetic sound was used over nondiegetic sound. This director also showed the audience how the story could be affected by sound with examples like the clock becoming a character and storyline of its own and also the murderer being identified with his whistling. With the lack of sound and the collage of images during specific times, the director was able to create a mood without music or sound. Apparently this was a technique that was learned throughout his many years of silent films. These details were what brought the story together and would not have been done so precisely without the technique of sound.