SIR ALFRED HITCHCOCK

Transcription

1 SIR ALFRED HITCHCOCK

2 So... WHO WAS HITCHCOCK? A film director? The Master of Suspense? An entertainer?

3 Drama is life with the dull bits cut out -Alfred Hitchcock

4 1 Sir Alfred Hitchcock 13 August 1899, Essex - 29 April 1980, California.

5 Childhood & Early influences Born and Raised Essex, England on August 13, 1899, a lonely and sheltered child Film Enthusiast Since early childhood, Hitchcock was a film fan and would often go to the movies as an escape

6 Fears and Phobias Hitchcock s father once sent him to a police officer to punish his bad behavior, and he was locked up for 5 minutes. This implanted a natural fear towards the police for him, and this clearly impacted his view of authority figures in his films. Questionable parenting...

7 First brush with creativity Hitchcock s first job after college was working as a draftsman and advertising designer at an electrical cable company called Henley s. While working at Henley s Hitchcock began to develop his creative writing by authoring off-beat short stories for the Henley s Telegraph

8 Into the film Industry Entered the film industry at the age of 20, in 1919 as a title card designer (Subtitles for silent films) From 1920 to 1925, he was a screenwriter, art director, and assistant for Michael Balcon and Director Graham Cutts. While working with Balcon and Cutts, Hitchcock was influenced by German cinema that he observed, especially F. W. Murnau's film The Last Laugh (1924) The first few films Hitchcock directed failed due to complex reasons, but he finally succeeded with The Lodger in 1927

9 Hitchcock in Hollywood 1939 After rising to prominence in Britain, Hitchcock went on to conquer Hollywood and rise to more global fame

10 Hitchcock s Legacy in America After moving to the US in 1939, Hitchcock produced and directed many suspense movies. Hitchcock earned his first Oscar in 1940 with the movie Rebecca Hitchcock didn t stop filming until 1973.

11 HITCHCOCK S LEGACY: Hitchcock is known as the Master of Suspense and created film techniques that are still widely used today He brought horror and suspense films to a whole new level

12 It must be because I spent three years studying with the Jesuits. They used to terrify me to death, with everything, and now I'm getting my own back by terrifying other people. -Alfred Hitchcock

13 2 Suspense Hitchcock is most famously known as the Master of Suspense, a title he earned by redefining suspense in cinema

14 All Knowing Audience Hitchcock understood that to build suspense the audience must know what the characters do not... that some terrible unknown is coming

15 Wait for it. Terrifying

16 Hitchcockian Suspense. Don t bother with cheap, fleeting shock Non-Hitchcock Hitchcock x3 sec Talk about mundane things next to hidden bomb x10 sec Bomb seen, 10 min until explosion on the clock x15 sec Boom!!!! x9 min Talk about mundane things next to hidden bomb Shocked onlookers Nothing bomb gets noticed and defused

17 Well that was intense... Let s take a break for a fun fact It all started with the shortage of extras in my first picture. I was in for a few seconds as an editor with my back to the cameras. It wasn't really much, but I played it to the hilt. Since then I have been trying to get into every one of my pictures. It isn't that I like the business, but it has an impelling fascination that I can't resist. When I do, the cast, grips, and the camera men and everyone else gather to make it as difficult as possible for me. But I can't stop now! Hitchcock made a cameo as an extra in almost every one of his films

18 3 The Anatomy of a Scene Hitchcock s style in filming scenes is truly unique

19 A HITCHCOCK SCENE: A collection of short clips from multiple viewpoints spliced together to make one coherent whole

20 In one scene we see in the perspective of each character and focus in on important, but otherwise hard to see events.

21 4 Hitchcock s Legacy

22 He influenced GoT. This GoT scene builds suspense in a way that would make Hitchcock proud. The Birds (1963) Game of Thrones (2014)

23 Spielberg? Hitchcock? Either way Let the audience worry about it.

24 A final word on storytelling I may have drawn the axe.. But I m not the one who let it drop.

25 Thank you! MacGuffin.