Film Study: Visual Storytelling with Alfred Hitchcock
A virtual film study class you can do at home.
Introduction
In highschool I was faced with a choice: take computer programming or creative writing. This was in the early 2000s when going to college for computer science was all the rage. The programming class would have been a head start down that career path.
But I was creative and wanted to tell stories, the kind of stories I enjoyed in video games like the Final Fantasy and Resident Evil franchises. I still want to tell stories and that is why you can find a couple of original fiction pieces in the archives of IGreviews (read them here and here).
I took that writing class my Junior year and the next year took a film study class by the same teacher, Joe. It changed my life. I wanted to be a film critic, so I went to college for journalism.
Now I write on Substack. One of my intentions with this blog is to do for my readers what Joe did for me - to raise your appreciation for film as an art. Yes, movies are meant to be entertaining, but they are so much more than CGI spectacle and supermen fighting one another.
Syllabus
This year I am discussing the ways in which movies tell stories using visual cues. Theoretically, a viewer can mute the sound and still be able to get the gist of the plot. No one has done this better than Alfred Hitchcock.
Entire film school curricula have been constructed around his work, and it is no wonder; he is arguably the greatest director who ever lived. In this six-week course I will examine the visual storytelling techniques employed by him. The schedule looks like this:
Weeks 1/2 - Hitchcock’s theory of Pure Cinema and other techniques.
Weeks 3/4 - A general overview of various films employing the above theories.
Weeks 5/6 - A deeper dive into my favorite Hitchcock films.
I invite you to follow along at home. Pick a film from the list below, watch it and write a critique or essay. You can work at your own pace. Write as much or as little as you like. The topic of your essays can be anything you want.
When your piece is finished either post it in the comments or send it to me. My email is invertedgentlemanediting@gmail.com (you can find it on the about page as well). When the essays are posted (or mailed), we will review each other's work.
At the end of the six weeks I hope you will have learned how to critique a film, what to look for in good film making and have a better appreciation for the art. There are no rules or grades. Just have fun. I hope you will join me.
Film List
A complete list of Hitchcock films can be easily found on websites such as IMDB and Wikipedia. The films I will be referencing in this class are listed below.
The Lodger - 1927
The Lady Vanishes - 1938
Shadow of a Doubt - 1943
Rope - 1948
Dial M for Murder - 1954
Rear Window - 1954
The Man Who Knew Too Much - 1956
Vertigo - 1958
North by Northwest - 1959
Psycho - 1960
The Birds - 1963
Things to Consider When Writing a Film Critique
Somewhere in your critique include the title and the director. When you talk about a character, credit the actor playing him or her. You only need to do this on first reference.
The Story - include a brief summary and any critical comments. Some questions you may ask yourself are: Was the story coherent? Were there any plot holes or inconsistencies?
Acting - comment on the acting. Did something pop out at you, either good or bad?
Music & Sound Effects - a missed sound effect can take you out of the story. Music can set the mood; it can make an otherwise innocuous scene horrifying or hilarious. How did the film use sound effectively? Explain.
Cinematography and Editing - you may not think about this now, but when you train yourself to notice cinematography and editing it makes a world of difference. I will discuss this further in the next section.
Direction - the director is ultimately responsible for the film. Write about his/her strengths or weaknesses. Did he get the most out of his actors? What are some interesting techniques he employed?
Finally, a film will be whatever it wants to be. It is not necessarily for us to say Sam Peckinpah should not have explored the passing of the Old West in The Wild Bunch. Rather, we ask, “Did Sam Peckinpah successfully and thoroughly explore the themes he set out to explore?” If he did, we may call the film a success. If he did not, then it is a failure.
A Quick Guide to Cinematography and Editing
Framing refers to the inclusion and exclusion of various elements in the video and how they are shown to the audience. Decisions include who or what is shown, the kind of shot used and the particular camera angle.
Visual clarity must be achieved by showing the important actions clearly.
Camera angles can shape the audience’s perceptions of a character or thing. A low angle (camera looking up) may give power or dominance to the subject. A high angle (camera looking down) may create a sense of submission or distance.
A point of view shot can put the audience into a character’s position. John Carpenter made excellent use of this in Halloween (1978).
Long shots and panoramic shots are often used to create an establishing shot. The audience can quickly see the general setting in which the action is taking place. Panning the camera was used with great effect in many Hitchcock films (e.g., the opening shot of Psycho).
Editing in the days these films were made was done painstakingly by cutting film and gluing it back together. Good editing helps scenes transition smoothly. Cutaways or cover shots are often plugged in during the editing portion of production. Hitchcock used editing in marvelous ways as we shall see.
Thanks for doing this! I'll be working on "The Lady Vanishes".