Lauren Castillo
3/4/19
Video Production p.1
North by Northwest
North by Northwest by Alfred Hitchcock is a movie all about good camera work & editing skills and being able to portray a film that the audience will enjoy. Suspense is an ongoing feeling that Hitchcock creates throughout the movie. The music, lighting, camera work, and editing are what Hitchcock uses to portray a suspenseful scene. Through his different camera work and editing, Hitchcock is able to create suspense throughout the movie.
In the scene where Roger is having a meeting, he is sitting down talking with some businessmen. Hitchcock uses an over the shoulder shot when Roger is talking to the businessman and we see two men in the background standing and acting suspiciously. We don’t know who these two men are but when the waiter calls for George Kaplin, Roger coincidently raises his hand & calls for the waiter. It then pans over to the two men and now we know that they are looking for Kaplin since they went up Roger thinking he is Kaplin. This is suspenseful because we do not know who these two men are or what they’re about to do next. The use of an over the shoulder shot is a good choice because the audience are able to see two things at once. We see who Roger is talking and also the two men acting suspiciously in the background which leaves us questioning as to what they’re doing.
In the scene when Roger and the bad guys arrive to Townsend’s house, Roger is locked in the library and Hitchcock uses a tracking shot to show Roger’s surroundings and what he is doing. Then “Townsend” comes in and Hitchcock uses a tracking shot of “Townsend” and Roger walking in a circle opposite from each other. The tracking shot is in an arch angle and cuts back and forth between the two of them. This scene is suspenseful because we are don’t know what is going to go down between Roger and “Townsend.” “Townsend” came in without saying a word and walks around the room suspiciously and the use of a tracking shot between the two creates tension. This leaves the audience wondering what Townsend is going to do next.
Hitchcock creates suspense in the train scene when Eve gives the porter a note. We see the porter giving a note to someone who we don’t know yet. Hitchcock uses a close up of the note so the audience are able to read what it says. We still don’t know who the porter gave the note to until it zooms out of the note and we see that it’s Vandamm and Leonard who received the note. We also now know that Eve is working for Vandamm. This scene is suspenseful because Hitchcock doesn’t want us to know who the note is for just yet which is why his use of framing works well in this scene when the porter gives the note. It leaves the audience in shock when we see that Eve sent it to Vandamm and Leonard.
An example of editing that Hitchcock uses to create suspense is when the bad guys intoxicate Roger and make him drive a car. Hitchcock cuts back and forth showing Roger’s point of view, his reaction, ...
