What Hitchcock Teaches Us About Filmmaking.

Recently, I have begun to study the intricacies of how to make a film. Every tiny, (seemingly) insignificant detail takes an extraordinary amount of time and energy on the part of the entire crew to make a seamless final product.

From becoming fluent in screen language, to accurately describe and discuss the process; to production management, and all of its paper work; to deciding exactly how to cover a scene be it with mid shots, closeups, long shots etc; to pre, during and post-production sound mixing; not to mention the incredible importance of, and unbelievable nightmare that is lighting each and every scene. But one of the most intricate aspects, that can have the greatest effect, is that of the shot framing and composition that makes up the mise-en-scene – that being everything that appears before the camera, or everything that one sees within a particular shot/scene as a viewer.
The analysis of cinematic mise-en-scene is always the first step for new cinema studies students, as it is the most immediately recognisable aspect of film viewing. Mise-en-scene was always an aspect of a film that, as an uneducated viewer, I did not pay great attention to. Like any cinephile, I could appreciate the look of a film, but could not put into words exactly why. This is where framing and composition make the most difference, but can often be the least noticeable at the same time. Skilled cinematography can sometimes allow us to return to the blissful ignorance of that uneducated phase, in which we know we are enjoying a scene but are too immersed in the experience to analyse why. This can work effectively on the opposite end of the spectrum, whereby the mise-en-scene is, instead, arranged in such a way to illicit a fearful or uneasy response from a viewer who is otherwise too engaged to analyse why.

Alfred Hitchcock, a master of suspenseful filmmaking, believed in simplified filmic techniques to get his point across. His films were rife with character closeups, as he felt this was the most effective way to fully convey the emotions of a character. In Psycho (1960), we find one of Hitchcock's most internally dynamic characters in Norman Bates, played by the inimitable Anthony Perkins. Psycho is arguably one of Hitchcock's greatest film achievements for many reasons (the performance from Perkins being one of them). Most notably because it begins in the same fashion as any run-of-the-mill thriller, though its main character, Marion Crane (played by Janet Leigh) is murdered fifty minutes in. This is the point at which the audience sits up and realises that this is no ordinary thriller. Just before the murder, the character of Bates is introduced and a significant scene takes place that instills a sense of discomfort in the viewer.

After Marion pulls into the Bates Motel, getting ready to stay the night before heading onto Fairvale the next morning, Bates offers to bring her a dinner of sandwiches and milk and they sit together in the parlour behind the motel office, talking as Marion eats. Hitchcock chooses several different angles from which to film Perkins, leaving Leigh with just the one. After their initial menial talk, Perkins is being shot from slightly below at a low angle, fitting one of Bates' taxidermy owls, fixed into a sinister predatory position, into the left of the shot. At this point, the viewer begins to feel tension.

And this is where the importance of framing and composition come into play. As Marion suggests that Bates put his 'mother' (whom we later find out was dead all along) into the care of a facility, Hitchcock changes his coverage of Perkins' closeup. We see his face from a semi-side on position, a tighter version of his closeup from the beginning of the scene. When setting up a closeup in which a character's gaze is directed out of shot, it is important to situate them to the side of a frame, leaving visual space for their gaze to fill, so that when a cut is made to the object – in this case, Marion – the transition looks fluid (in which instance, pinpoint precision and a skill for shot choreography is also needed during the editing process). Hitchcock begins the shot in this way, positioning Bates at the right of the frame, looking towards the left where we know Marion is. But then, Bates centres himself as the subject of his talk turns to psychology. Marion flinches because Bates has sat up in his chair, but the viewer cannot quite put their finger on exactly why this shot is making them feel uneasy now. Bates' centring is compositionally not quite right. His gaze does not have enough room in the frame anymore. Bates moves around several times throughout the shot, but continues to go back to that centring, creating a firm, but inexplicable feeling of unease that has the viewer feeling suspect towards Bates. The simultaneous dialogue gives us clues as to possible reasons why this particular character is not to be trusted (most notably the preoccupation with his mother) and Hitchcock's framing and keen eye for shot dynamics confirms the suspicion in our minds.

In this scene from Psycho, Hitchcock teaches aspiring filmmakers and viewers alike how small aspects of filmmaking make all of the difference, and how Hitchcock's simplified techniques can be so effective. With this simple cinematic gesture, Hitchcock is able to tell us so much about Perkins' character and how we, as viewers, are supposed to feel about him.

ROMANY

REFERENCES

Psycho, 1960 [DVD] Alfred Hitchcock, Universal, Australia.