1. The Elements of Suspense

2. All Stories Contain Certain Elements
Plot
Character
Setting
Dialogue
Narrative

3. Suspense
Anxiety or apprehension resulting from an uncertain, undecided, or mysterious situation
Dictionary.com

4. In suspense there must be an unknown; a suspicion, a mystery, a danger we expect

5. Suspense (mystery, intrigue, tension) is built with:
Facts
Innuendo
Atmosphere
Action

6. Ways to deepen suspense…
Dreams
foreshadowing what may happen
showing the character’s deepest fears, his haunting past

7. Ways to deepen suspense…
Clues
journals / diaries / letters / notes / pictures, etc.
physical evidence that can be used to determine time of death, how, and where

8. Ways to deepen suspense…
The Weather
the season can match or contrast the characters’ emotional state

9. Ways to deepen suspense…
The Senses
the smell of blood, the stench of an alley
the taste of fear
reaction to finding a dead body
the feel of blood-soaked clothing

10. Ways to deepen suspense…
The Villain
his/her motivations or intentions
simple greed, jealousy, money
the complicated serial killer mind

11. Ways to deepen suspense…
Other characters
plant red herrings
shift suspicion onto them

12. There are two writer / directors who are considered masters of suspense…
Stephen King
&
Alfred Hitchcock

13. Stephen King Bestselling author of horror short stories and novels.
Successful screenplay writer.
Master of suspense stories.

14. Influences as a Writer Comic books Horror movies Science fiction
Classic writers: Edgar Allen Poe, Thomas Hardy, Shirley Jackson, Agatha Christie, JRR Tolkien

15. Reasons to study Stephen King
He is a good storyteller.
He uses terror, horror, and “gross” techniques to captivate his readers.
He cleverly creates the unexpected.
He provides insights into the dark side of humanity.
He writes about “taboo subjects”: death, destruction, and the unknown.
His characters often harbor evil and/or vengeful feelings that compel their actions.

16. King’s views on Horror & Evil
“Horror fiction was conservative and that was its appeal to teenagers – the two things go together because teenagers are the most conservative people in American society. You know, small children take it as a matter of course that things will change every day and grown-ups understand that things change sooner or later…it is only kids in high school who are convinced they’re never going to change.”

17. King’s views on Horror & Evil con’t
“The horror genre exists on three basic levels, separate but independent, and each one is a little bit cruder than the one before. There’s terror on top, the finest emotion any writer can induce; then horror; and on the very lowest of all, the gag instinct of revulsion. Naturally, I’ll try to terrify you first, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll try to horrify you and if I can’t make it there, I’ll try to gross you out.”

18. Other Quotes by King
“Horror is one of the ways we walk our imagination. It’s a way to relieve bad feelings rather than something that causes them.”
“People ask me what scares me. Everything scares me. Bugs are bad…airplanes…the dark…elevators…Friday the 13th…bad luck in general…”

19. Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock August 13, 1899-April 29, 1980
Son of greengrocers William and Emma
Devout Catholic
Educated at Jesuit’s St. Ignatius College
Left school at 16 to study engineering and navigation at University of London

20. A foot in the door…
Took at job as title designer for silent films at Paramount Pictures in London
Quickly moved up to assistant director
Began work on first film, “No. 13”, at age 22 (1922)

21. Then comes marriage… Met and married Alma Reville in December 1926
Alma was an assistant director and screenwriter who worked on many of Hitchcock’s films
Had one daughter, Patricia

22. Coming to America…
After the onset of WWII, Hitchcock emigrated to America
Became a U.S. citizen in 1955
Quickly launched the television show “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” upon his arrival

23. Themes Concerning People
Terror inflicted upon the often unknowing and innocent victim
Innocent people caught up in events they cannot control
Transference of guilt: innocent character’s failings are transferred to another character and magnified
Explored the compatibility of men and women (especially a mother figure)
The wrong man

24. Themes Concerning the Mind
Guilt (real or the appearance of it)
Redemption
Early films reflected the political climate of Europe during the war
Preferred to use suspense rather than surprise

25. Sound
Manipulated sound effects (ie. beeping of car horns = busy urban street)
Music was used to psychologically enhance the audience’s experience
Hitchcock often made cameo appearances in the films carrying a musical instrument

26. Camera Angles
Never shot from an angle that was physically impossible from human perspective
“Hitchcock zoom” (ie. “Vertigo”)
Used techniques to make audience believe films were shot in a single take

27. And the award goes to…
Film “Rebecca” (1940) won Oscar for Best Picture while four others were nominated
Hitchcock never won an Oscar for Best Director
Did receive the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at 1967 Oscars
Awarded the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award (1979)
Named a Knight Commander of the British Empire (1980)

28. A Decade To Remember 1950-1960 “Rear Window” “Vertigo”
“North by Northwest”
“Psycho”

29. “Rear Window” Grace Kelly as Lisa Fremont
Thelma Ritter as Stella Dick Simmons
James Stewart as Jeff (L.B. Jeffries)
Raymond Burr as Lars Thorwald

30. Trivia
At age 5, Hitchcock’s father had him taken to the local jail after Hitchcock was caught in some mischief-making
He never sat with the audience as they viewed a film
He used the number 13 throughout his films in some form