1. Cinematography and mise-en- scene in
Alfred Hitchcock
Cinematography and mise-en- scene in
Psycho (1960)
and
Rear Window (1954)

2. Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms.
-Alfred Hitchcock.

3. Hitchcock’s Signature Cinematography
Alfred Hitchock considered himself to be a cinema purist.
He personally believed that story telling is best done visually and that when making a film the director should engage the audience as much as possible.

5. Hitchcock’s signature use of mise-en-scene:
Colour or tones are balanced with care and generally serve a purpose
Elaborate, purpose built sets
Props generally have great significance in establishing character and their inner lives
There is often a revealing erotic/sexual undercurrent

6. Hitchcock’s signature use of cinematography:
The point of view shot (P.O.V).
The active subjective camera (acting as if a POV, though not from a character)
Heavy use of camera movement (often technically challenging)
Intimacy
Shot-reverse shot
These techniques are all linked to a cinema that is voyeuristic

7. Rear Window

8. Your homework due next Friday
‘The mise-en-scene and cinematography of the opening sequences of Psycho and Rear Window are typical of Alfred Hitchcock’s visual style’.
Do you agree?