Filmmaking / Directing : RB's April Challenge (day 20) by Geoff Hall

Geoff Hall

RB's April Challenge (day 20)

Alfred Hitchcock! We often think of Hitchcock's mastery of camera movement in films like Notorious (Ingrid Bergman in bed, the camera rotating as she looks up at Cary Grant - about 11 mins into the film if you want to check it, or the scenes involving the keys to the wine cellar). Then there's Jimmy Stewart climbing the church bell tower in Vertigo. They all add to the suspense, the psychology of the scene, but sometimes we forget about Hitchcock's choreography of the action, the physical movement and blocking of a scene. Here's an example of this from Nerdwriter, who is looking at Hitchcock's masterpiece, Vertigo. https://youtu.be/UgnNakO6JZw

Shawn Speake

Good stuff, Geoff!

Geoff Hall

Hey there Shawn, how are things going for you?

Geoff Hall

Hello Aray, glad you enjoyed it.

Shawn Speake

All good, Geoff! Thanks for asking. I'm posting our latest short BOOZE for a S32 Beatdown next month. This short, with a budget, is for friend and S32 client Lyle Pookie DeRose. We shoot in the fall in Denver.

Geoff Hall

Sounds good. The fall in Denver? I hope you get good weather. Just doing some prep for a Skype call with our new Casting Director. Be well.

Doug Nelson

I’ve always been in high awe of Hitch (he didn’t like being called Hichcock) and so to this day as I block scenes – even for my little shorts – I ask, is this how Hitch would see it? I feel that strong scene blocking is as critical – maybe more so – than dialog.

Geoff Hall

Hi Doug, Hitchcock was a true master of suspense and we can still learn from his work. Thanks for commenting! Have a great day.

Laronda Charese

The thing I love the most about Hitchcock is the dress element he puts into the films , the color change when someone is going to change the mood or motive is wonderful, that also in my opinion adds to the suspense. I also see it as a lost art; not too many movies have that.

Geoff Hall

Hi Laronda, a lost art indeed. Perhaps we are so besotted with democratising filmmaking, that we have lost the art of the artist and replaced it with the technique of the technician?

Doug Nelson

Laronda – in the old days (Jurassic Era) when we shot on film, one of the favorite tricks was to use different film stock within the film to delineate feelings or time shifts. (Flashbacks on Fuji, current on Kodak fifty six hundred stock.) I’m sure you could do the same in the digital world if you had Editors and Directors who are creatively knowledgable.

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