Chapter 1
The London years and silent suspense
Chapter 2
The camera as a weapon: visual innovations
Chapter 3
Hollywood masterpieces and obsession
Chapter 4
The man behind the silhouette
YOUR GOAL
Master of The cinema of Alfred Hitchcock
Ch 2 · The camera as a weapon: visual innovations
schopenhauer Camera as a weapon
When a flash becomes a weapon, all you see is burning red.
schopenhauer The famous 1960 'Psycho' shower scene revolutionized film editing by using 78 rapid cuts in just 45 seconds.
schopenhauer The dolly zoom technique was invented for 'Vertigo' in 1958 to visually represent the feeling of acrophobia.
BETA
schopenhauer Match camera shots to scenes to learn how Hitchcock turned the lens into a weapon.
Fun Fact
Psycho's chocolate syrup: Hitchcock used Bosco chocolate syrup for blood in the famous 'Psycho' shower scene because it showed up better on black-and-white film.
Glossary
subjective camera (noun)
A cinematic technique where the camera's perspective represents the personal visual field of a character. Alfred Hitchcock used this in his 1954 film Rear Window, where a camera flash blinds an attacker.
A cinematic technique where the camera's perspective represents the personal visual field of a character. Alfred Hitchcock used this in his 1954 film Rear Window, where a camera flash blinds an attacker.
Quiz
Which camera trick, combining a forward zoom with a backward camera movement, was invented for a 1958 Hitchcock film?
Quiz
How did Hitchcock create the terrifying bird sounds for his 1963 film The Birds?
Quiz
What color did Hitchcock famously use as a psychological warning sign in the 1964 film Marnie?
Quiz
Which 1948 Hitchcock film was carefully edited to look like a single, continuous, uninterrupted shot?
Quiz
How many rapid film cuts were packed into the famous 45-second shower scene in the 1960 film Psycho?
Quiz
What did Alfred Hitchcock call a plot device that drives the characters but is ultimately unimportant to the audience?
Quiz
Which famous graphic designer created the iconic, spiral title sequence and poster for Hitchcock's Vertigo?
Quiz
In Rear Window, what physical injury confines the main character L.B. Jefferies to his apartment?