jbarrera

Daily Dose #3 1. Montage and Expressive Editing - Hitchcock used both to show the differences between the party and the room where the boxer was meeting with his trainers. The quick cuts from the dancers to the pianist to the women playing ukuleles to the record player quickly showed us the energy and fun happening at the party. Cut to the other room and there was little to no montage at all. At the same time, Hitchcock used the mirror's reflection to also demonstrate what was going on in both rooms. The wife can see her husband seated, looking very serious, while the husband sees his wife enjoying herself and indulging in some flirtation with the man he is set to box against. I am not sure if this is considered montage or not, but the fact the husband gets an image in his head about what he thinks his wife and the other boxer are doing and it appears wherever he looks in the room, also helps us see the jealousy he is feeling and it causes him to run into the other room to interrupt the party. 2. First of all, the floating image of the boxer's wife with the other man really lets us know what is going on in his head. He is jealous and worried he may lose her. Towards the end of the clip, the loved the way the dancers, piano playing, and other parts of the party were blurred and stretched out (for lack of a better word). To me this conveyed the drunken feeling of the party, but also demonstrated something warped going on, possibly in the boxer's mind. 3. Our first introduction is to the serious meeting taking place between the boxer and his trainers/managers. We can tell they are talking business and then we cut away to the reflection in the mirror of the woman (later we realize she's his wife) and the other boxer. At first, we just think he likes her and is envious that everyone is having fun while he is stuck in a meeting. But as time goes by, through his editing and usage of the mirror, as well as the fact the party is in a completely different room, we come to realize he is married to the woman. We see her look into the mirror once where she sees her husband's head averted, not paying attention to her. It saddens her a bit, but she returns quickly to the party fun. Using set design, Hitchcock made the distance between the husband and wife very clear. They are only looking at each other via a mirror and all the times they do, neither of them is looking in the spouses direction. He also made the room with the boxer and his trainers/managers very barren aside from the poster, so it was clear it was all business. In the other room, however, there are instruments, carpets, couches, and things strewn about that let us know a raucous party was going on. The boxer in the barren room sees his wife having all the fun with the other boxer and it fuels his jealousy and plays on his insecurity. The other boxer never looks in his direction, solidifying his own confidence. This makes the other man want to fight him even more because it isn't just a fight for money anymore. If he can beat the champion, maybe he will feel better about himself and his wife will love/respect him more.

1. The Pleasure Garden vs. The Lodger — I noticed the differences first. The Pleasure Garden is a much brighter and more cheerful opening sequence while The Lodger is darker and more foreboding. The use of lighting and staging set the scene for both. Everything about TPG gave us a feeling of having fun, being welcome, and enjoying a show. The Lodger, on the other hand immediately made us realize something horrible was going to happen, it did, and throughout the rest of the opening, created a feeling of doom and the macabre through the dim night lighting, tight filming spaces, dark corners, etc. There is this horrible feeling hovering over the city due to the seven murders and Hitchcock makes this evident through his dark lighting, the reflection of the man covering his face at the scene, and the frantic movements of the crowd. As for similarities, again, we open with a blonde woman, the crowd scenes are fast-paced, and Hitchcock zooms in on faces often to enhance the storyline. Also, he really let the actors tell the story with minimal text interrupting the sequence of events. Finally, he gives us the feeling of being both a participant and an observer by putting us into the backstage area of TPG or giving us a first-person view of the murder, and by putting us in the audience as well as the crowd around the dead girl. 2. Regarding the elements of Hitchcock's style: Fast-paced crowd scenes, close up faces to enhance the emotion/action, his cameo (which I missed, but I'll take your word for it), odd filming angles that either make you comfortable or uncomfortable. I'll hopefully be able to pick up more of his style after this course. 3. Hitchcock's use of the screaming woman was perfect. He filmed it at an angle that made us realize she is looking at her killer. It also gave us a perfect view of her terror so there could be no mistake that she is screaming out of fear. The background lighting gave her an odd halo affect, which darkened the background and added to the feeling of darkness and horror.

1. I think there may be a very basic development of the "Hitchcock touch" in that there is a voyeuristic feel at the beginning. We see the dancers first as someone backstage in the catwalk and then as an audience member, blurry and then then through the binoculars and the monocle. Also, we are immediately focused on a blonde (Hitchcock loved working with blondes) with what seems to be a strong-will/sense of self. I am not familiar with Hitchcock's silent films, so I can't really say more at this time. 2. I agree that we see elements of Hitchcock's style in the developmental stage. For example, his "looking down from on high" approach is visible in most of his movies, like he is looking down on those he films. There are the close up views on faces, the voyeuristic views, and other stylistic methods demonstrated here. 3. There are definitely some limitations. I enjoy silent films (though I haven't seen any of Hitchcock's silents), but found this opening scene left me with many questions. Did the men picking the woman's purse just want money and accidentally get the letter? Why did the blonde give that "look" when we saw her through the binoculars? Was that to that man in general or someone else? I felt like I was missing something.