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Camera Techniques In Alfred Hitchcock's Film Vertigo

482 Words2 Pages

The film Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock employs various clever camera movements and sequences which seem to portray the main character’s state of mind. Right from the opening sequence the cinematography in this film had me intrigued. The viewer is show the red filtered eyes of a mysterious woman which zooms into a black void where animated colored rings spin and zoom to a menacing and mysterious sounding score, all of this provides the foundation for a film about illusions. The film also does a good job at using an unreliable main character who is oblivious to the trickery going on around him. The character of Scottie is flawed through his naivety and his investment in romance. I also found the scenes in which Scottie is following Madeline in …show more content…

It is only when we get a shot that focuses and zooms in on the necklace worn by Judy that Scottie comes to the realization that Judy was Madeline as he had known her. The whole conspiracy, which at this point has already been explained to the audience, is very underplayed in the scene which only leaves the viewers to wonder what Scottie will do with this …show more content…

The motion of the camera in pans, tilts, tracking shots and focuses is something that I very rarely notice in film, mainly because it is something so natural to the human eye. When a camera makes a pan to establish a setting, like the pan shots of San Fransisco in Vertigo, it seems establishes the environment but is something that is noticeable. When a pan is used to bring a subject into frame or to explore a space, it feels very natural to the human eye and really plays on perspective. Tracking shots (or dolly shots) also add a sense of perspective which puts you into the environment as you are guided by a central character or subject. Zoom lenses are also good at calling something to attention or readjusting the composition’s

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