North by North West by Alfred Hitchcock

'North by North West'

watch the trailer here!

North by North West is a film made by Alfred Hitchcock in 1959. This is a thriller about an advertising man who is mistaken for someone and is chased around the country by Foreign spies and police due to him also being framed for a murder. I believe this film was very good and there are many effects used in each scene to create tension and mystery. 

Hitchcock uses establishing shots to show an overview of an event happening such as at the beginning of a scene to set it. this allows the audience to see what is going on and where we are. He also uses the reverse shot pattern which is showing the face of the character up close. Hitchcock uses this shot because a master shot would cause the audience to feel more distant from what is happening and therefore less involved. 

Hitchcock also presents the characters in different ways using contrapuntal dress. For example when Madison Avenue is portrayed as an innocent character she is dressed in white, and when she is portrayed as someone on the enemies side she is dressed in black and dark colours.

I really enjoyed this film and believe that it is one of Hitchcock's finest; each scene left me in suspense and the twist at the end when we find out who Madison really is really shocking. 

The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock.

I have been watching a film called 'The Birds' in Media Studies and this was by Alfred Hitchcock released in 1963. I didn't get to watch all of it and I only saw the ending, however I believe that the story line was quite good.
 The sound of distant birds were used during silent parts to create tension and this is a diegetic sound but off screen. 


This image shows that when the birds attacked her she was trapped in a room which causes us to become tense and unaware until they begin pecking away at her. This camera shot lets us view all of her with a bird in the corner and this shows us fully the damage they have done to her and gives us a warning that they haven't finished yet. There is also a shadow of a bird facing toward her which causes more tension to be built up as we don't know what is going to happen next, and this shadow may suggest another attack. The light she is holding suggests that the room she is in is dark and she is unable to see without it. 

Alfred Hitchcock did not want this film to be colorful and used an area with low land, no mountains and not many trees in order to be able to shoot the birds through good camera angles. He subdued color in many of the scenes in order to get a good effect and this created a gloomy, tense atmosphere, which he desired. 



The sound of children singing is normal in every day life. In the school scene, after an establishing shot of the birds in the sky and the normal sounds, and the camera shots are cut between Melanie (the main character) looking relaxed and the birds on the climbing frame, where there are five or more now perched. This creates suspense and a sense of danger. When Melanie rushes to the school, a high angle long shot is used and this makes her look very vulnerable. 

Unnatural sounds are used in this film throughout, and the only diegetic sounds which are relevant to the goings on in the film are when the birds are squawking. Silence is also used to make the audience feel very uncomfortable and create tension.  

Hitchcock used color through the fires flames to create a terrifying, fiery atmosphere through orange and yellow. The end of the film is mainly in black and white which creates yet again a gloomy atmosphere. 

Introduction to my thriller blog.

Hey guys I'm Lucie and this is my blog for my thriller work. This will contain all of the work leading up to my creation of a thriller movie. In media studies we have been discussion camera shots, lighting, sound, editing and effects. We are watching films and my blog will contain some reviews about them where I will comment on some of the different effects used. 

I think media studies is a good subject and will help me in future life if I wish to become involved in journalism which is a course I may wish to take. I enjoy it very much.