Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Viewers also liked
Similar to Vertigo notes
Similar to Vertigo notes (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Vertigo notes
- 1. QUESTION: Using your notes below and your notes from your thriller seminars, analyse how Vertigo conforms to our expectations of thriller codes and conventions. ! ! EDITING! non-linear timeline,! ! CAMERA SHOTS/ANGLES/MOVEMENT! dolly zoom to emphasise length of the drop. Establishing shot of construction~ show development that the time era is going through? Perspective shown of Scottie in the foreground, and other dude in the background, shown as smaller.! Lots of low angle shots of Scottie in the cemetery.! Close ups to pay attention to detail! Scottie close to camera, woman in background~ she looks smaller, shows power difference that is portrayed at the beginning of the film! Tilt to show the following of his eyes to look at ceiling in the hotel! High angle of Scottie walking up staaaaaairs! Over the shoulder stuff and match on action! Establishing shot of fancy house, and of coast/cliffs, shows variety of places they are travelling to! Close up flowers, going into water High angle of Madeline, low angle of Scottie, shows her weakness in the situation, shows her as vulnerable ! She has low angle shot outside apartment, she has dominance over Scottie! Redwoods, wide shot of huge trees, shows characters insignificance! Dolly zoom on the stairs, shows his vertigo! Camera going around and around the couple (Judy and Scottie) shows his whirring mind, confusion of it all! Repetition of dolly zoom on stairs, repeated action, shows his vertigo again, but he’s pushing through it this time! ! ! SOUND! Unsettling score at the beginning, contrast of music from chase sequence at the beginning and the instrumental music playing in the background of the next scene.! BEAUTIFUL MUSIC!! Ambient sound in bookshop of cars and toots in background! Dramatic score, sudden, when she jumps in the water! Eerie mysterious music playing through car scenes, doesn’t know where she’s leading him! When at the cliffside at the ocean, the score intensifies the scene when she runs away, suspenseful, also strong music to show strong emotions during ‘strong’ kiss ! Romantic score during kiss! Unsettling score when the replay of the night Madeline supposedly died! Slow romantic score again of Scottie and Judy in the hotel, repeated from the kiss?!
- 2. Build up of acre when Judy walks out of bathroom, transformed! Ending, more romantic music , repeated with Judy and Scottie, crescendo of music up stairs! ! ! ! THEMES & MOTIFS! Voyeurism~ peeping tom, spying on other people! Constant theme of Scottie trying to get Judy to change at the end! ! SYMBOLIC CODES (including enigma and binary opposites)! Lots of ocean~ uncontrollable, dangerous, things can be lurking beneath the surface! Binary opposites, the characters are alwaaaaaays wearing opposite colours on the colour palette. ! Waves crashing in background during kiss adds drama to the scene! Contrast of beauty between Midge and Madeline! Stairs represent his mind! Red necklace, repeated imagery of Madeline’s/Judy’s necklace to the necklace in the painting! Similar shot of them driving out of city, of them in the car, maze-like features of the winding roads, except this time its darker, scarier and more mysterious, contrast to previously in sunny car! ! ! ! ! IDEOLOGY! Scottie treating Judy up the stairs badly, thinks of her as a woman as second to her! ! ! ! LIGHTING! Soft lighting used on Madeline's face, makes her sen more beautiful, where as Scotty has quite harsh lighting surrounding his face.! Chiaroscuro lighting used in flower shop, contrast between light and dark, Madeline in high key, Scottie in low key! Dark light in bookshop, talking about death (I think, I forgot?)! Art gallery, Scottie in darkness and shadows, Madeline in light (again)! Many POV shots of Scottie in car, weird mysterious streets he goes down! Red colour filter, of Judy in hotel, something bad is gonna happen! foreshadowing!! Chiaroscuro lighting when its Judy’s silhouette, green and red background, sense of mystery, contrast to Scottie in full warm lighting! Soft fuzzy lighting when Judy and Scottie about to kiss, romantic! Chiaroscuro lighting to show split personality~ up the stairs!
- 3. ! ! ! ! NARRATIVE! Near the end, Scottie isn’t really as crazy as we thought he was ! ! CHARACTERS! REPRESENTATION! Scottie is seen as quite important and high status at some times with the low angles, making him seem powerful, however some points with Judy, he is looked down on when she has more power in the situation over him.! Judy at first is portrayed as quite weak, but she develops throughout the story, and her constant change in colour of clothing shows her mismatched personality, but always opposite to Scottie.! ! ! SETTING & MISE-EN-SCENE! Woman’s green regal dress in the restaurant makes her stand out, against the deep red wallpaper.! Woman is then shown in grey suit, Hitchcock thought it would show good personality contrast from the green dress.! Flowers are highlighting her beauty in the shop.! In his apartment, hes now in green (greed, good, more nature going), she's in red (beauty, death, danger, warning)! Red door between them when they next meet outside his apartment? She’s dressed in white, makes her seem innocent! Long windy roads in thriller films, isolation, you cant see around the corner, anything could happen! Madeline is mysterious, always wearing different outfits, hard to pinpoint her character! Dull colours used in meeting thingy thing or courtroom thingyyy, meant to be boring! Colour palette repetition, other girl in hotel room in green, as Madeline was in the beginning.! Repeated repetition of grey suit, in wardrobe, other people wearing it, Scottie trying to buy the suit for Judy, his obsession over Madeline Judy necklace a big clue, reoccurring ! ! ! ! ! ! MOOD & TONE! Changes constantly throughout the film, can be quite romantic at times with the music, can be quite disorientating with the dolly zooms, and also can be quite dark with the deaths.!
- 4. ! ! ! ! “The most common interpretation of the ending is that, when Judy saw the dark figure of the nun, she thought it was a ghost, recoiled in shock, took a step backwards, and fell. However, in an interview with Kim Novak, Novak's take on it is that Judy threw herself off the tower. She was so desperate to be loved that she had let one man turn her into Madelaine and involve her in a murder because she thought he loved her, then another because she hoped he would love her. When Scottie found out the truth, he told her "It's too late." So when she cried out, "No," it was because she realized that she had just lost her last chance and had nothing left to live for. The nun's arrival merely distracted Scottie long enough for Judy to break away from him and do herself in.”