Sound Exercise

.
This short video is based on two friends, but have now turned into enemies. Hayden had constantly borrowed Taju money, however every single time Taju had failed to pay him back. Hayden has had enough and is willing to do anything to get his money back from Taju.

We used a range of different sound techniques from diegetic and non diegetic sound, parallel sound, contrapuntal sound, on/off screen sound and also a sound bridge.

Diegetic & non diegetic sound : diegetic sound is sound in which comes from the story world, this includes a conversation or footsteps, although footsteps can be added in. The diegetic sound used in this exercise is the confrontation with Taju and Hayden. Conversely, non-diegetic sound is sound which has been added in for example a sound track or narrator (voice over) In the exercise we did not use any voice overs but I did use a sound track at the start which created a dramatic effect and warned us that something bad was going to happen.


Parallel/Contrapuntal Sound

Parallel sound is sound that matches the action. In the exercise we used parallel sound at 0:24 seconds where Hayden bumped into Taju. This matched the action because we could already tell Hayden was angry and the way he bumped into Taju was on purpose. We also used contrapuntal sound, this is the opposite to parallel sound, this is sound that doesn't match the action. In this exercise I used contrapuntal sound where Taju was walking along dancing and the sound was dark and scary, which reveals that something bad may happen to Taju, watching on it revealed that this was true.

On/Off Screen Sound

 On screen sound where sound occurs on screen, this can be either a conversation or something being dropped where the viewer can see the action happening. I used this at the point where the confrontation happened between Hayden and Taju. I also used off screen sound, again this is the opposite to on screen and this sound that comes from the world of the story however the audience cannot see where this is coming from.  I used off screen sound at  0:45- 1:20. It started off with foot steps, followed by dialling of a phone and then dialogue, the viewers can hear the source of the sound but cannot see it.



We were able to capture the sound effectively using a microphone which was positioned just above the camera, but not to far down so it came into the camera frame or shot, this was used in order to make sure that characters were heard effectively.

Some of the positive things we did well in this exercise was the on / off screen sound and the contrapuntal sound. However I feel there was needs for improvement with the sound bridge that was used. I also used a sound bridge at 0:44, the previous scene had footsteps of Taju and Hayden and it then carried on into the next scene which started off with footsteps of Taju running. However I believe that I could improve this feature to make it run more smoothly and editing it more precisely.

Rope by Alfred Hitchcock

Rope is a thriller made by Alfred Hitchcock in 1948. It stared some of the most famous actors of that time era. This included James Stewart, John Dall and Farley Granger.
- Background Information
Rope is adapted from Patrick Hamilton's 1929 play in which itself was said to be based on the grisly Leopold and Loeb case of 1924.  Nathan Leopold and Richard Leob were upper-class Chicago law students who murdered a teenage boy.
Like snobbish Brandon and Philip in Hitchcock's Rope film, the real-life murders considered themselves Nietzchean superman whose superiority of intellect exempted them from laws that govern the rest of us. 
An example of this is where Brandon claims; "Good and evil, right and wrong were invented for the ordinary average man, the inferior man, because he needs them," This shows his deluded mastermind of the murder, he had committed.  




Alfred Hitchcock- The director, was named "The Master of Suspense" and pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. He was born in August 13 1899 in Leytonstone, East London and died in April 29, 1980 in Bel-Air Los Angelees. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--T65WxZqR4 - The trailer of Rope is effective because it features the worlds most famous stars of the time. However I believe that the trailer gives away a lot f the story and the main plot. Additionally it appeals to the audience because of its enigmatic trailer, which features a short scene between a young man and his fiance, declares, "That's the last time she'll ever see him alive. And that's the last time You'll ever see him alive"This draws attention and makes the audience engaged and want to watch it. 


- Opening Scene 

The opening scene starts off to be a normal atmosphere, and then slowly zooms in to a window that looks dull and doomy. Suddenly we then see two men straggling the life out of another man until he finally comes to his dead. They then put him in his coffin. At this point the audience are wondering how exactly it got to that point and why. The dark room and the music suggest that this is a crime of passion and has been committed for run. 

Sound:
It begins with dull non digetic sound from a sound track which would normally be used to create tension and mystery. It then pauses for a moment and we hear a loud scream of a man, which is diegetic sound and then the non diegetic sound track continues to play over. As the scene progresses we hear one of the two men using dialogue and  say "open it" portraying that they are going to put the dead body into the chest. The little use of dialogue from the start of the scene creates a thrill and suspense as the audience are left wondering what will happen next. Dialogue then continues to progress throughout the rest of the sequence and the audience begins to become more layed back and get to understand more of what is happening and what is going on between the two men. Later on one of the men say "Philip, its the darkness that has got you down" this suggests that the other man has never committed a crime like this before and may have been mislead and persuaded by the other man.

Miss En Scene: The scene starts off with bright lighting looking above and viewing people walking down the road, which sets the setting for the audience, now the audience are begging to settle in with their surroundings they are slowly dragged away from the view and brought to a dark grey wall and window which is closed and covered by curtains. This suddenly creates mixed emotions for the viewers because they now feel confused at why they are looking at a window and want to know what may be happening inside. Followed by the scream, the audience are now made to look at what is inside the house, where they now see two men struggling another man. The audience are now horrified not only by the sudden change of atmosphere but by the horrid imagery they are being made to look at. It is set in a dark room which instantly suggests the brutality and danger of the crime they have committed. As the audience are made to get an understanding of the characters we see that they are both dressed in suits which suggests they are high class, and confuses the audience as people of high class are not usually put with crimes of passion. Throughout the rest of the scene they continue to stay in darkness until one of the men opens the curtains and reveal a beautiful view. One of the men appear confident and strongly feel as though nothing will happen and appear as if they are dominate and powerful compared to the other man who appears as the more vulnerable character and the weakling for being worried about what they have just done.

Camera: The camera angle starts off with a high angle shot of a street and with people walking across which makes them appear vulnerable and as if the audience are looking down on them. It then goes into a tilt shot as we are suddenly dragged to look at a wall. As we enter the house, we get a close up of a man being strangled, which is then zoomed out so we can see the two characters strangling him.  It then stays at a medium shot, where we cannot see much around and then fades into a long shot of one of the men opening the curtains and then concludes the opening sequence.

Editing: The opening sequence has one cut in total which lasts the whole duration of the opening sequence, this is used in order to build up the dramatic effect onto the audience and so that the audience is made to get to grips with the setting and the characters. By using one cut for the whole of the opening sequence is allows the audience to stay focused and pay more attention to the surroundings. However Rope was filmed in 1948, and it could also be a possibility that they did not have the right equipment and enough time to add so many cuts into the sequence.



Hitchcock analyses the different between mystery and suspense.

Thriller conventions in Rope

In rope the "resourceful hero who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains" is Rupert who figures out that Brandon and Philip were acting a percuilar and then in the end found out it was because they had murdered David, for the sake of murdering. Rupert destroys their plans of getting away, and shots fire outside of the window so that the people walking along would notice, call police and then finally arrest Brandon and Philip.   

Suspense 

Hitchcock uses devices such as suspense to make the audience feel an emotional process and a range of different feelings. To build up the suspense Hitchcock gave the audience information to build the suspense levels.  An example of this, is when Mrs.Wilson is clearing the books from the table and slowly goes to open the coffin, as Rupert stops her and says he will take care of it. http://ffilms.org/rope-1948/     This builds extreme suspense for the audience, as we fear she will find out that David's lifeless body had been in there the whole time. The audience go through a range of different thoughts and emotions, even though it had only lasted a few seconds. 

Throughout the whole film Hitchcock builds suspense by telling the audience from the start that there is a murder,from here the audience are on edge at what is going to happen next and if they are going to get caught. This is because the main plot has already been revelled to us, yet Hitchcock uses suspense to keep the audience engaged at the right times. 

Red Herringsr


Cliff Hangers 

Hitchcock also used Cliff hangers as a devices, he uses cliff hangers so the audience are in awe, and are left to answer the situation and imagine what will happen next. This gets the audience thinking different thoughts and ideas of what could happen next. An example of where Hitchcock uses a cliff hanger is the ending where Rupert shoots the gun into the air, and everyone goes is wondering where that sound has come from, and sirens are sounded. The audience believe that this is the end and Brandon and Philip are going to be arrested and taken to jail, however we can't always be so sure. http://ffilms.org/rope-1948/


Dramatic irony 

In Rope, the audience know that Philip and Brandon have killed David and put his body in the trunk. The fact that we know and the characters do not makes it effective because, we are constantly on edge wondering what is going to happen next and if the characters are going to find out. This builds tension and suspense. However I believe it wouldn't have been as effective if the audience did not know. This is because there would not have been any tension or suspense to build up. 


Technical Features

Hitchcock wanted the film to be a continuous play. He pretended Rope was a one short film: an experiment in real time, continuous-take cinema. He filmed in 10 minute sequences. This was successful as the audience do not see any of the equipment used or any of the people filming. However it is noticeable when the scene changes. 

- Hitchcock's camera was loaded with 10-minute reels, and had to duck behind an actor's back, or a piece of furniture, to "invisibly" cut from one piece of film to the next. 

Hitchcock uses this style of editing to build claustrophobic strength. The coffin/chest is rarely out of shot and the camera follows the actors around every square inch of the confined set. This gives the illusion of the characters feeling trapped as well as the audience, as we later learn that Philip and Brandon are both trapped and have no way out of what they have done. 

Hitchcock's cinematic experiment tries to replicate being at a live performance in the theatre. Therefore Hitchcock wanted it to have a live atmosphere and have the audience at suspense at not knowing what could happen next, or if the characters were to do something unexpected such as open the chess. 


Classic Hollywood Narrative - In 'Rope' the classic Hollywood Narrative has not be used. This is because events do not happen in chronological order, at the start of the film the big event had already been rivalled to us, which is the murder of David. Throughout the rest of the film the audience are left to guess what will happen next and be left in awe wondering whether Philip or Brandon will be caught for their crime. 

Vladimir Propp-   The villains of 'Rope' are Brandon and Philip as they have both murdered David, and the hero is Rupert as he discovers what they have done and makes sure that justice for them will be served. 

Roland Barthes- 'Rope' is a closed text as everything is resolved in the end and Philip and Brandon get their justice.

Rope also follows the Three Act Structure with the typical Hollywood narrative (set up 25% of the time) /confrontation (50%) /climax - Final (25% of the film time)


Representation in Rope


'Rope' links to Levi Strauss' idea of binary opposition. In the film we are shown that Philip and Brandon are more dominant and supreme, rather than David who was shown as a subordinate group and a weaker male. This representation was negative as Philip and Brandon are criminals who have just committed a murder.

 The Male Gaze 

In 1975 Laura Mulvey came with with the theory of the 'male gaze' This is the idea that women are viewed as the objects of male erotic desire, in the film and also to the audience. Additionally that men are represented as powerful/villains or hero's and women are easily controlled.

In rope this theory applies as the audience are shown Janet to be a young attractive woman who is known for her past and current relationships. Philip and Brandon work together to be the villains of the film, and Rupert is the hero who investigates what really happened and discovers that Philip and Brandon are murders. Just like Mulvey's theory, there are no women who are the villains/hero's or any women who move the plot forward.

Group Representations

Philip and Brandon are both gay yet there was no specific mention of Brandon or Philip being gay however I have inferred this. In Rope no-one seems to mind that Brandon and Philip are gay, and are treated the same as everyone else which is a positive representation.


Camera Work 





In this scene we can see all the cut transitions from one scene to another. 'Rope' is often described as the film with no editing and a film that plays out in real time. However, it had to hide the cuts due to the 10 minute film reel limits of the day. Therefore in order to do so, they had to zoom into an object and zoom back out to change their angle or position. 
'Rope' uses a range of different camera techniques such as movement, low tilt, deep focus, over the shoulder and close ups, point of view, and medium shot.