Sound Within Film

There are two main types of sound within film, diegetic and non-diegetic.
Diegetic sound is sound from within the world of the text. For example, the dialogue between two characters would be classed as diegetic sound.
Diegetic sound can then be broken down into on-screen and off-screen sound; these are rather self-explanatory. On-screen sound is sound that we can see being made, such as the protagonist of a film walking; we can hear the footsteps, and also see the character making them. Off-screen sound is when the sound is being made from somewhere other than the place we can see. The sound, however, is still being made from the world of the text. An example of this is the sound of wildlife.
Non-diegetic sound is the sound that is not from the world of the text, for example narration or background music.
The terms diegetic and non-digetic are not limited to sound; they can be applied to many elements of filmography.

"The Manchurian Candidate", 2004

During lessons, we watched a portion of "Manchurian Candidate", 1962 and the entire 2004 version. We did this to gain greater knowledge of the thriller genre, and to witness the difference between an original film and it's remake.
We began by watching the 1962 version. The film was rather ambiguous, but I managed to grasp the plotline. After watching around 30 minutes of the original, we moved onto the remake.
Instantly, the film differed. The opening scenes were changed, and the 'brain-washing' section of the film wasn't disclosed until later on in the film. In addition, some elements of the original were modernized.
The battle was moved from China to Iraq, and the war was changed from the Korean War to the Gulf War. In addition, the effects provided changed, though mainly due to the difference in the order of events. The original film showed the events in a chronological order; we knew the problem from the beginning and we were following our protagonist who was trying to solve the mystery. In the remake, however, we followed the protagonist's journey of trying to establish want happened; we were kept in the unknown as much as the character. In a sense, this allowed us to become more attached with the central characters.
Although the film can generally be categorised as a thriller, it can also be placed into various sub-genres. These include: paranoid thriller, political thriller, and Greek tragedy. The Greek tragedy genres links back to the Oedipus complex within the film. The Oedipus complex is is a group of largely unconscious (dynamically repressed) ideas and feelings which concentrate on the desire to possess the parent of the opposite sex and eliminate the parent of the same sex. The psychoanalytic theory is named after the Greek myth of Oedipus who, unknowingly, kills his father and marries his mother.
One reason why the film is classed as a thriller is the dramatics. The director wanted to exaggerate the film, meaning that everything would be sadder, darker and stranger than real life.
Moreover, Tak Fujimoto, the remake's cinematographer, changed the death of Senator Jordan. Fujimoto, and the rest of the crew, had Senator Jordan drown instead of being shot. The crews reasoning for the change was to show the drowning of the main characters through the death of the Senator. In addition, the environment was also symbolic; the fog represented the lack of clarity with the characters.

Key Elements of a Thriller

After watching North By Northwest, I feel as though I am able to recite the main elements of a thriller.
The first of these is a MacGuffin. A MacGuffin is a device used to allow the story to progress. The MacGuffin, however, is normally an item that is irrelevant, with regards to the plot. Moreover, the MacGuffin is usually something that is sought after, especially during the opening few scenes of the film. The importance of the MacGuffin withers as the movie progresses, with the characters coming to the forefront.
In North By Northwest, the MacGuffin is the microfilm that is stashed away inside an antique. The microfilm, while ambiguous as to its definition, is Vandamm's reason for success and money. While the characters fight it out to gain hold of the microfilm, the story behind the scene becomes lost within the action and chaos.

A second element is the red herring; a red herring is a device which distracts the viewer, subsequently knocking them off of their train of thought. The red herring is practically a decoy, which fools us into believing what we have seen. The truth is then revealing later in the film. In North By Northwest, the Red Herring is the scene in which Eve Kendall shoots Roger Thornhill with a pistol. We believe that Miss Kendall has actually shot our protagonist, however, we soon find out our focal character was not shot. This device is useful, and helps maintain the viewers interest and attention.

A fundamental part of a thriller is suspense. Without it, thrillers would be highly ineffective. Suspense enables the viewer to experience a wide range of emotions and be involved in the film. Suspense runs hand in hand with tension, and Hitchcock was a master of creating both. Tense scenes within North By Northwest include the Auction scene, and the famous Crop Duster scene.

A further element is the villain. The villain plays a main role in creating the plot; the villainous character generally is attempting to gain some sort of power or money. They create a problem, and pose a threat to either society as a whole, or to a handful of people. A hero is then found, and they try to halt the plans of the villain. On the whole, without a villain, there would be no plot. The villain could be either a person, a corporation, or even some alien race. The villain can be pretty much anything. In North By Northwest, the devious character creating problems is Phillip Vandamm, who originally poses as Lester Townsend. The villain is generally mysterious and enigmatic; Vandamm's mistaken identity corroborates with my previous point.

North by Northwest - Crop Duster Scene

The above scene is extremely famous. It's highly regarded for its use of tension and suspense, and is viewed as the best sequence in the film.

The scene begins with a high angled, extreme wide shot. This sets the scene, and tells the viewer where the action is taking place; we are at a barren crossroads, miles away from civilization, where only buses and a few cars pass. Instantly, we can sense something is not correct. Why would our protagonist meet someone at such a strange and odd place? We, as the viewer, become suspicious.
We see who we believe to be Thornhill leave the bus. As the shot is from a large distance, the opening is ambiguous and polysemous.

A change in shot confirms our thoughts, and we see Thornhill standing anxiously, waiting for the arrival of George Kaplan. A movie can also be known as Film Photography, thus I find it relevant to comment on the photographical aspect of the sequence. The new camera shot, which has a slightly low vantage point, obeys the rule of thirds; Thornhill is situated roughly a third into the image. This means that the image provided is interesting - our attention is captured, and we are becoming fixated on the events.

The camera cuts away to a few very wide shots, almost Thornhill's point of view. These emphasize of Thornhill's loneliness, making the viewer slightly tense.

A car is then heard, and we begin to suspect that something will happen. Has Miss Kendall betrayed Thornhill? Is whoever is in this car dangerous, and do they pose a threat to our central character? The car whizzes past, making the audience breathe a sigh of relief. We then return to the wide angle shots, showing the deserted distance.

Our relief is short lived, as we see another car coming towards Thornhill. The questions run through our minds, and we once again become scared for our innocent hero. The car continues past Thornhill, and although our fears are alleviated, we become curious as to who the mysterious George Kaplan is, and if he is actually going to meet Thornhill.

After a large truck zooms past, Thornhill spots a car appear out from behind the tall crops. Instantly, we think that Townsend, who is later revealed as Vandamm, has set his minions the task of assassinating Thornhill. We urge Thornhill to move, run away, or do something. Instead, he remains stationary, which we believe is a mistake. A man then gets out from the car, and the car reverses off. The unknown man stops, and looks round, spotting Thornhill. Has the predator found his prey?

Thornhill then walks over to the man. To us viewers, it seems as though he is walking to his death. We're hoping that this man turns out to be a passer-by and not a murderer. We begin to doubt our original thoughts, and become suspicious and paranoid.
The man is revealed to be a normal guy, who is waiting for his bus. Before he departs, he states that the crop duster plane is flying over an area without any crops. We think nothing of this at the time, and we watch as the bus begins to travel away.

Immediately the plane heads towards Thornhill, flying very low. We think back to what the man said, and realise that this plane is out to kill the central character. The plane misses, and keeps returning, firing bullets near Thornhill, but thankfully missing. We're both shocked and anxious; we don't want to see our hero dead.

Thornhill runs into the crops, where he cannot be seen. Thinking he is safe, we relax. But Thornhill is forced out of the crops by the fertiliser dropped by the plane.

Spotting an oncoming truck, Thornhill runs and stops in it's path. The truck barely stops in time, knocking our hero to his feet. We then get a glimpse of the plane swerving through the air, out of control. We wonder if the plane will hit the front of the truck, where Thornhill is, or the back. It does the latter.

A large explosion fills the screen, and the drivers are seen leaving the vehicle. Thornhill follows, and we see a few small trucks arrive and come to a halt. With the new arrivals distracted, Thornhill jumps into a truck and speeds away.

The viewer feels pleased that Thornhill is safe, yet more confused as Kaplan becomes even more enigmatic.

North by Northwest - An Overview

North By Northwest is a film directed by the legendary Alfred Hitchcock. Produced in 1959, the motion picture starred man-of-the-moment Cary Grant, and the attractive Eva Marie Saint. Writer of the film, Ernest Lehman wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures".

The plot consists of Madison Avenue Advertising Executive, Roger Thornhill being taken to a large mansion by two minions of a powerful villain. Soon after Thornhill arrives at the large mansion, we find out that he has been mistaken for a Mr. George Kaplan. Confused, Thornhill decides against co-operating with the villain, who he identifies as Lester Townsend, and is consequently made dangerously drunk. He is then placed in a moving car by Townsend's minions; Thornhill suddenly comes around, and manages to drive the car to safety. However, this safety came at a price, and Thornhill was charged by the police for drink driving. Thornhill proclaims his innocence and tells the police, judge, and mother what happened. But no one believed him, especially after a woman at Townsend's mansion creates an elaborate story, in which Thornhill became drunk, and then left the residency.

Thornhill's confusion spurs him on to establish the truth. He and his mother head to Kaplan's hotel room, and discover that no one has seen the ambiguous Mr. Kaplan. Thornhill exits the hotel, after outwitting the minions that are lurking around, waiting to capture him. Thornhill heads to the United Nations building, to confront Mr. Townsend. On arrival, Thornhill notices that Mr. Townsend is not the same person as before. Whilst explaining the situation to Townsend, Thornhill spots a villainous henchman. The henchman then launches a knife into the back of Townsend, killing him, and leaving Thornhill as the prime suspect.

Thornhill flees and ends up hiding on a long-distance train journey. On the journey, he meets the lovely Miss Eve Kendall. She woos him, and helps him stay hidden. They share a night together, and are seemingly loved up. However, we see our uber villain receive a note from Eve Kendall, indicating that she is in on this scandalous affair. After safely negotiating his way out of trouble, Kendall provides Thornhill with specific instructions on meeting Kaplan. Following these instructions, Thornhill ends up at an empty crossroad.

Suddenly, a small plane flies close to our protagonist, firing bullets. Panicking, Thornhill hides in the tall crops. He remains there until pesticides are dropped, forcing him out. Thornhill acts desperately, and motions for a large truck to stop, which it barely does. The pilot of the small plane loses control and flies into one of the tanks of the truck, which explodes. Thornhill, who remains unhurt, then flees using a stopped passer-by's car.

Arriving at Kaplan's supposed hotel, Thornhill spots Kendall and follows her to her room. Whilst in there, Kendall receives a call and notes an address. She then sneaks out whilst Thornhill is pretending to shower. Thornhill then uses a pencil technique to find the address. Knowing the address, Thornhill sets off to find Miss Kendall.

He arrives at the address, which is an auction house, in which he finds Miss Kendall, our villain's minions, and the villain himself. It now becomes apparent that Kendall works for the villain. From the bidding, we, and Thornhill discover the villain's name - Mr Vandamm. Thornhill tries to leave, but is blocked out by Vandamm's men. He then draws attention to himself, being a nuisance in the auctions, and is taken away by police. Whilst travelling to the police station, the driver gets a call, and they travel to the airport instead.

At the airport, Thornhill meets a older man, known as the Professor. The Professor tells Thornhill that George Kaplan doesn't exist, and that he has been trailing Vandamm for a while now. He also tells Thornhill that Kendall is an undercover agent, who is now at risk.

The film skips to Mount Rushmore, where Kendall walks into the large cafeteria, accompanied by Vandamm and his most loyal slave. Thornhill asks to see Vandamm, and he tells him that he knows where he is heading, and will turn a blind-eye, providing he takes Miss Kendall. The conversation breaks down, and Thornill approaches Kendall, who shoots him and flees. Thornhill is then driven away.

We then see the car stop in the woods, and Thornhill gets out of the car. He walks over, and sees Miss Kendall. They both apologise for earlier actions. The bombshell is then dropped that Kendall is travelling with Vandamm later that evening, never seeing Thornhill again. The pair are then separated.

Thornhill is then placed in a hospital, and escapes. He uses a taxi to get to Vandamm's appartment, and listens in on Vandamm and his minion's conversation. The conversation consisted on the minion discovering the gun used to shoot Thornhill - the gun was full of blanks. Vandamm realises that Kendall is working against him, and says that he will dispose of her in the air. Hearing this, Thornhill sets about telling Kendall.

Kendall is told of Vandamm's plan, yet is dragged to the entrance of the plane. She escapes and runs away with Thornhill. The pair then travel as fast as they can, until they reach Mount Rushmore. They begin to scale down it, followed by two of Vandamm's men. One man falls off, and Kendall slips. Thornhill tries to reach her, and slips himself. They are both dangling hundreds of feet in the air, and only Thornhill's hand is keeping them alive. The second of Vandamm's henchmen reach the duo, and proceeds in stepping on Thornhill's hand. A gun shot is heard, and the henchman falls out of sight.

The duo are next seen together on a train, kissing passionately.

From the plot, we can see that North By Northwest is a highly exciting, fast-paced movie, with many twists and turns in the storyline. Hitchcock leaves us second-guessing and reassessing our beliefs as to who is who, and what is what. We are led down many paths, and then redirected into another rollercoaster ride of action and drama.

My next blog post will be detailing how Hitchcock provides the viewer with thrills during some of the most exciting scenes of the film.