"If it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on".
-Alfred Hitchcock
How does Hitchcock do it? The bottom line... manipulation.
The entirety of the film industry is centered around manipulation. Whether we choose to acknowledge this fact or not, it still remains proven true. People see movies because they love to be entertained but the world of cinema is a competition. Whoever can be the most in control of how their audience feels during and after a movie has won the manipulation competition. It all comes down to one key technique... manipulation. However in the the world of cinema it takes a lot more than facial expressions and a lie to convince an audience.
Manipulation as a general concept tends to not leave us feeling the best but this doesn't tend to follow the same pattern when it comes to cinema. Once the curtain is drawn back on manipulation in a film, it doesn't leave us feeling used but rather impressed with the director's skill and technique to make us feel a certain way. The more we understand the techniques of a director, the more we can appreciate their work and enjoy our viewing experience.
Suspence Versus Shock
Hitchcock has truly mastered suspense, but he also knows how to bring in the perfect amount of shock. Shock is a short lived reaction to a scene, in which we are not expecting the huge turn of events. Examples of shock include something exploding, or a dog jumping out at the screen. This technique is often referred to as the "bomb effect". The counterpart of shock is suspense, as it draws upon the viewer knowing more than the characters in the scene. The viewers see the danger but have no way to warn the characters. Thus leaving the viewers in a state of tension. This method is very effective in drawing people into a film and making then stay. This is truly a staple of Hitchcock's films. This technique is a fantastic asset to manipulating an audience and getting them sucked into a film, but directors have to have a balance, and Hitchcock has mastered this balance as he uses shock in some of his films to build up suspense in a scene.
Point of View
Point of view is a critical piece in engaging an audience. Depending on the content of the film, there are several different ways to utilize point of view to create the perfect scene. Hitchcock was one of the first to master this technique. His eye for camera angles allowed him to create drastically different feelings on screen. An incredible example of this is used in his film"Rear Window". In this film whether we notice or not, Hitchcock places our view of the film into the eyes of the main character to help us to fully embody the movie and really feel what is happening in the scene. Other important parts of point of view are noticing in the scene what is the focal point of attention. This guides us to think - whether consciously or not - whatever is largest in the scene by correlation carries the most value. Hitchcock places incredible value on making sure we, as the audience, feel sucked in and interested in the film. He places very heavy emphasis on what we as viewers are experiencing and this is the basis of point of view. He manipulates us into feeling and viewing the film the way he wants us too by telling our eyes what to see and how to see it.
Diegetic/ Non-diegetic Music
Hitchcock's first several films were silent so he was able to master his story telling skills with only visuals. He firmly believes that you can tell a story with incredible skill solely with the eyes. However the introduction of audio only enhances the effectiveness of the scene. Since Hitchcock didn't need audio to portray to his audience his story, it was only used to enhance the visual feel of the scene. Background music really helps to enhance the mood of a scene and highlight specific themes in the film. Diegetic music comes from an object in a scene it is something the characters can hear as well, for example, a car horn or music from a record player. But diegetic music is one that we can hear but the characters may not signaling to us something is about to happen, but not warning the character thus creating suspense. The video to the right is a good example of the effectiveness of non-diegetic music and how it effects ones perception of a scene. You can tell from the little clips the general theme of the scene, but the music helps you to feel whats happening with the characters. The thing about diegetic/non-diegetic music is unless you are paying extreme attention you may not even notice the effect it's having on you or the way the director has placed the music in specific time. This can really enforce the suspense or shock of a scene, to guide you into feeling a certain way if the overall visual effect isn't enough. Audio is truly the icing on the cake of film to really just solidify the mood.