Vertigo:

Question 1

What was The Production Code general principles ?

Answer 1

• No picture shall be produced which will lower the moral standards of those who see it, sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime
• Correct standards of living shall be presented
• Law, natural or human, shall no be ridiculed nor shall sympathy be created

Question 2

What are the 12 Particular Applications ?

Answer 2

• Crimes against the law
• Sex
• Vulgarity
• Obscenity
• Profanity
• Costume
• Dances
• Religion
• Locations
• National Feelings
• Titles
• Repellent subjects

Question 3

What is The Production Code ?

Answer 3

A moral code that governed mid-20th century American filmmaking and was the 1st attempt at introducing censorship in the US

Question 4

What are the 4 key study areas for Vertigo ?

Answer 4

• Film form
• Context
• Meaning & Response
• Auteur

Question 5

What is Classical Hollywood ?

Answer 5

Approx. 1930-1967
- Regulation via the production code
- Vertically integrated studio system

Question 6

Who was Saul Bass ?

Answer 6

The artist who designed the poster and title sequence for Vertigo

Question 7

What was the main principles of Bass’s work ?

Answer 7

• distilled ideas: condensing complex ideas into minimal images using 3-4 colours
• Bass manged to create a single visual statement that is both provocative and natural to the movie itself
• Bass’s posters are known for their use of negative space

Question 8

What is ‘The Male Gaze’ ?

Answer 8

Refers to the way women are objectified by the camera lens from a heterosexual male’s point of view
- This is because men were in control of the production process and made decisions that appealed to their own values and interests

Question 9

What are Hitchcock’s Visionary Cinematic Languages ?

Answer 9

• Character dynamics: Scottie’s object of desire, Madeline is intensifies by the size of the image
• Repetition: repetition of visual motifs ties with the narrative cyclical structure represented

Question 10

What are Hitchcock’s Rules of Visual Storytelling ?

Answer 10

1. Start scene with a long shot which comes closer as the scene progresses
2. The size of the image in the frame is proportional to it’s importance to the story at that time
3. Hands convey a single idea, simply convey to the audience