North By Northwest (1959)

1. By Joseph Ratcliffe North By Northwest (1959)

3. Opening Title Sequence: What's in the frame The title sequence is just below the 2 min mark. It starts of with a plane light green background, this soon changes with lines going across the screen in a diagonal After the lines have fully developed, main actor names come from above the frame, down to the middle, then stays for around 3 or 4 seconds then transitions upwards again. One point that also needs to be noted is that the typeface is in block capitals which makes it stand out, giving the actors and actresses name more emphasis but also accompanies the background music tone.

4. Opening Title Sequence: What’s in the frame (Part II) The last bit of text which boldly states the title of the film. What's interesting is that on the ‘North’ the arrow is pointing northwards and on the ‘Northwest’ the T has an arrow pointing west Another feature to this title sequence which coincides with the text is that a solid white block quickly goes down the screen and then once the text starts to go away the block goes up straight away. Creates fast paced, maybe insinuating that there will be thrills and excitement. Also this has the similar transition as the rest of the title sequence

5. Opening Sequence: Reveal From the title sequence comes a very effective graphic match, with the transition of the numerous lines becoming a city building, this is all during the same screen with the co stars. Also which is noticeable is the reflection that is coming off of the glass which gives the audience the indication that the setting is in a city, most likely somewhere such as New York (assumed by the yellow cabs)

6. Opening Title Sequence: After The Reveal After the graphic match, the title sequence continues, listing the co stars and the rest of the production team. Also along with this is the block is moving in different directions now, which could indicate that the film is just about to start. The building in the background is not a still image, due to the traffic of the cars moving, after the title sequence has finish a transition happens which takes you straight to the street level.

7. Opening Sequence: First scene Also the location starting out in a city is in some cases strange for a thriller, due to some members of audience thinking stereotypically that it should be in a forest or another isolated location. The wide angle also lets the audience grasp the location easier to From the graphic match mentioned in the last slide, the audience gets a wide angle shot, of a busy pedestrian street, the connotation of lots of people in a street, creates a sense of confusion for the audience.

8. Opening Sequence: Next Shot I took this screen shot separate to the others because it clearly shows the text, now I am not sure this is necessary for modern day thrillers but warning the audience of what is going to come could be a very good way of getting them into a false sense of security. Enigma codes are another way of giving little clues, and details away for upcoming scenes within the movie. The scene is done at a high angle of lots of pedestrians making the subjects on show have less stature or making them look insignificant for what is about to happen

9. Opening Sequence: End These screen shots are the last ones of the opening clip, they are very short spanning approximately 2-3 seconds between each one. This short snappiness creates slight confusion due however the audience can understand what is going on at the same time. A key convention which is used in some thriller films is Equilibrium. As you can see these shots are just an everyday scenario, and not much out of the ordinary is happening, this builds tension due to the audience thinking everything is good then shortly after mishaps happen frequently. It drives the audience down a fake path.

10. Opening Sequence: Sound The soundtrack in the opening title sequence is a piece of Orchestral music which is a common convention in a thriller film. It helps create mystery and fear. What North By Northwest does is it starts with the drums and then builds up with the cymbals, the trumpet, after it builds up it then goes back down just to just the violin instrument which creates a bit of mystery but then it suddenly builds up to the crescendo where all the orchestra comes together. This piece goes on for the duration of the 2minute opening sequence and opens up the movie very well.

11. Alfred Hitchcock  "Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else."[ Daily Mail 2007. Creator of North By Northwest. Alfred Hitchcock born in 1899 and died in 1980, was one of the best thriller creators of that generation, and lots of his techniques are still carried out during films of today. He created camera shot types and used innovative film editing.