Comments on: Alfred Hitchcock – Sound – Film – and New Media http://joel-mark-witt.com/blog/2007/alfred-hitchcock-sound-film-and-new-media/ Meaningful Lives Don't Happen By Accident Sun, 13 Mar 2011 01:24:23 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: dAVID w. http://joel-mark-witt.com/blog/2007/alfred-hitchcock-sound-film-and-new-media/comment-page-1/#comment-96 dAVID w. Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:53:20 +0000 http://joel-mark-witt.com/blog/?p=111#comment-96 Speaking as filmmaker, I do agree that sound can shape our perceptions of what we see, but you are missing Hitchcock's point (and the point of most good directors and many film theorists): films which rely too heavily on dialog to tell the story are completely wasting the power of the medium. Why tell the audience something when you can show it to them? After all, films were silent for about 30 years before the advent of sound on film, and intertitles were not used in all silent movies, and those film that did use intertitles did so minimally. People watching these movies were not confused by the story. Most silent films still stand up to viewing today without confusing the audience. Also, Hitchcock did not despise sound or ignore it in his films. He made quite effective use of it; in fact, he stands out among his contemporaries in his innovative use of sound. Example: a woman screams in close-up which cuts to a train passing by. The train whistle over both shots becomes an auditory joke, but one that relies on the VISUALS to make the joke. Speaking as filmmaker, I do agree that sound can shape our perceptions of what we see, but you are missing Hitchcock’s point (and the point of most good directors and many film theorists): films which rely too heavily on dialog to tell the story are completely wasting the power of the medium. Why tell the audience something when you can show it to them? After all, films were silent for about 30 years before the advent of sound on film, and intertitles were not used in all silent movies, and those film that did use intertitles did so minimally. People watching these movies were not confused by the story. Most silent films still stand up to viewing today without confusing the audience.

Also, Hitchcock did not despise sound or ignore it in his films. He made quite effective use of it; in fact, he stands out among his contemporaries in his innovative use of sound. Example: a woman screams in close-up which cuts to a train passing by. The train whistle over both shots becomes an auditory joke, but one that relies on the VISUALS to make the joke.

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