2 Alfred Hitchcock films

Strangers on a train&

The wrong man

Codes and conventions

Codes• Technical codeThis is shown through angles, lighting etc.An example of this is the characters emotions through the weather, such as cloudy and rainy weather reflects a bad mood on the characters

• Symbolic codeIf the character wears red this symbolises passion or anger and white symbolises purity and innocence.

Conventions• Conventions is things

included in that genre.For example in a school there would be books and classrooms, with students and teachers,

Strangers on a trainStrangers on a Train is a 1951 American film

It was produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock

based on the novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith

Bruno meets Guy on the train and becomes obsessed with him. Bruno knows the situation of Guy wanting to end his relationship with his wife. Bruno then tells Guy that he will kill Guy’s wife if guy kills Bruno's dad. Bruno then kills Guy’s wife but Guy is shocked and confused thinking it was a joke and tries to get away from Bruno.

• In this film Hitchcock would use fast pace music which would give the effect of running and keeping the audience engaged with the film.

• There were also lots of two-shots in this film, this was to always show the different reactions to how the story played out. It also kept the audience aware of how the characters were feeling

• Hitchcock used the mise-en-scene as a way to reflect the characters feelings, for example when the character was feeling angry and upset it would be raining.

• Hitchcock also keeps the lighter as a symbol for the connection between the two main characters.

The wrong manThe Wrong Man is a 1956 film

The film is based on a true story of an innocent man charged for a crime he did not commit.

Manny Balestrero is wrongly accused of several robberies that were really committed by a-look-alike. Trying to win the case he wife goes mad and has to be put into an asylum.

• In this film Hitchcock used the innocent, ordinary man put in a life threatening situation dilemma.

• He used a lot of close up which made it clear to the audience how the character was feeling through their facial expressions

• The characters feelings were also reflected through the mise-en-scene in this film because when the character felt alone he was in the prison, in a cell, on his own

• Also when the character ‘Manny’ was in the cell the camera was panning around the face which suggest disorientation and confusion