Thrillers [Vertigo]

Vertigo-Opening Credits

·         VistaVision name flashes

·         Half-face close up of a woman [like an examination]

·         Camera moves to full face then mouth

·         Eyes look right then left (she’s scared)

·         Tears in her eyes

·         Once camera is on eyes, more detail is given about her face (more light is seen)

·         Moves to her right eye (as audience: ask-is she prey or predator?)

·         Eye widens extremely so [prey not predator]

·         Maybe audience feels she has been under duress

·         Pupil/iris colour are not seen (dark, black) [black eyes are scarier to audience]

·         Whole sequence this far is on a black screen/background

·         Music is orchestral

·         Violins act like you are falling down or curious [relates back to film title]

·         From our POV of eye, face gets a bit of colour [from black and white] but moves past to bright red (adds to sense of fear)

·         From pupil comes a title, Alfred Hitchcock…etc.

·         Note: titles do not obstruct view of illusions

·         From the eye comes spinning images and the face/eye fades away

·         Spinning images gives ‘falling down the rabbit hole’-feel

·         Illusions give a hypnotising/consuming feel

·         Once illusions consume face/page the music changes

·         Music still had ‘falling’ feel but the swells in the music are not as forceful, erratic, and sudden

·         Music swells but in a different fashion [more elongated, less of a quick burst]