Alfred Hitchcock Techniques

Alfred Hitchcock in order to be one of the best directors of his generation Alfred Hitchcock had to have a few unique methods of directing that set him apart from the rest, these techniques in later years will be implemented in various ways and in countless amounts of productions.The techniques that i will be explaining are the MacGuffin, Red Herring and an Enigma. these interesting touches to the movie that Hitchcock has directed are another indication of the cinematic mastermind that he was.

MacGuffin - The MacGuffin is defined as the element of the plot that catches the attention of the viewer, it can also be used to drive the plot of a work of fiction. the specific nature of the MacGuffin may be ambiguous or generic an example of this may be a quest for money, glory or revenge but later declines in importance as the audience is more interested and in tune with how the character fulfils their purpose, but it later comes back in to play to bring a climax to the film. this technique is mostly used in thrillers. In regards to the film North by North West the MacGuffin in that film is the Microfilm that become significant close to the end of the film.

Red Herring - A Red Herring is another way in which Alfred Hitchcock adds excitement and suspense.To his thriller films, a Red Herring is described as being a clue that purposefully or non purposefully distracting the audience from the actual issue in the film and causes them to be later surprised because of the unpredictability of the film a Red Herring can be show in the form of leading the audience in a particular direction but later finding out that the climax is completely different to what would be normal. In the Thriller movie Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock the Red Herring in that film is the audience is lead to believe that  the mother of the character Norman Bates was responsible for the murder of the main female character Marion Crane but it turns out to be Mr Bates himself whom .was responsible f.or the killings.

Enigma - An Enigma is defined as puzzling of mysterious occurrence or situation, The job of the audience is .to solve the puzzle or mystery before the film comes to an end. this is a very effective way of adding more thrill to the film and getting the audience to be more involved and more immersed in the film.