SOUND
In the chase scene on the rooftops the sound of the gunshots are emphasised and made dominantly loud to emphasise the chase and sense of danger. This is supported by the non-diagetic sound track which is very loud and peaks in random places to make the audience jump and creates a fast pace so that the audience can immediately infer it's a chase scene and grasp the danger that Hitchcock wants to create. Other diagetic sounds in this scene are emphasised too for example the sound of the breaking guttering holding the male protagonist up. The sound of it breaking is made loud to emphasise it is the vital piece holding him from his death.
The non diagetic soundtrack is used to foreground the protagonists fear of height (vertigo) by every time he looks down the sound track peaks to emphasise it's importance.
CAMERA WORK
This openeing scene features a technique that at the time was a new in terms of camerawork; the reverse zoom. Created by Hitchcock, this technique was repeated several times throughout "Vertigo" to emphasised the fear evoked the male protagonist when he looked down. Below is a video example of reverse zoom, the first two are reverse zooms from Hitchcock's "Vertigo" and the others are examples from other films after Hitchcock first used it.
BELOW: The first example of reverse zoom used in "Vertigo" which at the time wasa new camera technique devised by Alfred Hitchcock.
An Extreme Close Up of the charatcer's face tracks across and suggests some of the themes inside the film. The XCU really invades the personal space of the character and the personal features of characters are something exploited throughout the film. It also in ways masks the character as we can not distinguish who she is and the theme of being masked and hidden identity is a dominant theme later in the film as well. This use of an XCU helps to suggest themes that will later appear in the film.
BELOW: XCU of a females face which hides her identity and also asks questions about who she is and why she is there.
As the chase begins the three characters are followed via a panning shot over the rooftops and this establishes where they are and what is happening without narration or explanation as to where they are. It also establishes the characters as small in comparison to the powerful buildings.
When the male protagonist looks down a birds eye view is used when the reverse zoom is shown to enforce the height of the building and also his vertigo. Close ups are then used to show his fear on his face. This combination of reverse zoom followed by the CU of the protagonist's face establishes the protagonists fear of vertigo which is to dominate throughout the film.
MISE EN SCENE
During the extreme close up at the beginning of the opening when the camera reaches the right eye of the female we as an audience are looking at the black and white screen is flooded with red as the eye expresses a sense of fear through body language and facial expression. This use of the colour changing from black and white to red has a few connotations which could be relevant for the rest of the film. Red could connote lust and death; two factors which are dominant in the film.
When the male protagonist is stuck hanging from the guttering on the roof his facial expression is vital because for the first time we as an audience experience his fear of heights (vertigo) his fear is crucial to communicating the significance of this fear throughout the film so his expression in the CU shots of his face display his fear directly. The make-up of the male protagonist as he hands is important as well. Large beads of sweat are dripping from his head as he hangs and this is all added to communicate his deep fear of heights.
The costume of the three characters as they come up the ladder distinguishes them immediately so the audience can understand what is happening. The costume of the police man is very distinguishable as he chases after the criminal whereas the male protagonist's detective suit and hat easily get across he is a detective.
The choice of setting, a high suburban rooftop is very important as this is a perfect example to fit both the chase scene and his fear of heights inside. If he had been chasing the criminal through ground level streets we wouldn't have been able to find out he had a fear of heights as well as if he was dangling from such a high roof top. Choice of setting is important as it is used to reveal important features of the male protagonist which is an important weakness that follows him throughout the film.
EDITING
Repetitive match on action is used throughout this chase scene so that the chase scene is fluid and pace is kept at a high not just as he runs after the dangerous criminal but also as he hangs dangling from the guttering for his life.
At the end of this chase scene it fades out into the next scene in a casual New York flat. This fade is appropriate compared to using just a straight cut. A fade is used because it depicts his incident on the roof like a memory as if he looks back on it frequently or as it was almost dream like.
Faster pace is created by shorter cuts as he starts to dangle from the guttering opposed to the chase across the rooftops so that we as an audience understand that dangling at such a height is more important and frightening for the male protagonist than chasing the criminal and we establish his fear of heights.
George
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