[Music]
Every Alfred Hitchcock film can teach us
something about directing.
Hitchcock was always pushing the medium
and "Rope" is probably his most experimental film.
It's a series of long takes shot in real-time
driven by blocking and staging and precisely edited.
In this video we're going to explore
everything Hitchcock used to make these
long takes engaging and suspenseful.
"- Go ahead and look.
I hope you like what you see."
- In this series, we've covered subjects like "Inglourious Basterds",
"Arrival",
and "Midsommar".
Subscribe below and click the bell icon to see what we do next.
Let's jump in.
Fair warning. We're going to spoil everything in this film.
"Rope" is based on a play by Patrick Hamilton
and begins with Brandon and Philip murdering their friend David.
They place his body in a chest
and then host a dinner party in the same room with the victim's family and fiance.
Also attending is their former schoolmaster Rupert
who begins to suspect what happened
and eventually discovers the truth.
Set in a single location and presented in real-time
Hitchcock challenged himself by shooting "Rope" with a series of long takes
ranging from 2 to 10 minutes long.
So how does Hitchcock use long takes,
blocking and staging, and minimal editing to keep us engaged and in suspense?
"- Now, the fun begins."
- First up - Long Takes.
Since the film is nearly wall-to-wall dialogue,
Hitchcock uses three tactics to keep these long takes engaging.
The first and most obvious technique is to reposition the camera
and the characters.
On a practical level, this helps keep
the image fresh and the pacing active.
In this instance, the camera follows Brandon and Philip
over a period of over three minutes through each room of the set
and the consistent change of location
prevents the conversation from becoming stale.
"- What the devil are you doing?
- Making our work of art a masterpiece.
- Brandon, you're going too far.
- Why? What do you mean?
I just thought it'd be nice to have supper in here."
- This setup lasts over three minutes.
While the camera remains static,
we get eight different combinations
and arrangements of the actors.
Other than shuffling characters or changing locations,
Hitchcock will also use different framing and shot sizes
to keep us intrigued.
He consistently varies the framing from singles and two shots
all the way up to seven characters in the frame at once.
"- Again, I'm afraid I let myself get carried away.
- Oh, that's quite all right, my boy."
- Likewise, changes in shot size help ramp up the intensity as well.
As Rupert questions Philip,
we start in a medium-full shot but when Rupert returns
to the piano we're now in a medium close-up.
Hitchcock tightens the framing
as Rupert's interrogation tightens around Philip.
"- Where's David, Phillip? - I don't know. Why?
- Brandon knows. - Does he?
- Doesn't he? - Not that I know of.
- Oh, come now. - I don't.
- Why don't you ask Brandon? - I have."
- The next method is to add off-screen audio.
"- Yes. - A privilege."
- Even though our visual information is limited to what we can see
audio can be used to extend the world beyond the frame.
This is called activating off-screen space.
And by feeding our imagination with what we can't see,
a long take can be sustained even longer.
"- Mr. Cadell. - Oh, Mrs. Wilson."
- This is especially true when what we see contradicts what we hear.
"- Philip, you'll feel much better once you get out in the open air."
- As Brandon stalls with small talk off-camera,
Rupert removes the murder weapon.
"- It's a lovely night. You'll be driving up in good weather."
- At the very end, Rupert discharges the gun outside the window.
We then hear the murmur of a gathering crowd and the approach of police sirens.
The shot lasts for another two minutes
with the off-screen audio bringing a sense of closure to this tragedy.
We've already seen how Hitchcock uses blocking and staging
to keep long takes active.
Now, let's dive a little deeper
with a look at how he uses them to create suspense.
Most of the time "Rope" looks and sounds like a photographed stage play,
but there are specific moments when it becomes much more cinematic.
Hitchcock switches between an objective presentation
where we see what all the characters see.
And a more subjective presentation
where Hitchcock shows only us what's happening under the surface.
"- What on Earth's the matter? - I was sure she'd notice.
- Notice what? - The rope, of course."
- "Rope" is built on dramatic irony
which is when the audience knows more than the characters.
"- I thought you'd like to take it into it.
She's in the bedroom telephoning.
- Then you'd like David to walk in.
- Oh, no, no. That'd be too much of a shock."
- And Hitchcock uses the camera to deliver
more and more privileged information.
Ramping up the suspense until the very end.
Like in this moment.
"- David! - Oh, no, no, no."
Philip reacts to David's name by breaking his glass.
The camera pushes into a close-up of his hands.
"- Kenneth is often mistaken for David."
- No one else notices.
But Hitchcock makes sure we do.
"- I believe you both know Miss Walker. - Janet, my dear."
- A little later we get this moment.
"- What'd you lie to me for?
- Because I don't like to talk about... - About what?
- Strangling... I can't play with that thing!
- I want you to have them very much.
It's extremely generous of you, Brandon."
- Notice how the camera gives us a subjective view
clueing us into Philip's panic and Rupert's suspicion.
This sequence is perhaps the most suspenseful moment in the film.
The camera remained static pointing down the hall
as Mrs. Wilson slowly clears off the chest.
The rest of the guests are off-camera discussing David's whereabouts
while we sit for the next three minutes
as Mrs. Wilson gets closer and closer to finding the body.
"- I'll help you with that. - Oh, thank you, Mr. Cadell.
- That's all right, Mrs. Wilson.
You can put the books back when you come in to clean in the morning."
- As the master of suspense,
a sequence like this is the definition of Hitchcockian.
And he did it without the most effective tool in generating suspense.
Editing.
But despite popular belief...
"- That's a lie!"
- ...editing does play a role in "Rope".
The prevailing mythology around Hitchcock's "Rope",
is that it was designed to look like a single-take.
"- Excuse me, sir."
- This is not actually true.
There are 11 total shots in "Rope".
Five of those edits are meant to be invisible.
But the other six are clearly visible.
In fact, the visible and invisible edits
alternate back and forth evenly
and there's a reason for this.
Creating a single take movie in 1948 just wasn't possible.
Film magazines could only hold about 10 minutes of film.
And projector reels could only hold about 20 minutes footage.
Movie theaters at the time used two projectors to play a film
and the switch between them is called a changeover.
Hitchcock knew that it would be difficult to maintain the illusion of the invisible cuts
when alternating projectors.
Instead, Hitchcock elected to use hard cuts for these changeovers
and he smartly placed them in the most inconspicuous moments.
Each of these hard cuts lands precisely at a moment of great shock.
Or to release some rising tension.
"- There's something upsetting both of you a great deal
- something that... - Excuse me, sir.
- There's a lady phoning for either Mr. Kentley or Mrs. Atwater."
- These edits are also reaction shots
one of the most common types of edits.
We're so used to the shot-reverse-shot presentation
that the audience would be less likely to notice.
Maybe these edits are hidden after all.
Besides actual cuts, there are also a number of editing substitutes.
Even if the camera doesn't cut there are ways to create interruptions
in the image that function like a traditional cut.
For example, when Hitchcock playfully uses the timing
of a swinging kitchen door to create natural edits.
Or when Brandon and Philip criss-cross to reveal Janet's entrance.
Or when Rupert paces back and forth on either side of Brandon
effectively resetting the composition with each pass.
"- I don't know what you thought or what you are.
But I know what you've done! You've murdered!"
- And so Hitchcock used traditional and non-traditional editing
to sustain the long takes and manage the suspense.
"- I do my best."
- Looking back Hitchcock considered "Rope" a stunt.
A failed experiment.
But that doesn't mean we still can't learn from it.
Executing long takes like these are just as challenging today as they were then.
And as movies like "Birdman" and "1917"
continue to push this style of filmmaking even further
we have to tip our hat to Hitchcock for paving the way.
If you're planning a scene with elaborate blocking and staging,
it's helpful to use a shot list or storyboard to map it out.
Check the description to sign up for StudioBinder.
It's free to get started.
Until next time.
Good luck in all your artistic endeavors.
"- I've always wished for more artistic talent.
Well, murder can be an art too.
The power to kill can be just as satisfying as the power to create."