Death and rebirth.
Past and present.
Repeating and returning.
Round and round we go.
There's a reason we see the same scenes again and again, in "Vertigo".
"- I look up, I look down."
- And it has something to do with this shape.
Almost every movie can be summarized in a sentence,
but few can be encapsulated in a symbol.
This is "Motifs & Motives".
"Vertigo" & Spirals.
The spiral is a perfect symbol for "Vertigo"
because it visualizes the core theme of obsession.
How do we define obsession?
An unhealthy and persistent preoccupation with an idea.
Because a person's mental and emotional energy keeps returning to this idea,
obsession is powered by repetition.
Now think of a symbol that best represents these ideas of obsession and repetition?
A circle might work.
It captures the idea of being stuck in a loop.
And circling the same idea endlessly.
But the spiral adds an element of dissent and negative change
that we often associate with someone who is obsessed.
"Vertigo" is a tale about obsession.
And Hitchcock uses the spiral in many layers of the film
to amplify this theme.
Now, after a traumatic accident...
...our protagonist, Scottie Ferguson retires as a detective.
"- It wasn't your fault. - I know.
I know. I have acrophobia, which gives me vertigo and I get dizzy.
Boy, what a moment to find out I had it."
- But soon after an old acquaintance, ask Scotty the favor.
"- What's on your mind, Gavin?
- I asked you to come up here, Scotty,
knowing that you'd quit detective work.
But I wondered whether you would go back on the job as a special favor to me?
I want you to follow my wife."
- To follow his wife for a very peculiar reason.
"- I'm afraid some harm may come to her.
- From whom?
- Someone dead.
Do you believe that someone out of the past,
someone dead, can enter and take possession of a living being?
- No."
- Scotty doesn't believe Madeline is possessed, merely, obsessed.
"- Well, I think that explains it.
Anyone could become obsessed with the past
with a background like that."
- Obsession is the major theme of "Vertigo",
but there are minor themes that are also cyclical ideas.
The idea of death and rebirth.
And how the past haunts the present.
These minor themes can also be represented in a spiral
and you can see just how perfect this motif is.
Now, we have to talk about the title itself.
Vertigo is a condition described as dizzying swirling sensation
as if the world around you is spinning.
The spirals in the opening credits instantly evoke this sensation.
But Hitchcock wouldn't be Hitchcock
if he left it at that.
Even before the movie truly begins,
we hear the idea of vertigo.
Listen to the mesmerizing melody Bernard Herrmann's magnificent score.
In fact, there are two scales being played.
One ascending and one descending.
The rising, falling, and repeating notes.
It even sounds like a spiral.
In the first three minutes, Hitchcock has already planted this idea
in the title, music, and graphic design.
He wants us to think about this shape
so we can draw the connections
when we see it later on.
But this is just the beginning.
There are spirals throughout the movie.
Scottie begins his investigation and sees Madeline for the first time
at Ernie's Restaurant.
He follows her throughout the city.
She visits the grave of Carlotta Valdez.
And then the museum
to stare at a portrait.
"- Lady sitting in there.
Who's the woman in the painting she's looking at?
- Oh, that's Carlotta."
- Here, Scotty begins to see Madeline's obsession with Carlotta.
Hitchcock could have used any hairstyle
and we would understand Madeline's preoccupation.
But the fact that Hitchcock chose a spiral twist
is a stroke of genius.
It connects Madeline's obsession with Carlotta.
And later becomes a key part
of Scotty's obsession with Madeline.
Later, Madeline throws herself into the bay.
But Scotty saves her.
And a connection begins to form.
"- My name is Madeleine Elster.
- My name's John Ferguson.
- Good, strong name.
- Acquaintances call me Scottie.
- I shall call you Mr. Ferguson.
- Oh, gee whiz, I wouldn't like that.
Oh, no."
- They traveled to Muir Woods and find a Redwood stump,
which has rings that are reminiscent of a spiral.
Another clever way to visualize the minor theme of death and rebirth.
And a way to symbolize Madeleine's obsession with the past.
"- Here I was born,
and there I died."
- By this point, Scotty has fallen in love with Madeleine
and wants to save her from this obsession.
"- I'm responsible for you now.
You know, the Chinese say that once you've saved a person's life,
you're responsible for it forever, so I'm committed."
- Madeleine recalls a dream connected to Carlotta.
"- But why? What's happened?
- I had the dream. The dream came back again.
- Now, now, it's gonna be all right."
- And Scotty believes he now knows how to cure her.
"- You're going to be all right now, Madeleine.
Don't you see? You've given me something to work on now.
I'm going to take you down there to that mission, this afternoon.
And when you see it, you'll remember when you saw it before,
and it'll finish your dream. It'll destroy it. I promise you.
Madeleine!"
- But this plan backfires.
Scotty's vertigo gets the better of him.
And Madeleine falls.
As we discussed earlier,
obsession leads to an inevitable downfall.
In this case, literally.
The spiral stairs become a highly symbolic location
where Madeline's obsession ends and Scottie's truly begins.
After her death, Scotty has a mental break.
But when he recovers, he begins his own obsessive downward spiral.
Essentially the story structure itself becomes a spiral.
He retraces his steps returning to the same locations he saw Madeleine.
Just as we saw Madeleine unable to let go of the past,
now it's Scotty's turn.
These repeated scenes help the audience experience Scotty's obsession firsthand
drawing us further into the story and the character.
That's when Scotty spots Judy.
With an uncanny resemblance to his beloved Madeleine.
Like before he follows her.
He sees her in a window.
And Judy becomes his new obsession.
"- Well, what is it?
- Just let me talk to you.
- What about? - You.
- Why? - Because you remind me of somebody."
- Their relationship blooms,
but Scotty has yet to shed his obsession.
He begins to change Judy into Madeleine.
Buying her the same clothes.
"- I just want an ordinary, simple gray suit.
- You want me to be dressed like her.
- Judy, I just want you to look nice.
I know the kind of suit look well on you."
- And convincing her to dye her hair blonde.
"- Color of your hair. - No."
And even asks to put her hair in the same spiral twist
in order to complete the transformation.
"- Well?
- It should be back from your face and pinned at the neck.
I told her that. I told you that.
- We tried it. It just didn't seem to suit me.
- Please, Judy."
- Eventually, he succeeds and brings his obsession full circle.
What died has been reborn.
The past has returned.
To visualize this, Hitchcock uses a simple arc shot
that literally spirals around them.
It starts in a close-up.
Opens up to a medium close-up
as Scotty unlocks memory
from his past romance with Madeleine.
Before pushing back into another close-up.
It should be a romantic moment.
But the spiraling camera actually becomes a bit of tragic foreshadowing.
"- Help me with this, will you?"
- But...
Scotty eventually learns he's been deceived.
And his obsession ends at the same church bell are
where it all began.
"- God, have mercy."
-So, why is "Vertigo's" use of the spiral motif
so important?
Hitchcock found the perfect symbol to represent the main theme of obsession.
And used a variety of techniques to focus the audience's attention to it.
We saw how Hitchcock massively crafted the symbolism in "Vertigo".
Let's attempt this same strategy with an exercise.
Step 1 - is to understand your story at a fundamental level.
When you boil down to your plot, characters, and themes
what is this movie really about?
Consider the Burnham family in "American Beauty".
Lester and Carolyn are both searching for personal fulfillment.
He seeks a return to a carefree life without responsibility.
"- I see you're smoking pot now.
I'm so glad."
- She seeks perfection.
Both at home and in her career.
"- I will sell this house today."
- Step 2 - is to find a motif that best captures
the essence of these characters and their goals.
For Lester and Carolyn, it's red roses.
For him, this symbol is tied to lust.
For her, it's an emblem of a perfectly manicured life.
And notice how the same symbol
is slightly differentiated to match each character's state of mind.
Carolyn's roses are picture-perfect.
But confined and controlled.
And Lester's are free-floating petals.
Step 3 - is to identify the most meaningful ways to incorporate your motif.
This can be as subtle as set dressing.
Or something big, bold, and expressive.
This will help guide and anchor your entire project
from the big picture working.
"- You've been working out, haven't you?
I can tell."
- All the way down to the details.
StudioBinder gives you every opportunity to write your motif into the script
and to visualize it in your shot list.
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Then we'll meet again.
And again.
Round and round we go.