Looking for even more tips for a Hitchcockian feel? Here are even more ways to twist your movie to fit your budget and the big screen.
Walk a mile in your lead’s shoes. Or rather, make your audience walk in them. If your character is a serial rapist in jail, your audience may not have much empathy for him; engage the audience by showing things from his point of view, such as in flashbacks of a difficult life or in a current abusive situation while in prison.
Give the camera a human quality. In short, let it stand for the audience’s eyes. Instead of focusing on only the important elements in the room, let it naturally glance around as if the audience is actually in the scene, too. Make them feel as if they are uncovering the surprise elements on their own without your help.
Capitalize on what you can’t see. This can be particularly helpful in scary movies, where things the audience isn’t able to see can be just as scary, if not scarier, remaining unknown rather than in every scene. Focus on sound, character reaction, and other elements when using this technique to really draw the audience in and have them on the edge of their seats.
Use a simple storyline. Though complicated tales can be interesting, they often lose the viewer’s interest early on. The idea isn’t to make the audience work to understand the movie; it’s to make them enjoy the movie by providing an escape from reality.
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