If there is one mind any movie buff would like to read or re-program, it has to be that of Alfred Hitchcock.
Famous for his suspense and the sudden shocks in his films, surprisingly his film making technique is stripped of all such uncertanities. Each of his films were pre-planned to the minutest detail, leaving nothing to chance. The master story teller was also a master planner who seldom left little for manipulation for the editors or for the studio honchos.
Hard to believe? How about some documentary evidence ? Here comes the book ‘Hitchcocks’ Notebooks” by Dan Auiler. This book is a collation of everything Hitchcock did on paper prior or during the production of the film.
Dan Auiler divides the book in to three parts : “Building the Screenplay,” “Preparing the Visual,” and “Putting It All Together.” In each section he provides documents, including memos, script excerpts, sketches, and storyboards from a selection of films.
For any process oriented film producer/director this book is a treat. The book picks several films of Hitchcock at various stages and presents snippets. For instance, the book showcases the detailed treatment of ‘Rebecca’, the final storyboard of the famous crop dusting plane scene of ‘North by Northwest’ and the lengthy correspondence on the composite visual effects/sound effects for ‘Birds’.
This book is a must for any film maker who believes in the Hitchcock’s tradition of ‘a-film-is created-on-paper-first’.
At times the book appears a little tedious as the narrative jumps from one film to the other, but if you have learnt to sustain on an over dosage of Hitchcock’s films, you wouldn’t mind 🙂