Guest commentary by:
John P. Hess @FilmmakerIQ

JForris Day, Jr. @forrisday

Benjamin Stirek

 

Sponsored by:

Glidecam Industries

 

NOTES:

 

In 1957 Hitchcock's team created the spinoff series Suspicion, and he directed the debut episode "Four O'Clock."  As this episode is 48 minutes, it is longer than most of his TV works.  Filmmakers will find it a useful study of screen tension, as it surrounds a ticking clock and a bomb.  In our webisode, we pinpoint eight techniques Hitchcock uses to increase tension in "Four O'Clock."

 

There is a distinct difference between tension and suspense:

 

• Suspense is the overall impending outcome that could happen at any moment.

• Tension is the series of events that build up to that impending outcome.

 

The Palette of Worry - like a painter's palette full of colors, Hitchcock mixed from a variety of anxiety-producing tricks:

 

• Detail - Spend extra screen time with the protagonist while he (in this case) builds a bomb from spare parts and tests it.  This adds credibility to an object in the story and gives it power.

• Shot Proximity and Frequency - Hitchcock uses close-ups with fragmented framing, along with quick edits to increase tension.

• Sounds & No Music - Music takes the viewer out of the reality of the scene, so Hitchcock leaves it out during tense moments.  The audience can then focus on sounds that the protagonist hears.

• Stream of Consciousness - allowing us to hear the thoughts of the protagonist allows us to follow his logic, fears, & conspiracy theories. See Breakdown Broken Down.

• Misunderstood Facts - The protagonist sees conspiracy where there is none.  The audience believes him until a revelation changes our perspective. See Carte Blance on Blanchard.

• Comic Energy - In this episode Hitchcock creates muiltple chances for the protaginist to be rescued as he is tied up in the basement.  These close-encounters are humorous: the gas man, a neighbor and her kid, etc.  Laughing makes the tension fun for the viewer.

• Paranoid Objects - Our protagonist follows clues that prove his conspiracy theory and increase his anxiety.

• Malfunctions & Incompetence - In the Hitchcock world, people make mistakes and are lazy about their jobs during moments when their actions are most needed.  This generates frustration and thus adds to tension.

 

The full episode of Suspicion's "Four O'Clock" (1957) can be found on DVD, and Archive.org.