As the scene progresses on we gradually see more and more birds gather behind her. While the audience was aware that there were birds gathering behind her, Melanie was not aware of the situation and did not notice the birds. It is only when she looks round and sees a bird flying in the sky. She keeps a close eye on that bird until it lands with the other birds; at this point the birds have swarmed the playground. Another thing that makes this scene effective is the fact that there is no non-diagetic sound. However, as the birds were gathering we could hear children singing in the background, which could be seen as a substitute for the lack of non-diagetic sound. It helps to build up tension as we are only shown a small section of the playground when the birds are there before Melanie notices them. Also, as the song is quite a peaceful song we start to believe that everything is all right. Finally, it could be linked to events in ‘Psycho’ when, for example, the shower scene. Compared to ‘The birds’, in ‘Psycho’ non-diagetic sound is used to help build tension, not diagetic sound.
Also, I think Alfred Hitchcock never used non-diegetic sound because most of the films he directed before ‘The Birds’ were silent films and they were in black and white. So I think he wanted to see what impact it would have on the film; a film that is in colour with no no-diagetic sound. I think this could also be seen as a substitute for one of his earlier silent and black and white films.
The sound changes and varies from the different environments. For example; the sounds you can hear when Melanie is in San Francisco are different from those of the sounds you can gear when she is in Bodega Bay. Some other parts of the film are a mix of silence then straight after all you can hear is the sounds of the birds. An example of this is in the scene where the characters are in the house, then all of a sudden Melanie stops that a bird had flown down from the chimney and into the fireplace. It all goes silent when Melanie revels this, then after all you can hear is the sound of the birds flying down into the house. And sometimes all you can hear is the bird. An example for this is near the end of the film where Mitch is walking towards Melanie’s car. It is all silent apart from the sound of the birds. I think this is to help emphasize the fact the birds are now more dominant and more powerful than the humans.
For colour and lighting the film uses different devices like chiaroscuro and Mise-en-scene to create atmosphere and to help set the mood. Bright colours are often used to help introduce the setting and set the mood. For example; one of the first scenes in the film is set in San Francisco, at the beginning of that scene it was really bright and full of colour. This was used to help set the mood and atmosphere as a peaceful environment, compared to the scene where the characters are forced to defend themselves against the birds inside Mitch’s house. In that scene the mood is not portrayed as calm and peaceful, it is more portrayed as a more dark and depressing due to the dark colours that are used. This could be due to the fact that dark colours are only really used when ‘birds’ or ‘the flock’ is near. This is called ‘Chiaroscuro’, a combination of light and shade in one still image. For example; when the characters are nervous after they hear the sound of birds, there is a low angle camera shot of the characters to help show their emotions. In front of the character it is lit slightly to allow us to see the character, but in the background it is shaded. This could be to show that the darkness or the birds are coming down on them and that they are coming for the humans.
Also, Mise-en-scene is used with the avains (attacks) to make the birds seem even more dangerous than they really are, turning a not so dangerous creature into a terrifying one. Low key lighting is also used to forecast danger or attacks.
Throughout the film many different camera angles are used. For example; close up, triple close up, medium shots, long shots, panning shots, wide shots, tilted, low and high angle shot and a bird’s eye view shot or God view. All of these are used well by themselves as well as with other techniques like sound, colour and lighting for example.
The camera angles that are mainly used in other suspense films or any other film for that matter are usually close ups, medium and long shots. In ‘The Birds’ all of these are used, however, Hitchcock used others as well. For example; he used a bird’s eye view in the gas station scene to help show the bird’s dominance over the humans. A triple close up is used for the scene where Mitch’s mother walks into the farmer’s bedroom and she discovers that he is dead. First, you get a point of view shot from Mitch’s mother as she is walking into the room. This then moves across the room, a panning shot, so we could be see the damage that the birds had caused. We then get a glimpse of the farmer lying on the floor, dead. A titled frame is used at first to introduce the farmer but this is also part of the triple close up. The camera then zooms into the farmer’s face, and then zooms even further to show the ‘pecked-out eyes’ of the farmer.
The Mac Guffin is the driving force for the film, and the Mac Guffin for ‘The Birds’ is the questioning of why are the birds are attacking and ‘why is the environment turning against us?’ Well, the answer is kept from us throughout the whole film. We do not actually find out why the birds attack or why they turn against us. That is usually a good way to keep the viewers interested, keep them wondering as to what will happen next. In ‘The Birds’, Hitchcock does not use this technique, not even in the ending. Nowhere in the film does it explain why the birds turn against us and start to attack us. And this is why the use of the Mac Guffin is good for Hitchcock’s audience; it keeps them wondering, keeps them asking questions as to what will happen next. They do not know what will happen next so this could be a reason that many viewers were so anxious to know as to what will happen.
When ‘The Birds’ was released in 1963 it was just after the cold war, so for the people who live through that time as well as the Second World War, it could have brought back bad memories. So this created the idea of suspense from using an animal that is traditionally a symbol of peace, e.g. Eagles and doves represent purity, and turning it against us. Also, birds are usually docile and timid, and they try to avoid contact with humans. This could be a way of showing us that we have taken being at the top of the food chain for granted.
In the film one of townsfolk mentions that it is Melanie’s fault for bringing ‘evil to community’ and for all of the bird attacks. In some ways this could be true because Melanie is the first and last to be attacked in film, once when she arrives in Bodega Bay and at the end of the film where she is trapped in a room with what seemed like hundreds of birds. The townspeople could be seen as ‘collateral damage’, as if in the way of Melanie, that she was their target. But we do not know this because Hitchcock does not tell us the reason why the birds start to suddenly attack people, but it only seems like a coincidence that all the bird attacks start after Melanie arrives in Bodega Bay.
Overall, ‘The Birds’ is seen as a good suspense film because it uses all of the above together very well. Same scenes use the majority of what is mentioned above to help create suspense really well. For example; the scene with the dead farmer or it is also known as the pecked out eyes scene, the scene towards the end of the film etc.
The scene with the farmer is a really good example because it uses the sound, light and colouring and camera angles elements together. There is no sound to indicate that something bad or sinister is about to happen like in a typical thriller or suspense film. The scene only depends on the diegetic sounds of the scene, the sound the character made like the opening of the door, her screaming, running, dropping her bag etc...The colour and lighting worked well with sound and the camera angles; the colour of the room in contrast with the outside world was really good. It enabled us as the viewers to see where the birds had broken through from their world and into ours. The camera angles that were used during that scene worked well with sound and colour and lighting because it was in time. For example; the camera angle did not move until the character started to run after she had seen the body of the dead farmer. If it would have moved before she screamed and started to it would not give the sense that it was a point of view shot as well a triple close up.
Another example for this is at the end of the film where the characters are trying to escape. There is only the sound of the birds which helps create suspense because it will be the sound of the birds that will determine what the characters would do and it would affect the way they act. The mood of the scene is very dark and mysterious as it is mainly dark and low key lighting is used the most. During the scene the main feature you will notice is the fact that it is cover with birds. This creates suspense because you are not sure if the birds will attack or not and you are still not sure why the birds attacked in the first place.
Also, throughout the film Alfred Hitchcock did not tell us why the birds attacked so you might have thought that it would be revelled at the end of the film. It was not but you did not know that at first because Alfred Hitchcock usually ends his films with ‘THE END’. But there was no ‘THE END’ for ‘The Birds’, but I think this was so that Hitchcock allowed us to come up with our own ending in way. Since there was ‘end’ you are left with a lot of unanswered questions.