Vertigo and OFOTCN: Production contexts

Editing

-The editing within the film is used to allow the audience to capitulate with the action on screen and empathise with characters. This was fundamentally influenced by the 'New Hollywood' wave of filmmaking which exemplified the notion that editing can be manipulated to have a more realistic effect. Example of this in the film include:

• The first therapy scene- As the arguments break out between Harding and the other patients, the editing which started as slow pace and minimal cuts in between transitions transforms into a more rapid pace. The audience is able to equally empathise and sympathise with the characters as the quick cuts exemplifies the boiling point of the tension between Harding and the other patients

Sound:
-The sound in the film is mainly diegetic which has the effect of allowing the audience to emphasise with the characters. They can be indulged into the vulnerability and captivity the patients are feeling. 
-Open and closes with same unnerving song which is a representative of the realism Foreman wanted as the film was released during new hollywood when films were made not just to create.
-This is realism is also shown through the silence in the film.
-Sound starts off very quiet during scenes with Nurse Ratched to show the patients fear of her.
They end hectic and loud to show that each large personality is contained by Nurse Ratched. The audience is equally forced to fear her.

-McMurphy represents joy and freedom away from an oppressive institution.  Although he ends up dying as a consequence of his rebellious actions against the repressive system, his soul is never killed. Through the Chiefs escape, he influences lives  and conveys the power of spirit over death and a system which seeks to thwart patients of freedom and represses individuality. A person’s spirit lives on in the actions and mind of the living. His clothing consists of bright colours, which symbolises the life of the outside world. he gradually ends up in the same dull outfits as the rest of the patients, symbolising how he is becoming institutionalised. McMurphy's significance as a character is that we, like the patients, view him as a source of hope and rebellion. This is symbolised through his attire which possesses colour unlike the other patients who are all in plain and bleak clothing.

- Throughout the film, faces are filmed behind wire mesh and bars to emphasise the hopelessness of captivity. The glass of the nurse’s station represents the barrier between the individual and power—a barrier the patients are forbidden to cross, even though it appears more transparent and more inclusive than bars.
-The film was made at a real mental institution, which gave the film a natural and realistic feel. this also allowed actors to connect with their characters, as they had a sense of what it was really like to live in a mental hospital.

Performance analysis: Looking closely at what a technique, such as: stance, facial expression, or delivery of dialogue, says about the onscreen character and how it makes them come across; bear in mind that although it may come across to you in one way, that different spectators pay interpret the same performance differently.-Natural delivery of dialogue and facial expression reflects the production context of Italian Neo Realism.- The performance technique, improvisation reflects the raw and real feeling produced in italian neo realist film. They never know when they will be filmed so the actors must always remain in character.-the women in society came to powerful positions and held increased responsibility in society to replace the men who previously held the power, this is displayed in for example nurse ratchet's character. In performance, nurse ratchet's facial expression is stern, and delivers dialogue in a monotonous voice, to appear powerful and in control, as she is unaffected by the chaos around her.