In This Sequence The Birds Are Attack The Towns People At Large For The First

In this sequence the birds are attack the towns people at large for the first time after a lengthy and bitter debate on the subject. From the safety of the diner window we observe one man get attacked and drop a petrol pump. As the petrol flows across the floor, we cut back to a full shot of the window and the occupants of the diner looking on in horror. We then cut to a shot of man who has not seen the petrol who unknowingly lights a cigarette and drops the match igniting the petrol.
In this sequence we are placed into the same space as the people in the diner. We see them through glass, so when we cut to what they are observing we too are sharing a gaze through the glass. Also we do not hear any outside sounds in this sequence until the explosion. Aurally we are in the same space as the observers.
After the explosion Hitchcock briefly allows the viewer space away from the chaos below. In an extremely high shot we see the town of bodega Bay and the fire. The shot holds for a few moments, the lack of sound, pause in the cutting and the broad vista of n aerial view all serve as a brief respite to the danger at ground level. However the unease quickly settles in as we realize that, as we are so high that we are actually in the space of the birds. The birds start to appear and then the bird sounds start on the sound track, until the frame is seething and the soundtrack is blaring with the sounds of an impending and deadly attack ion the town's people.
Sound is used in the film as a substitute for what cannot be seen; such as in the attack on the house scene; and also as an aural representation of threat. The omnipotent threat of the birds is vocalized through their birdsong and scores the film just as effectively as any music. The marriage of the sound and the editing is ital in creating narrative. Suspense is very difficult to create and then maintain, the timing of the editing and the choices of shots perfectly illustrate the peril that the characters are in.
Biblography
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