Auteur Theory

Auteur theory is the theory of filmmaking in which 'the director is viewed as the major creative force in a motion picture' and it arised in France in the late 1940's. It states that the director, who oversees all audio and visual elements such as camera placement, blocking, lighting and scene lengths, is more to be considered the ''author'' of the movie than is the writer of the screenplay. These fundamental visual elements convey the message rather than the plot line. An auteur is someone whose style and practise is particularly distinctive such as Alfred Hitchcock.

Alfred Hitchcock is one of my influential figures and he is widely considered to be an auteur. He has reached auteur status by being the 'Master of mystery and suspense' as he likes to play with the audience's nerves through his directorial style. His style involves the visual expression of thought and psychology. Hitchcock's signature technical style involves the use of camera viewpoints , elaborate editing , a soundtrack to build suspense and he focuses on the creation of set pieces where he is able to demonstrate his talent for detail and suspense. He was known to collaborate with the same people when making his films and this allows him to create a consistency with his filmography.

This mind map summarises the ways in which applying the Auteur theory to our own production would be effective. This is something we would have to consider carefully when deciding on final ideas for our production as it is important to create a distinctive style that will keep the audience engaged and wanting more.