Production The Birds (film)

1 production

1.1 development
1.2 soundtrack
1.3 special effects

production
development

on august 18, 1961, residents in town of capitola, california, awoke find sooty shearwaters slamming rooftops, , streets covered dead birds. news reports suggested domoic acid poisoning (amnesic shellfish poisoning) cause. according local santa cruz sentinel, alfred hitchcock requested news copy in 1961 use research material latest thriller . @ end of same month, hired evan hunter adapt daphne du maurier s novella, birds , first published in 1952 collection apple tree. hunter had written vicious circle alfred hitchcock s mystery magazine, adapted television anthology series alfred hitchcock presents. adapted robert turner s story appointment @ eleven same television series. hunter later suspected hired because had demonstrated write suspense (with 87th precinct novels, ed mcbain) , because novel blackboard jungle had received critical acclaim. relationship between hunter , hitchcock during creation of birds documented writer in 1997 autobiography me , hitch, contains variety of correspondence between writer, director , hitchcock s assistant, peggy robertson.

hunter began working on screenplay in september 1961. , hitchcock developed story, suggesting foundations such townspeople having guilty secret hide, , birds instrument of punishment. suggested film begin using elements borrowed screwball comedy genre have evolve stark terror . appealed hitchcock, according writer, because conformed love of suspense: title , publicity have informed audience birds attack, not know when. initial humor followed horror turn suspense shock.

hitchcock solicited comments several people regarding first draft of hunter s screenplay. consolidating criticisms, hitchcock wrote hunter, suggesting script (particularly first part) long, contained insufficient characterization in 2 leads, , scenes lacked drama , audience interest. hitchcock @ later stages consulted friends hume cronyn (whose wife jessica tandy playing lydia) , v.s. pritchett, both offered lengthy reflections on work.

soundtrack

many of sound effects created on mixtur-trautonium, electronic musical instrument developed oskar sala.

hitchcock decided without conventional incidental score. instead, made use of sound effects , sparse source music in counterpoint calculated silences. wanted use electroacoustic mixtur-trautonium create birdcalls , noises. had first encountered predecessor synthesizer on berlin radio in late 1920s. invented friedrich trautwein , further developed oskar sala trautonium, create of bird sounds film.

the director commissioned sala , remi gassmann design electronic soundtrack. credited electronic sound production , composition , , hitchcock s previous musical collaborator bernard herrmann credited sound consultant .

source music includes first of claude debussy s deux arabesques, tippi hedren s character plays on piano, , risseldy rosseldy , americanized version of scottish folk song wee cooper o fife , sung schoolchildren.

special effects

the special effects shots of attacking birds done @ walt disney studios animator/technician ub iwerks, used sodium vapor process ( yellow screen ) had helped develop. sv process films subject against screen lit narrow-spectrum sodium vapor lights. unlike compositing processes, svp shoots 2 separate elements of footage simultaneously using beam-splitter. 1 reel regular film stock , other film stock emulsion sensitive sodium vapor wavelength. results in precise matte shots compared blue screen special effects, necessary due fringing of image birds rapid wing flapping.