Long takes
The main idea for this feature is to make it seem like the event is happening in real time. to create the spectacular photographic vision in a whole new method of filmmaking with a single shot of Matthew, a method actor, killing Andrew, college friend, and Matthew and Frank's subsequent efforts to cover up the murder. By hiding the body in the living room ottoman, Matthew enjoys seeing how far he can go with duping the guests.
In the movie Rope, Hitchcock shot for periods lasting up to 10 minutes (the length of a film camera magazine), continuously panning from actor to actor, though most shots in the film wound up being shorter. Every other segment ends by panning against or tracking into an object—a man's jacket blocking the entire screen, or the back of a piece of furniture, for example. In this way, Hitchcock effectively masked half the cuts in the film.
However, at the end of 20 minutes (two magazines of film make one reel of film on the projector in the movie theater), the projectionist—when the film was shown in theaters—had to change reels. On these changeovers, Hitchcock cuts to a new camera setup, deliberately not disguising the cut. A description of the beginning and end of each segment follows.
