The Birds was highly reliant upon Burks' background in special effects, and is often considered to be his greatest technical achievement. Of the film's 1,500 plus shots (three times more than the usual number of shots in a production of the period), more than 400 were either trick or composite shots. The film has an affinity for closeups, particularly of Tippi Hedren, often employing heavy diffusion and a lighting scheme that utilizes a frontal slightly off-camera key that was directional in addition to an eyelight next to the camera as well as some backlight.
