Our task was to film a sequence of scenes and include all the different types of sounds used in movies. The sounds that we used were:non-diagetic sound, off-screen sound, on-screen sound, parallel sound, pleonastic sound (door slam), ambient sound(empty room). We used off-screen sound, ( off-screen voice- "well look who it is") to make the viewer question who the voice belongs to and makes the atmosphere mysterious. We used pleonastic sound, (Loud door slam off-screen) we put this at the beginning straight after the non-diagetic voice over, to grab the viewers interest. Some of the sound that we captured could have been improved, for example during the off-screen sound, you can hear talking from outside the room. To records the voice over that we put at the start of the film was used with a recording device that we had to take to a quiet room to record with as it could pick up any surrounding sound. Every time we had to record, we checked that you couldn't hear any surrounding sound such as footsteps and talking as the microphone we used can also pick up any surrounding sound and it would ruin the footage if there was any other sound in the recording.The most positive elements of our film in my opinion were the off-screen and non-diagetic sounds. To improve we could have used sound bridges and contrapuntal sounds.
IN THIS FILM WE WERE TRYING TO SHOW A CASUAL CONVERSATION BETWEEN TO FRIENDS, I NAMED IT "NOT INTERESTING INTERESTS" BECAUSE THE TOPICS THAT THEY SPOKE ABOUT WERE NOT VERY INTERESTING. THE SHOTS THAT WE INCLUDED IN OUR FILM WERE; WIDE SHOT, MEDIUM SHOT, OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT, WE ALSO USED THE PANORAMA CAMERA MOVEMENT AT THE BEGINNING.
AT THE BEGINNING WE USED AN ESTABLISHING SHOT TO SHOW THE SETTING OF WHERE THE FILM IS MADE. I USED THE OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT IN THE CONVERSATION TO FOCUS ON THE PERSON WHO IS TALKING, WE USED THE WIDE SHOT AT THE END TO ADD EMPHASIS ON THE ENDING. MOST SHOTS WERE SHOT ON A TRIPOD WHCIH MADE SURE THAT THE SHOTS WERE STILL, OUR LAST SCENE WHERE THEY ARE WALKING AWAY FORM EACH OTHER WAS A BIT SHAKY BECAUSE IT WAS FILMED BY HAND AS THE TRIPOD WAS NOT TALL ENOUGH TO FILL WITH.
I THINK THAT MOST OF OUR SHOTS WERE FRAMED APPROPRIATELY BECAUSE THE FRAMES HAD THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS IN THEM.
IN MY OPINION THE MOST POSITIVE ELEMENT OF OUR FILM IS THE ESTABLISHING SHOT BECAUSE IT INTRODUCED THE LOCATION OF WHERE THEY HAVE THE CONVERSATION. TO IMPROVE I THINK WE WOULD NEED TO FOCUS ON INCLUDING MORE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHOTS AND TRYING TO GET ALL OUR SHOTS TO BE STILL.
DIRECTOR: Alfred Hitchcock WRITERS: Joseph Stefano (screenplay) Robert Bloch ( novel ) STARS: Anthony Perkins Janet Leigh Vera Miles
HITCHCOCK'S THOUGHTS
The
audience know there is a murderer in the house.They don’t know when she/he will
strike again but to be suspenseful they must know it could happen any minute.
Hitchcock stressed that as the apprehension increases there is less and less violence on screen.
Fast Pacing Action
"thrillers are characterised by fast pacing frequent action. "
This is true in "Psycho" because in the shower scene when the killer is stabbing Marion Crane in the shower all the action is happening very quickly and the camera movement is also very fast.
NORMAN BATES
Hitchcock said that it is important to avoid cliché and repetition - particularly with regard to character - e.g murderers can be charming and the heroes flawed.
In Hitchcock's films he often placed evil in the most banal of settings. Like a place you would see in everyday life.
Suspense, Red Herrings and Cliff-Hangers
Story-wise,"Psycho"is not extraordinary; it's true brilliance lies in it's construction.
Hitchcock has developed the film in such a way that it consistently flouts audience expectation.
There are two major surprises.
1. The shower scene murder
2. The final revelation about mother.
A viewer who sees the film for the first time without knowing about either will experience the full impact of what Hitchock intended.
The greatest shock for the uninitiated is the early exit of Janet Leigh.
This is doubly unexpected because, to this point, the screenplay had tricked us into accepting Marion as the main character.
When she dies and the point-of-view shifts to Norman Bates, the audience are puzzled.
In order to keep this crucial aspect of the film secret when Psycho opened in 1960, there were no advanced screenings and no one was admitted to a showing after the feature had started.
"The McGuffin"
Hitchcock said that the McGuffin is the plot device that causes the action to happen. The McGuffin usually comes in the first part of the film and sometimes returns at the end. In his thrillers the audience don't really care about the McGuffin. In Psycho the money that Marion stole is the McGuffin.
WHEN "PSYCHO" WAS INITIALLY RELEASED IN 1960, IT WAS A HUGE BOX OFFICE HIT, THERE ARE STORIES OF 3-MILE LONG LINES AT DRIVE-IN ENTRANCES.
The Shower Scene
Whenever anyone speaks about Psycho, the first images that come to mind are those of Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, being hacked in the shower. The scene is so famous that people who have not seen the film are aware of that particular scene.
What we actually see in this scene:
- A knife
- blood(chocolate syrup)
- water
- woman's naked body(certain parts hidden)
- only a brief showing of the blade penetrating the flesh.
The full horror of the murder is only hinted at on-screen.
It takes the power of the viewer's imagination to fill in the blanks.
