Friday, 1 May 2009
Thriller Project - Evaluation
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In our media project, we aimed to use particular aspects that are known to the thriller genre in order to make an accurate representation of the genre. Creating our intro in a way that portrayed this correctly was a challenge. We first planned our intro with a fair amount of dialogue and found that it didn’t fit too well; it removed the sense of mystery from both the characters and the situation. This became such a difficulty that we scrapped the storyboard, shot list and script entirely and started again. We found that without trying to force dialogue into our project, everything seemed far easy and was more cohesive.
We used traditional aspects of thrillers such as not showing the entire character until a certain point, to build suspense. Such as the second shot, we only see the shoes of the antagonist as he walks slowly into the school. We keep the trend and most of the upcoming shots show him from different views yet not fully revealing who he is. We see him walk past the side quickly and see him walk from the back.
POV (point of view) shots are used to give a more personal feel. Using POV also limits the audiences view, putting you in their view to make you seem unsuspecting. Our first POV shot was from the inspector’s view, we see him turn back and look at two pupils for a small mistake they make and this gives the audience the personal feel that another shot could not create.
Another convention of a thriller is beginning the film with a death or murder to start off the story right away. At the end of our intro, we end it with an unclear murder, creating a sense of uneasiness. However we show it in a fairly normal situation, just an inspector coming to visit the school.
2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?
We have very few social groups shown in our media production; two students (who are classed as one group) and the inspector. We portray the inspector as a well dressed (and due to this fact he seems respectable) and calm man. The two students are shown as a stereotype, seemingly impolite and bad-mannered. Laughing at the inspector as he walks by and littering without caring whatsoever. Our intentions were to display these two characters as rough in order to show this side of the school’s social groups.
3) What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?
Our media project was developed with a small budget and limited experience. Due to this fact, this removes the possibility of any big institutions distributing our product or showing interest. A fairly small and growing media institution would take the opportunity to distribute our product but somehow managing to do this with a fairly small budget, so they would need to take appropriate action in order to advertise this successfully. Advertising by TV and magazines would be far too expensive to even consider. In order to advertise successfully and reach the target audience (which would be late teens to young adults) the industry should take a cheaper yet equally as effective approach – the internet.
Not only does this reach the target audience with relative ease, it also has a high chance of reaching out to all types of audiences and potential viewers. The internet is also a very good method for spreading news and hype, if word gets to the right person, they would upload it to multiple websites and various forums. Eventually, more and more people will learn about upcoming films and current movies. This is all done with relative ease in comparison to other advertising methods.
Researching would be a far simpler task as specific advertising campaigns are not necessary and do not need to have large amounts of money put into them to create the perfect, attention grabbing advertisements in the right magazines at the right time.
4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
The targeted audience for our product would be people much like ourselves and around are age level. Teenagers would be able to relate to the characters far easier than adults would, and would be more willing to spend their time watching people their own age act. Because of this, teenagers would go together to watch the film together in groups or it would have high potential for teenagers on dates as Susan Burggraf suggested.
Due to the fact that this film was made in a British environment, the primary targets are British teenagers. Certain acts carried out in other countries may have different outcomes and this is displayed in our intro as shown by the two students littering. It is a natural reaction for us to see this is a mistake or a ‘crime’.
5) How did you attract/address your audience?
We intended to attract our audience from early on, the intro shows three different characters; one in particular (the inspector) with an unknown back-story walking into the school. To viewers, they would not who he is, why he is there or what he is doing but they see that he is some form of respectable figure because of the way he is dressed. During the POV scene we see from his eyes and the way he turns his head that he is unimpressed with the students, this makes the audience wonder and question the motives of the inspector.
During the first establishing shot of the intro, the audience will be aware that it is set in a school and they will begin to create possible scenarios within their minds. From early on we have created a sense of mystery, capturing the audience’s attention and pulling them into the fictional world almost instantly.
6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt to not waste space on the cameras, though this may not seem like much; it could have been a huge potential problem. However, the concern was not so much about how much space was left on the camera, it more about how much unnecessary footage we had. We had to spend hours just sifting through various scenes, shots and takes until we found something we were satisfied with.
3/4 of our way through our project, we encountered various problems with the scripts and the external actors being used. We had been focusing and relying far too much on dialogue and students who may not have been able to act for us as they would be in lessons.
Because of this, we could not have gone any further and started our entire project again but managed to film it in a much shorter amount of time, we focused on more camera work and less dialogue and thanks to this we were able to film within two hours. This was a huge improvement and a massive achievement. Our shots were far more impressive, utilising what we had learnt to set up various different shots and angles, making very good use of the POV shots.
This was uploaded onto the computer in a very short amount of time and we were ready to edit and finish off our final product. This was where we encountered what could be the biggest technological problem during our entire project; we had come back during the next lesson to begin editing to find that our work was no longer on the computers. We wasted valuable time trying to figure out what had happened to the work, unable to deduce the problem; we had to recapture on another computer and prepare for editing once again.
This had taught us a valuable lesson: save work on an external device so that any missing or deleted work can be easily replaced.
7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I’ve learnt that time is one of the most, if not the most crucial element of the entire project. Preparing all documents in order before preparing to film may have aided us greatly as opposed to doing just two documents and rushing into filming. Our storyboard was not finished in time with us wanting to film; if we had made the storyboard before-hand, it would have saved us valuable seconds when filming. Less time could have been spent over if we had been separating tasks and dividing into pairs to complete them quickly as opposed to all four of us focusing on one job when it was not necessary.
Our preliminary task was a very simple series of shots with an equally simple script. This should of showed us that simplicity is often far easier and works even better. But instead we had made our script, shots and ideas far too complex for us to carry out efficiently. Because of these many problems, we found ourselves completely starting again and trying a much simpler idea. This had worked to our favour, as we filmed again we were able to tweak ideas slightly as they were not too complicated, and give input throughout the filming process. In the end we had filmed far less scenes and shots, but more intelligently overall with a more diverse range of shot types. Both keeping in time with a schedule and managing to maintain simplicity is the solution.
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In our media project, we aimed to use particular aspects that are known to the thriller genre in order to make an accurate representation of the genre. Creating our intro in a way that portrayed this correctly was a challenge. We first planned our intro with a fair amount of dialogue and found that it didn’t fit too well; it removed the sense of mystery from both the characters and the situation. This became such a difficulty that we scrapped the storyboard, shot list and script entirely and started again. We found that without trying to force dialogue into our project, everything seemed far easy and was more cohesive.
We used traditional aspects of thrillers such as not showing the entire character until a certain point, to build suspense. Such as the second shot, we only see the shoes of the antagonist as he walks slowly into the school. We keep the trend and most of the upcoming shots show him from different views yet not fully revealing who he is. We see him walk past the side quickly and see him walk from the back.
POV (point of view) shots are used to give a more personal feel. Using POV also limits the audiences view, putting you in their view to make you seem unsuspecting. Our first POV shot was from the inspector’s view, we see him turn back and look at two pupils for a small mistake they make and this gives the audience the personal feel that another shot could not create.
Another convention of a thriller is beginning the film with a death or murder to start off the story right away. At the end of our intro, we end it with an unclear murder, creating a sense of uneasiness. However we show it in a fairly normal situation, just an inspector coming to visit the school.
2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?
We have very few social groups shown in our media production; two students (who are classed as one group) and the inspector. We portray the inspector as a well dressed (and due to this fact he seems respectable) and calm man. The two students are shown as a stereotype, seemingly impolite and bad-mannered. Laughing at the inspector as he walks by and littering without caring whatsoever. Our intentions were to display these two characters as rough in order to show this side of the school’s social groups.
3) What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?
Our media project was developed with a small budget and limited experience. Due to this fact, this removes the possibility of any big institutions distributing our product or showing interest. A fairly small and growing media institution would take the opportunity to distribute our product but somehow managing to do this with a fairly small budget, so they would need to take appropriate action in order to advertise this successfully. Advertising by TV and magazines would be far too expensive to even consider. In order to advertise successfully and reach the target audience (which would be late teens to young adults) the industry should take a cheaper yet equally as effective approach – the internet.
Not only does this reach the target audience with relative ease, it also has a high chance of reaching out to all types of audiences and potential viewers. The internet is also a very good method for spreading news and hype, if word gets to the right person, they would upload it to multiple websites and various forums. Eventually, more and more people will learn about upcoming films and current movies. This is all done with relative ease in comparison to other advertising methods.
Researching would be a far simpler task as specific advertising campaigns are not necessary and do not need to have large amounts of money put into them to create the perfect, attention grabbing advertisements in the right magazines at the right time.
4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
The targeted audience for our product would be people much like ourselves and around are age level. Teenagers would be able to relate to the characters far easier than adults would, and would be more willing to spend their time watching people their own age act. Because of this, teenagers would go together to watch the film together in groups or it would have high potential for teenagers on dates as Susan Burggraf suggested.
Due to the fact that this film was made in a British environment, the primary targets are British teenagers. Certain acts carried out in other countries may have different outcomes and this is displayed in our intro as shown by the two students littering. It is a natural reaction for us to see this is a mistake or a ‘crime’.
5) How did you attract/address your audience?
We intended to attract our audience from early on, the intro shows three different characters; one in particular (the inspector) with an unknown back-story walking into the school. To viewers, they would not who he is, why he is there or what he is doing but they see that he is some form of respectable figure because of the way he is dressed. During the POV scene we see from his eyes and the way he turns his head that he is unimpressed with the students, this makes the audience wonder and question the motives of the inspector.
During the first establishing shot of the intro, the audience will be aware that it is set in a school and they will begin to create possible scenarios within their minds. From early on we have created a sense of mystery, capturing the audience’s attention and pulling them into the fictional world almost instantly.
6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt to not waste space on the cameras, though this may not seem like much; it could have been a huge potential problem. However, the concern was not so much about how much space was left on the camera, it more about how much unnecessary footage we had. We had to spend hours just sifting through various scenes, shots and takes until we found something we were satisfied with.
3/4 of our way through our project, we encountered various problems with the scripts and the external actors being used. We had been focusing and relying far too much on dialogue and students who may not have been able to act for us as they would be in lessons.
Because of this, we could not have gone any further and started our entire project again but managed to film it in a much shorter amount of time, we focused on more camera work and less dialogue and thanks to this we were able to film within two hours. This was a huge improvement and a massive achievement. Our shots were far more impressive, utilising what we had learnt to set up various different shots and angles, making very good use of the POV shots.
This was uploaded onto the computer in a very short amount of time and we were ready to edit and finish off our final product. This was where we encountered what could be the biggest technological problem during our entire project; we had come back during the next lesson to begin editing to find that our work was no longer on the computers. We wasted valuable time trying to figure out what had happened to the work, unable to deduce the problem; we had to recapture on another computer and prepare for editing once again.
This had taught us a valuable lesson: save work on an external device so that any missing or deleted work can be easily replaced.
7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I’ve learnt that time is one of the most, if not the most crucial element of the entire project. Preparing all documents in order before preparing to film may have aided us greatly as opposed to doing just two documents and rushing into filming. Our storyboard was not finished in time with us wanting to film; if we had made the storyboard before-hand, it would have saved us valuable seconds when filming. Less time could have been spent over if we had been separating tasks and dividing into pairs to complete them quickly as opposed to all four of us focusing on one job when it was not necessary.
Our preliminary task was a very simple series of shots with an equally simple script. This should of showed us that simplicity is often far easier and works even better. But instead we had made our script, shots and ideas far too complex for us to carry out efficiently. Because of these many problems, we found ourselves completely starting again and trying a much simpler idea. This had worked to our favour, as we filmed again we were able to tweak ideas slightly as they were not too complicated, and give input throughout the filming process. In the end we had filmed far less scenes and shots, but more intelligently overall with a more diverse range of shot types. Both keeping in time with a schedule and managing to maintain simplicity is the solution.
Why do people watch films?
Different types of people want different things from films. One of the main reasons is escapism, watching films to escape from reality, relax and to divert themselves from their stress-filled lives. This is the most common reason, though most of us don’t even realise it. We watch films to treat ourselves to things that wouldn’t be possible in real life, an alternate reality to see what life would be like if people could fly or unimaginable things became possible.
Many psychological factors affect what we watch; most of us watch comedy films as a way to boost happiness. A lot of people watch films when they are bored, this is because it requires minimum effort but entertains us just as much as something that requires all our attention and hard-work. It’s easy and the reward is enjoyable. Watching films evokes a variety of emotions, watching a thriller would create tension as opposed to watching a comedy which will evoke laughter.
Some people watch films because they relate to the characters and the storylines, as opposed to carrying out the actions and the drama themselves, they see it as themselves with a more exciting twist. This makes it easier for people to follow and draws them in.
Some people even said that they watch films to see what the writer/director is trying to tell people through different effects and dialogue. Some use films as a method of inspiration for their own projects or to dissect actors/actresses actions.
A lot of people watch movies when they are procrastination, they begin to put off their work or duties and sit down and watch a film. Again, this is because it requires very little effort. Depending on the type of film, they can be watched from any point through the film. If a film is story-driven, it can’t be watched from half-way through but if a film is only loosely following a plot (such as a comedy) it is easy to jump straight into and enjoy.
Susan Burgraff a psychology professor investigated into why people watch horror films and she came to two theories which are the relief theory and the continuous reward theory. The relief theory explains why we take part in things that cause unpleasant feelings.
The stimulation of the unpleasant feeling strengthens the feeling of relief once the fear is gone. This links into relating to the characters, we see the protagonist of a story as a friend and we feel relief when we see them succeed.
There is a transfer of excitation (which is created by the excitement of the ongoing plot), the fear creates arousal which is then converted to positive arousal at the end of the film, these factors contribute towards the ‘snuggle effect’.
The snuggle theory gives people a chance to show their gender roles. i.e. women are emotional and men appear to be more brave. This is one of the main reasons young adults go on dates to watch horror films. Another aspect is conformity, being with others who are feeling similar emotions lets us feel as if we are a part of a group.
The majority of people who I had asked about why they watch films say it is either used as a means of escaping reality (as opposed to video games or reading a book) and stress or they use it to bring out many emotions.
A major reason for watching films is to socialise with friends. An extremely common plan for a night out between friends and it also creates opportunity for conversation and discussion between people.
This leads me to reviews; reviews are a big cause for watching films. They influence people to watch the latest films or even classics, as reviews are more accessible (all over the internet) now, more and more people are reading them and going to watch films. Reviews are even placed on advertising campaigns for the latest major hits to create further hype.
There is no definitive answer as to why people watch films, but there are many different factors that affect it; from relations with characters to thought-provoking and evoking a variety of emotions.
Different types of people want different things from films. One of the main reasons is escapism, watching films to escape from reality, relax and to divert themselves from their stress-filled lives. This is the most common reason, though most of us don’t even realise it. We watch films to treat ourselves to things that wouldn’t be possible in real life, an alternate reality to see what life would be like if people could fly or unimaginable things became possible.
Many psychological factors affect what we watch; most of us watch comedy films as a way to boost happiness. A lot of people watch films when they are bored, this is because it requires minimum effort but entertains us just as much as something that requires all our attention and hard-work. It’s easy and the reward is enjoyable. Watching films evokes a variety of emotions, watching a thriller would create tension as opposed to watching a comedy which will evoke laughter.
Some people watch films because they relate to the characters and the storylines, as opposed to carrying out the actions and the drama themselves, they see it as themselves with a more exciting twist. This makes it easier for people to follow and draws them in.
Some people even said that they watch films to see what the writer/director is trying to tell people through different effects and dialogue. Some use films as a method of inspiration for their own projects or to dissect actors/actresses actions.
A lot of people watch movies when they are procrastination, they begin to put off their work or duties and sit down and watch a film. Again, this is because it requires very little effort. Depending on the type of film, they can be watched from any point through the film. If a film is story-driven, it can’t be watched from half-way through but if a film is only loosely following a plot (such as a comedy) it is easy to jump straight into and enjoy.
Susan Burgraff a psychology professor investigated into why people watch horror films and she came to two theories which are the relief theory and the continuous reward theory. The relief theory explains why we take part in things that cause unpleasant feelings.
The stimulation of the unpleasant feeling strengthens the feeling of relief once the fear is gone. This links into relating to the characters, we see the protagonist of a story as a friend and we feel relief when we see them succeed.
There is a transfer of excitation (which is created by the excitement of the ongoing plot), the fear creates arousal which is then converted to positive arousal at the end of the film, these factors contribute towards the ‘snuggle effect’.
The snuggle theory gives people a chance to show their gender roles. i.e. women are emotional and men appear to be more brave. This is one of the main reasons young adults go on dates to watch horror films. Another aspect is conformity, being with others who are feeling similar emotions lets us feel as if we are a part of a group.
The majority of people who I had asked about why they watch films say it is either used as a means of escaping reality (as opposed to video games or reading a book) and stress or they use it to bring out many emotions.
A major reason for watching films is to socialise with friends. An extremely common plan for a night out between friends and it also creates opportunity for conversation and discussion between people.
This leads me to reviews; reviews are a big cause for watching films. They influence people to watch the latest films or even classics, as reviews are more accessible (all over the internet) now, more and more people are reading them and going to watch films. Reviews are even placed on advertising campaigns for the latest major hits to create further hype.
There is no definitive answer as to why people watch films, but there are many different factors that affect it; from relations with characters to thought-provoking and evoking a variety of emotions.
How important was Paramount Pictures to the growth of Hollywood?
Hollywood simply began as a ranch owned by Harvey Henderson Wilcox and was named by his wife Daeida. She learnt the name from her neighbour, Ivan Weid who in turn had heard of the name from HJ Whitley. Hollywood was integrated into Los Angeles since they were in need of a water supply, and then Hollywood became a suburb of L.A. In 1923, a housing development was built in Beachwood Canyon above Hollywood. They called this “Hollywoodland”. In 1924, the Crescent Sign Company to create a huge sign on the hillside, then in 1949, the sign was renovated and Land was removed from the end of the word, it became the landmark that is known all over the world.
Paramount Pictures is the oldest and longest running film studio in Southern California, the home of Hollywood. From its origin which can be traced back to as early as 1914 when both Lasky and Famous Players began releasing through Paramount Pictures Corporation, organised earlier that year by W. W. Hodkinson who owned a Utah Theatre. Eventually, both of the other companies had merged with Paramount Pictures. Adolph Zukor (Founder of Famous Players) believed in movie stars, he decided to sign up multiple actors including Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, and Wallace Reid. Because of the actors that Zukor had signed, Paramount were able to begin block booking.
This meant that every time an exhibitor wanted a specific actor’s movie, they would have to purchase an entire year’s worth of current Paramount productions. Due to this move by Zukor, this whole process had pushed Paramount into the top during the 1920s and 1930s.
This was an example of the star system. The star system was a process of creating and promoting movie stars during the golden/classic age of Hollywood. Studios would find young actors and mould them into new beings, giving them new names and sometimes new backgrounds. The star system was more about the images of actors rather than their acting and possibly who they really were. Not only were their personas created, studio executives and agents would also work together to hide certain lifestyles and events that could somehow lead to a damaged reputation. Because of this, it was a regular occurrence for stars to have pre-arranged sham dates between single stars to produce publicity, this was often done in the case of homosexuals. Tabloids would take photos and capture the moments of the stars together to further generate the gossip and hype around them.
Zukor had made many other strategic moves including building a theatrical chain which contained just under 2,000 screens, he also became an investor in the radio and took a 50% interest in the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1928. He managed to obtain Balaban & Katz; Barney Balaban became the president of Paramount and Sam Katz ran the Paramount-Publix theatre chain. Both of which are valuable assets to Paramount Pictures at the time.
This shows how people within Paramount had been planning ahead to push themselves in front of any possible competition from other studios such as Warner Bros. These strategic moves and the history of Paramount have definitely contributed towards Hollywood and golden ages in such a way that cannot be forgotten. From using the star system to generate more hype and further produce the images of stars and movies to block booking so that more movies became available for theatres to display. Block booking set aside Paramount from other competitors and made it stand above the rest.
Hollywood simply began as a ranch owned by Harvey Henderson Wilcox and was named by his wife Daeida. She learnt the name from her neighbour, Ivan Weid who in turn had heard of the name from HJ Whitley. Hollywood was integrated into Los Angeles since they were in need of a water supply, and then Hollywood became a suburb of L.A. In 1923, a housing development was built in Beachwood Canyon above Hollywood. They called this “Hollywoodland”. In 1924, the Crescent Sign Company to create a huge sign on the hillside, then in 1949, the sign was renovated and Land was removed from the end of the word, it became the landmark that is known all over the world.
Paramount Pictures is the oldest and longest running film studio in Southern California, the home of Hollywood. From its origin which can be traced back to as early as 1914 when both Lasky and Famous Players began releasing through Paramount Pictures Corporation, organised earlier that year by W. W. Hodkinson who owned a Utah Theatre. Eventually, both of the other companies had merged with Paramount Pictures. Adolph Zukor (Founder of Famous Players) believed in movie stars, he decided to sign up multiple actors including Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, and Wallace Reid. Because of the actors that Zukor had signed, Paramount were able to begin block booking.
This meant that every time an exhibitor wanted a specific actor’s movie, they would have to purchase an entire year’s worth of current Paramount productions. Due to this move by Zukor, this whole process had pushed Paramount into the top during the 1920s and 1930s.
This was an example of the star system. The star system was a process of creating and promoting movie stars during the golden/classic age of Hollywood. Studios would find young actors and mould them into new beings, giving them new names and sometimes new backgrounds. The star system was more about the images of actors rather than their acting and possibly who they really were. Not only were their personas created, studio executives and agents would also work together to hide certain lifestyles and events that could somehow lead to a damaged reputation. Because of this, it was a regular occurrence for stars to have pre-arranged sham dates between single stars to produce publicity, this was often done in the case of homosexuals. Tabloids would take photos and capture the moments of the stars together to further generate the gossip and hype around them.
Zukor had made many other strategic moves including building a theatrical chain which contained just under 2,000 screens, he also became an investor in the radio and took a 50% interest in the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1928. He managed to obtain Balaban & Katz; Barney Balaban became the president of Paramount and Sam Katz ran the Paramount-Publix theatre chain. Both of which are valuable assets to Paramount Pictures at the time.
This shows how people within Paramount had been planning ahead to push themselves in front of any possible competition from other studios such as Warner Bros. These strategic moves and the history of Paramount have definitely contributed towards Hollywood and golden ages in such a way that cannot be forgotten. From using the star system to generate more hype and further produce the images of stars and movies to block booking so that more movies became available for theatres to display. Block booking set aside Paramount from other competitors and made it stand above the rest.
To what extent is Psycho a typical thriller?
Psycho is a typical thriller in the sense that it defined the genre and set new standards. From its gripping yet eerie soundtrack to its unforgettable scenes, it has been copied and imitated countless times. Based on a novel of the same name and receiving its inspiration on the events of a real serial killer, Psycho is based on a man with two personalities, Norman Bates; the villain of the film. This already creates a sense of discomfort and as we delve deeper into the film we discover his motives and the psychological aspects of this thriller.
One facet that makes this a thriller is fear of the unknown, not knowing what is going to happen and the sense of uneasiness. This is accompanied by quick shots and tight camera angles; this is shown perfectly in the shower scene. One of the most famous and memorable scenes of all of film history; the shower scene was most notable for the use of the sharp and shrieking all-strings composition and the use of many camera angles and shots. This made the entire sequence seem much longer and more violent than if longer shots from a further distance were used. We see the seemingly innocent woman nude, this is to show that she’s in a vulnerable state. The atmosphere is created by the fact that the scene is such an unimaginable place for a murder to occur, this initially makes you wonder but we then see the silhouette of a shady figure from behind the shower curtains, retaining the interest in the scene and keeping us on edge.
In Arbogast’s murder scene, tension is built by his slow entrance into the house. We see the view of the stairs and see that nobody is visible, this creates a sense of mystery. The music begins and becomes increasingly louder and then there’s a sudden turn and we hear the same sharp piece that we heard during the shower scene.
When Norman is confronted we see him acting in a nervous and peculiar manner and as events unfold, we’re left pondering and speculating upon what is really happening, but we aren’t entirely certain until the very end of the film when Norman Bates’ psychological condition is fully explained. However, before this we are alerted by the old couple that Norman’s mother has been dead for years, this just generates confusion as we have seen two people previously being murdered by the shadowy mother figure.
In conclusion I see Psycho as both a horror and a thriller, it takes traits from each genre and combines them very well and uses them to create horror and tension.
Psycho is a typical thriller in the sense that it defined the genre and set new standards. From its gripping yet eerie soundtrack to its unforgettable scenes, it has been copied and imitated countless times. Based on a novel of the same name and receiving its inspiration on the events of a real serial killer, Psycho is based on a man with two personalities, Norman Bates; the villain of the film. This already creates a sense of discomfort and as we delve deeper into the film we discover his motives and the psychological aspects of this thriller.
One facet that makes this a thriller is fear of the unknown, not knowing what is going to happen and the sense of uneasiness. This is accompanied by quick shots and tight camera angles; this is shown perfectly in the shower scene. One of the most famous and memorable scenes of all of film history; the shower scene was most notable for the use of the sharp and shrieking all-strings composition and the use of many camera angles and shots. This made the entire sequence seem much longer and more violent than if longer shots from a further distance were used. We see the seemingly innocent woman nude, this is to show that she’s in a vulnerable state. The atmosphere is created by the fact that the scene is such an unimaginable place for a murder to occur, this initially makes you wonder but we then see the silhouette of a shady figure from behind the shower curtains, retaining the interest in the scene and keeping us on edge.
In Arbogast’s murder scene, tension is built by his slow entrance into the house. We see the view of the stairs and see that nobody is visible, this creates a sense of mystery. The music begins and becomes increasingly louder and then there’s a sudden turn and we hear the same sharp piece that we heard during the shower scene.
When Norman is confronted we see him acting in a nervous and peculiar manner and as events unfold, we’re left pondering and speculating upon what is really happening, but we aren’t entirely certain until the very end of the film when Norman Bates’ psychological condition is fully explained. However, before this we are alerted by the old couple that Norman’s mother has been dead for years, this just generates confusion as we have seen two people previously being murdered by the shadowy mother figure.
In conclusion I see Psycho as both a horror and a thriller, it takes traits from each genre and combines them very well and uses them to create horror and tension.
Friday, 16 January 2009
Foundation Production
Psycho
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the novel by Robert Bloch which was inspired by the crimes committed by Ed Gein. Based on the Psyche of Norman Bates, a man who killed both his mother and her lover due to jealousy. He was so guilty for killing her that he tried to erase the crime by bringing her back to life in his mind. This was done by stealing her corpse a preserving the body. This process also created another personality within Norman; he incorporated the personality of his mother as a separate part of his psyche. He acts as he believes she would, talks like her, and even dresses as she would. Because Norman was very jealous of his mother while she lived, he imagined that Mother would be equally jealous of any woman to whom he might be attracted, to the point of murdering them. Norman's psychosis protects him from (consciously) knowing about the crimes the mother figure commits, and it also prevents him from consciously knowing that his mother is long dead.
Silence of the lambs
Classical music creates a sense of seriousness.
Female characters shown as a figure of innocence.
Preparing the main character to see somebody in a cell, but unaware of what he’s capable off.
Mouth piece, string.
Lighting, becomes dark/red to show danger.
Walking down the corridor, seeing the different types of people in the cells.
Building tension as she walks.
The way HL speaks and presents himself; he does not move. Creating a sense of uneasiness.
The Shining
Eerie music/sounds in the corridor as the camera follows.
Voices from the end of the hallway.
Opening has string instruments, as the camera is high above the roads moving away from the city.
Another innocent female character.
‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’
This is to show that Jack has some kind of psychological problem.
As the woman turns the pages to find that each page contains the same piece of writing, the string music gets louder and louder.
Similarities
All films begin with an establishing shot.
Feature eerie string music creating tense moments.
An innocent female role.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the novel by Robert Bloch which was inspired by the crimes committed by Ed Gein. Based on the Psyche of Norman Bates, a man who killed both his mother and her lover due to jealousy. He was so guilty for killing her that he tried to erase the crime by bringing her back to life in his mind. This was done by stealing her corpse a preserving the body. This process also created another personality within Norman; he incorporated the personality of his mother as a separate part of his psyche. He acts as he believes she would, talks like her, and even dresses as she would. Because Norman was very jealous of his mother while she lived, he imagined that Mother would be equally jealous of any woman to whom he might be attracted, to the point of murdering them. Norman's psychosis protects him from (consciously) knowing about the crimes the mother figure commits, and it also prevents him from consciously knowing that his mother is long dead.
Silence of the lambs
Classical music creates a sense of seriousness.
Female characters shown as a figure of innocence.
Preparing the main character to see somebody in a cell, but unaware of what he’s capable off.
Mouth piece, string.
Lighting, becomes dark/red to show danger.
Walking down the corridor, seeing the different types of people in the cells.
Building tension as she walks.
The way HL speaks and presents himself; he does not move. Creating a sense of uneasiness.
The Shining
Eerie music/sounds in the corridor as the camera follows.
Voices from the end of the hallway.
Opening has string instruments, as the camera is high above the roads moving away from the city.
Another innocent female character.
‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’
This is to show that Jack has some kind of psychological problem.
As the woman turns the pages to find that each page contains the same piece of writing, the string music gets louder and louder.
Similarities
All films begin with an establishing shot.
Feature eerie string music creating tense moments.
An innocent female role.
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