CGAA year 1
Unit 4: Story telling essay
Ernesta Baniulyte
CG Arts and Animation
Unit 3: Story telling Essay
Illustration 1
By Ernesta Baniulyte
CGAA year 1
Unit 4: Story telling essay
Ernesta Baniulyte
This essay is going to analyse, the relationship of story and structure that are used in one of the greatest films of Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho. As many films of A. Hitchcock, like: the birds or Rear Window, Psycho involves and attracts viewers, with its story. We will look at the methods director uses to make the story so interesting, that a viewer can hardly take the eyes off the screen. This essay analyses the screening (A presentation of a movie [thefreedictionary.com, unknown], editing and story A. Hitchcock used for this film. This essay is referenced by film reviews of critics, such as: Roger Ebert, Weal Khairy, Paine Knickerbocker and as well interview with own Alfred Hitchock.
Psycho is one of the most known movies of great director Alfred Hitchcock, realised in 1960s. 1 hour and 49 horror/ thriller movie was quite shocking for 1960s audience. Psycho was first movie that appeared with really open murder scenes. Hitchcock shot in black and white because he felt the audience could not stand so much blood in color (the 1998 Gus Van Sant remake specifically repudiates that theory). *Ebert, 1998+ However Hitchcock manages show them really beautifully, in terms that there were no flesh or open wounds, which would rise a disgust. The story is about a banker Marion Crane, who steels 40,000 dollars and runs away. On the way she stops to the motel, to spend the night, where she is tragically murdered. One of the Hitchcocks aims was to create as much realistic movie as possible, what explains really low budget of the movie. Hitchcock wanted to create a movie, which would reflect the majority of the viewers life, which is not that pleasant and glamorous as it usually, was presented in other that time movies. That made this film closer to audience, what let them to be more involved into the story. [Ebert, 1998] To begin with, probably the first thing we can notice in Alfred Hitchcocks movies is that he manages to manipulate the audience. He draws a tension in all his stories from their start, what is still unusually even for a modern, nowadays horror movies. And Psycho is one of directors masterpieces, where he uses this method. From the beginning we are introduced with tense situation: Marion Crane, a banker who lives in Phoenix, Arizona steels big amount of money from the bank and runs away [Ebert, 1998]. On her way, she faces many situations, which looks incredibly dangerous and every moment of the movie it seems that
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CGAA year 1
Unit 4: Story telling essay
Ernesta Baniulyte
Marion can be caught. We can see that, starting from the fact that she is seen by her boss, on her way out of the city, and finishing with the police man, who fallows her for quite a long time. The next thing, what appears quite disturbing, is paranoiac behaviour of the Marion. She suspects everyone she meets on her way. The rise of the tension from the beginning of the film is probably one of the factors, why the story of this Alfred Hitchcocks movie is so involving and interesting. There is no single moment when it is possible to relax completely and watch a movie, without thinking, that something bad is going to happen: the character will be caught or another scene of the murder appears. In addition to, probably another factor, what makes the story so great, is that Alfred Hitchcock, makes the story quite simple, but uses many interesting details in the movie set. [Knickerbocker, 1998] As an example we can take stuffed animals, in the hotel reception room, where M. Crane stops for a night. And the fact that, motels innkeeper stuffed them by himself makes it even weirder. Many details in the film as dark big house and the womans shadow in its window or stamped bed, rise tension with every scene of the movie. It is really surprising how A. Hitchcock manages to keep the tension and develop it even stronger with every scene of the film. Really strong factor that makes movie even tenser is soundtrack, which is really slow and come melody before a mother committing a crime and much faster, lauder and more intensive during murder scenes. Furthermore, A. Hitchcock as always skilfully uses the camera. The first scene of the movie is basically camera flying over the city of Phoenix, and moving into random window of the building, what gives an impression of randomly chosen story. [Khairy, 2010] That kind of explains his words: I enjoy playing the audience like a piano. *Hitchcock, unknown]. A. Hitchcock as always manages to confuse people and manipulate during all the two hours of the movie. A. Hitchcock carefully choses camera angles, what involves a person and sometimes it are even possible to forget that it a movie not a reality. Hitchcock uses a medium shot of the main character, Marion Crane, as she drives away from her hometown. The shot shows her face, part of the steering wheel, and the background, which includes the sky. The shot then changes from that particular medium shot to what is regarded as an eyeline matching shot, in which we as the audience see the highway through her eyes. This is the second time Hitchcock uses this shot *Khairy, 2010+ The shots Hitchcock uses in the film intimidates and rise the fair and tension as well. As a really good example we can take the
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CGAA year 1
Unit 4: Story telling essay
Ernesta Baniulyte
scene, when detective enters into motel innkeepers house. This scene full of insert shots (Insert shot is usually a close-up of an action or an object that is inserted into the main action of a master scene *Tumminello, 2004+)of the opening door, shoes, shower scene and etc., these shots , where you cannot see all the room, or some where you can see just part of them, rise the horror, especially when we know that Marion were killed by the mother, who lives in the house and never leaves it.
Illustration 2
and I found it necessary sometimes, to increase the amount of play by the actor, to make it stronger towards the end of the film. In other words, you have a symphony, always the last movement is the strongest and the biggest when the full orchestra is employed [Hitchcock, 1965] The last but not least, the way film characters are presented in the film, makes a big impact to the story. The mother of the motels innkeeper is not shown till the end of the movie, what makes the end of the movie so surprising and unexpected, when it appears that mother is dead and the innkeeper, who has dissociative identity disorder. The most shocking things that young motel owner not just has double identity, but he also keeps mothers corpse in the house, what explains womans shadow in the window. People dont always express their inner thoughts to one another, a conversation may be quite trivial, but often the eyes will reveal what a person thinks or needs. [Hitchcock, unknown] Next, the contrast between behaviour and dialogs makes film so persuasive, incredibly weird. We can see that in many scenes of the movie, for example as one of the firsts in the movie, when Marion is stopped by a police man or when she is trying to sell her car. Also, we can remember how Norton (the motel innkeeper) acts the first time he meets Marion. That as well plays on the viewers nerves, what means it really interacts an audience. In addition to,
CGAA year 1
Unit 4: Story telling essay
Ernesta Baniulyte
A. Hitchcock manages to make viewers hate and at the same time be worried for every single character in the film. Everyone does mistakes and is cruel in their own way. However the sensitive side of each character is shown as well. That confuses and makes hard to understand which of the characters you are supporting. [Khairy, 2010]
To sum up, Psycho is a masterpiece, which proves an incredible A. Hitchcocks talent to present a movie perfectly and his deep understanding of importance of all factors, such as: camera shots, sounds, characters and etc. Psycho is one of the examples that a horror, tension and surprising culmination of the movie not necessarily should be at the end and that the tension and interest can be kept during all the two hours of a movie. Director shows his abilities to make a masterpiece and a legendary movie without big budget. And the last but not least this movie just proves own director words, that audience can played like an instrument, and it obvious that Hitchcock knew the best ways and methods how to play it.
CGAA year 1
Unit 4: Story telling essay
Ernesta Baniulyte
Bibliography
Ebert, Roger (1998), Psycho film review *online+ http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19981206/REVIEWS08/401010353/102 3 [accessed 23/02/2012] Hitchcock, Alfred (1965), Interview for channel for [online] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHPCLfY4ni8 [accessed 23/02/2012] Hitchock, Alfred (unknow) quatations [online] http://borgus.com/hitch/hitch2011.htm [accessed 24/02/2012] Khairy, Wael (2010), Psychofilm review and analysis *online+ http://cinephilefix.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/hitchcocks-symphony-psycho-a-shot-by-shotcommentary/ [accessed 24/02/2012] Knickenbocker, Paine (1998), psycho film review *online+ http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1998/12/05/DD85768.DTL [accessed 23/02/2012] Thefreedictionary.com (unknown), [online] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/screening [accessed 1/03/2012] Tumminello, Wendy (2004), exploring story boarding, Delmar Cengage Learning, united Kingdom, page 40
List of Illustrations: Illustration 1, Collider.com (unknow). Film Psycho poster *online+ http://collider.com/wpcontent/uploads/pyscho-movie-poster.jpg [accessed 01/03.2012] Illustration 2, criticker.com (2007) [online] http://www.criticker.com/blog/index.php/2007/11/27/alfred-hitchcock-wiki/ [accessed 01/03.2012]
