Film Language and Representation

People Just Come and Go

This scene is when Arbogast finally makes it at the motel and starts to talk with Norman Bates about Marion Crane.

 Norman in this scene can be scene as very nervous as he stutters a multitude of times and he nervously chews his candy. He knows of the deed that his mother has done and he is nervous while trying to cover for her.

Arbogast seems to be the antagonist of the conversation. One could tell he's very good at his job seeing as he manipulates Norman to expose a lot of information that was not mentioned. He has his ways with words and has a very good memory seeing as he build from everything that Norman says and contradicts Norman's statements.

The camera angles in this scene are mostly the same except for some parts like the picture in the left. It stays at the same angle as when he was facing the camera. It shows his anxiousness as this angle is not  a very normal camera placement. 

The area of the scene takes place in the office of Norman Bates. It feels like a very small somehwat cramped space which increases the tension between the two characters and the nervousness and uneasyness of Norman Bates. The small area also creates an authetic feel of a small motel and keeps true to its image.

The shadows and lighting are most important for this scene because color is mostly non-existent because it is black and white. The lighting highlights the things that the film wants us to focus to such as this photo. The shadow somewhat covers Arbogast's hand and a light is focused on Marion's face to show us what to focus to.

In this scene, Norman was just asked if Marion was still in the motel and giggles while saying no. The slightly jokish laugh shows some dramatic irony as we know what happened to Marion but Arbogast does not know the whole story. The place of that laugh was perfect as it gave out a small glimpse of the psycho side of Norman Bates.

Psycho: Narrative and the Film Extract

The movie Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock presents many twists that changes the focus of the whole entirely for the audience. The story in the beginning followed the troubles of Marion but then switches to focus to the story of Norman Bates, who is not introduced until a third into the movie. The twists and turns of the movie bends the very linear path that it would have taken without these twists. This twist allows the audience to rethink what the focus of the movie actually is.

The movie is very plot driven depending on the  story of Marion Crane of tying it in with the story of Norman Bates. The plot ties in all the backstory of Norman and the present for the search for Marion and the missing money. It uses motives and pulls in the audience to relate with characters of the film. The film is also very dependent on the time as the story of the film goes through many different time settings, spanning weeks or only lasting minutes apart from each scene.

 When Norman is introduced, he can actually be relatable (before he goes psycho, or fonally shows it). He comes off as a shy and very lonely man with a weird hobby. Although this may have seemed creepy, this was being blocked by Marion's situation. Since she was in a lot of pressure, many would have thought that she would have turned psycho. By just how Norman talked, you could hear and see a somewhat scared and shy inflection in his voice. He was also very hospitable towards Marion which ruled him out as a would be psycho. But i guess you would have to watch for the ones you don't expect.




Marion is also a very relatable character as she is on the run and must make a moral decision. Her life revolves around her lovelife and her pursuit to get married. However, her boyfriend cannot supply her with the funds that she needs because of previous debt he still has to pay. This leads Marion to steal money and run away. While driving, she imagines the scenes of what could be happening back in her town. People can relate to making the right decision, either take the money and run away or give back the money. She makes up her mind and wants to return the money, but a psycho manages to kill her first.


In the novel of Psycho by Robert Bloch, Norman Bates is portrayed as a fat, middle-aged, charmless alcoholic. The casting of Anthony Perkins went completely against this because it would have been too obvious that Norman Bates would be the psycho. Instead, Hitchcock chose Perkins who is slender, handsome, shy and charismatic. This throws away most speculation of Norman being a psycho. Marion on the other hand is portrayed as this beautiful and hardworking woman trying to make her love work. Her relationship drives her to go off the beaten path (pun intended), and steal money even though she has been a loyal worker for years, which lead to her death not long after.

Historical and Institutional Influences of Hitchcock

Psycho

Psycho is a film by Alfred Hitchcock and making this movie a hard process. Alfred Hitchcock was denied funding by Paramount and Hitchcock decided to fund it himself. After a compromise, the movie was decided to be distributed by Paramount Pictures. Even it was a Paramount picture, it was filmed in a different studio. This film increased the popularity of Hitchcock and propelled him into higher popularity.

The movie Psycho cemented and popularized the slasher genre. Although it wasn't the first of its kind, it was one of the ones to become popular to mass media. This movie fearlessly showed violence and was accepted by the mass media. It put itself in black and white because the movie would have been far too gory if seen in color and that it was cheaper to produce in black and white. The movie hit just below $1 million for production costs. This gave Hitchcock some financial troubles because of the self production cost of the movie. 

Psycho ended up being a path-maker to the ways of Slasher movies. It is regarded as a classic, as it should. It resisted the studio system by being self-produced because of Paramount disagreeing to fund the movie because of its content.

Psycho: A Classic

Psycho: A Classic

Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock falls in the genre of psychological thrillers as it uses thriller conventions and the mind of Norman Bates for its story. The film uses many dark and gloomy shots to signify and accentuate it as a thriller or a horror movie. In the famous shower scene, it incorporates fast cuts and shadows to portray the villain and the victim. The use of darkness and shadows create a very moody atmosphere as to represent evil of some sort. Hitchcock pulled some inspiration from William Castle's works such as Macabre and 13 Ghosts. He pulls in the horror while keeping a more stoy based film. The film is based off of the novel Psycho by Robert Bloch. The movie was made with combined effort of many men most notably Alfred Hitchcock, Joseph Stephano, and John L. Russell. The movie is inspired by the graverobber, Ed Gein.

Alfred Hitchcock was a control freak. He controlled many aspects of making a movie and it had to be made from his vision. Psycho falls in that category but in every movie he is still open to some ideas of others. John L. Russell was the cinematographer and he has worked on many different monster/horror movies before Psycho so his knowledge of framing and conventions were already in place. The screenplay made by Joseph Stefano closely followed the original novel with of course some changes. Hitchcock's vision is very much present in Psycho. He brought a very unsettling atmosphere which complimented the story of what Psycho is. 

A fitting theme for the movie would be the lack of family. Since Norman Bates was so excluded from society, he only knew of his parents. When his father died, he only knew his mother. He becomes entranced by the thought of his mother. So much so, that he develops a second persona of his mother. Isolation can also be a theme seeing as Norman Bates was alone for most of his life and that he does not know how to react to society. The target audience are older teens that are attracted by the posters and the name of the movie. The movie itself allows the different genders to relate to several characteristics of the movie. The women can relate and build a relationship with the female lead while the men can keep themselves occupied with the violence and mystery.

From Silents to Studio' Golden Years

The inclusion of sound was a revolutionary addition to filmmaking as it allowed audiences to hear dialogue and hear what is happening in the scene. Although the inclusion of sound is good, in the beginning of when it was included it actually worsened the quality of film. Many problems popped up because of the inclusion of sound. Many actors and actresses had very strong accents which made them not fit the character they are playing. Another problem was the matching of voices with talents. Sometimes people's voices would not match their body making it seem very awkward. These problem lessened the values of the films and damaged their quality.







The studio years were the years when big companies ruled the movie scene. Studio such as Warner Brothers, Paramount, etc. Actors were bound by contract and they only acted in movies that the studio wanted them to. The actors would then be associated with only a few characters instead of being more diverse. The contracts and studios developed a well-coordinated and efficient system for turning out films.

Writing About Film

1. There are 5 different types of film writing. There is Formal Analysis, Film History, Ideological Papers, Cultural Studies/National Cinemas, and Discussion of the Auteur. Formal Analysis allows the writer to analyze different parts of the film in order to see how they come together to connect the film as a whole. Film History looks into the history of the film and looks in on its influences from fistory. Idealogical Papers show the film through through different points of view and how it portrays its message. Cultural Studies/National Cinemas show the different ways international movies portray their countries or culture in film. Discussion of the Auteur criticizes a single person's contribution and how their unique vision cnan shape the vision of the film.

2. Annotating a film sequence is when a person takes a certain scene from a movie and breaks it down to show the components of the film. These components that are shown while breaking it down should show and bring the film together as a whole. The seperate components make it easier to uncover any hidden messages and allow for easier traking of each scenes.

3. Thinking beyond the frame suggests looking into the work that is actually put into a scene instead of just looking at the content of a scene. Knowing the director of the film can show the many different patterns that appears in the the director's other works. Many different factors can also show the effort that went into the film such as time, money and writing of the script. The culture or place of film can also influence the makings of a film and can attribute to the film as a whole.