Film Language - Group storyboarding task

Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960)

- Character blocking of the psycho makes him the antagonist in the scene, as the audience sees his shadow from where we see the woman in the shower using an 'over the shoulder shot'

- A high camera angle is used to focus on the woman and the psycho in the same shot

- The volume of non-diegetic sound increases as the psycho pulls the curtain back and begins to stab her, this allows the audience to see that the woman in the shower is vulnerable as the antagonist is in control of the scene using a form of surprise
- Cutting of shots indicates the woman is being stabbed although we do not actually see the blade touch her as we may do in modern horror films

- The camera tracks back from her eye after we see her being stabbed which gives the audience time to reflect on what has just happened, this editing technique also increases tension as it makes it seem as if the violence hasn't ended

- The set of the home (Mise-en-scene) makes the woman vulnerable as an intruder is in the comfort of her own home

- The shower continues to run (Diegetic sound) after the woman has been stabbed, making the feel tense as they're unsure whether the violence has ended or not 



FP: Medium long shot

This would be a tracking shot, with the antagonist facing away from the camera to hide his/her identity. Possibly lit from the behind the camera. The prop used in this shot would be a (large) knife

OK: Close up

My image is inspired from this scene in the 'Purge'. The mask hides the expression of the antagonist, although the mask reflects a 'horror theme'. Character blocking is important in my picture as we have a character who is staring into our eyes, making an audience feel uneasy as they look at this character

LH: Mid Shot

This shot would be static, it is generic in the horror genre. The silhouette is used in this case to give a sense of unknown, the persons identity would be kept a secret, this creates a sense of horror. The prop used would be a knife, this itself gives an image of horror due to the element of danger behind the weapon.