BLOG Entry #2: What I See

In Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho(1960) the technical choices have an impact on the film. In the opening scene there is an establishing shot of a tall building in an extreme wide shot as the camera slowly pans into a window of a couple undressed. The idea is important in the film because it presents an intrusion on personal space of character which Alfred Hitchcock captures. We as the viewer enter into their private space with the use of the camera movements such as the opening scene.

In another scene later in the film Norton Bates a motel manager in his parlor removes a picture from the wall that reveals a peep hole. He then proceeds to look through the peephole at Marion Crane as she undresses. The sense of voyeurism is present in several of these shots. The first shot shows Norman Bates in a close up with a low key lighting as the light shines through the peephole onto his face. The second shot showing Marion Crane in a medium long shot undressing. Then the third shot showing an extreme close up of Norman Bates eye from his point of view again looking though the peephole. There is use of a telephoto lens for the shot of his eye as he looks though the peep hole.

The film also presents fear of authority such as in the scene when Marion Crane is awaken by a police officer as she lies in her car sleep on the side of the road. In the first shot there is a long shot of hills and her car as the police car drives into the frame of the shot. The second shot shows the police officers getting out of his car as he proceeds to her car in a long shot. In the next shot there is a close up he looks into the car window. Then a quick shot of Marion Crane lying down in the car in a medium close up into a close up of her rising up startled. The scene continues with several close up shots of both her and the police officer. The director Alfred Hitchcock was able to revel within several shots in the scene that explores fear of authority figure. In addition, it shares that same fear with the viewer as Marion Crane is filled with guilt and concern.

One of the most interesting aspects of the film is the shower scene as Marion Crane is stabbed to death in the shower. The film halfway throughout has established Marion Crane as the protagonist, but she ends up dead. Her death moves the plot of the film along. Hitchcock was able to grab the audience and identify with Marion Crane for the first half of the film. The shower scene has several close up's and extreme close up's of Marion Crane screaming as Norman Bates stabs her to death.

BLOG Entry #1

Trip To The Museum Of Moving Images

At the Museum Of Moving Images, I like many of the displays that were shown. I saw the Mutoscope which was an early motion picture device. It worked on the same principle of a flip book which was pretty cool for that time it was made. The Mutoscope featured Charlie Chaplin the silent film comic actor. The Mutoscope was hand crank driven where you would crank the handle in order to see the pictures move and the faster I cranked it you could see progress of images tell a picture story visually. The single image frames were in black and white flexible opaque cards instead of a booklet of a flip book.

Another display at the museum that I saw was the Thaumatrope. It was a card with a picture on each side that was attached to a string. When you would twirl it quickly you saw the image move. The Zoetrope was a really cute and nice display at the museum too. It was a device that produced an illusion of movement from a fast succession of static pictures. In addition, it consisted of a cylinder with slits cut vertically and inside the inner surface showed an image in motion when you would spin it whole looking through the slits.

I think one of the most captivating and awesome displays at the museum was the Feral Fount. It functions similar as the drawings in a Zoetrope or frames of an animated film. The sculptures are mounted on a rotating armature and the strobe light flashes thirteen times per second, illuminating the sculptures. Also, there is an interval of darkness between each flash of the strobe light, you don’t see a blur as the sculptures spins by, but perceive a moving image instead to the human eye. It was really hypnotizing to see the faucet turning into a bomb then into a paper airplane and landing in an exploding dishpan.

I also checked out the Screen Actors Guild section of famous actors and actresses at the museum which showed black and white photographs with their autographs on them. It was pretty cool to see a lot of the famous stars photos such as Jack Nicholson, Shirley Temple, Jackie Gleason and Anthony Perkins. I saw the short 1903 film “The Great Train Robbery” it was pretty cool considering the early film making techniques used at the time. The last shot in the film was kind of cool when robber aims and fires his gun to the audience. It’s said to be very startling for viewers at the time when they first saw it. I saw some of the costumes on display worn by actors and actresses in movies. I saw the many types of motion picture cameras used in film production through out the years on display, which I did not realize how big they were in person. Overall, my trip to the Museum Of Moving Images was an enjoyable experience, fun and informative as well.