Psycho was a 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film made on a low budget that went on to be a major commercial success. It used innovative lighting techniques like shadows and darker locations to create tension. The black and white cinematography helped highlight the textures of the costumes worn during the relevant time period. A variety of camera angles, including close-ups, mid shots, and low angles, were employed to emphasize reactions and foreshadow key moments, driving the suspense of the thriller.

1. PSYCHO

2. Facts…
• Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/horror film
directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
• Considered Hitchcock’s best film ever produced.
• Filmed on a low budget, filmed by a tv crew!
• Release June 16th 1960.
• Its budget was $806,947.
• It made in $50,000,000 the box office alone.
• Originally distributed by Paramount but later
redistributed by Universal.

3. Lighting?
As the film was black and white the lighting had to be
extraordinary in order for it to be an effective film.
• Shadows were regularly used to contrast with the brighter
white shades to make the film tense and more thrilling.
• The use of shadows were vital to this film, without them it
would’ve been ineffective and boring… definitely not a
thrilling thriller.
• It was a very dark film, dark locations were used
throughout the film apart from the famous shower
scene, this scene had to be lighter in order to create shock
to the audience!
• The darkness created a very eerie atmosphere and meant
that you couldn’t see beyond that specific scene.

5. Cast?
• Janet Leigh
• Anthony Perkins
• Vera Miles
• John Gavin
• Patricia Hitchcock (Alfreds daughter)
• Jeanette Nolan
• John Anderson
• Simon Oakland
• Virginia Gregg
• John McIntire

6. Clothes.
• The clothing was all very relative to the time
period that psycho was made in, a lot of grey was
used.
• Because it was a black and white film the clothing
texture had to be clear, we see lace, tweed, silk
etc.
• Even though it was a black and white film it was
clear to see that only monochrome colours were
worn in this film.
• The camera angles help highlight the different
materials to add more detail to the film.

7. Camera Angles
There is such a huge variety of camera angles used
throughout psycho! The camera angles help emphasise
specific moments and reactions in the film.
For example:
• A close up shot of Janet’s face shows her scared
reaction to the knife that’s being aimed at her.
• Mid shots are frequently used to show the pait
together.
• Low angles shots are used to give different levels and
more detail to the film, depending on how zoomed in
this shot is it can also give reactions or a clue to whats
amount to happen next.