Psycho is a 1960 American horror-thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, and Janet Leigh. The screenplay is by Joseph Stefano, based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Blochloosely inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Gein.
Within the first few seconds of the film opening we are instantly thrown a dissonant non-diegetic soundtrack (Bernard Herrmann: Psycho - Prelude), which has a precise fast rhythm. This is exceedingly effective for its genre (horror) as it helps build up tension within the audience. Secondly the Psycho soundtrack also help create suspense in the atmosphere, this will make the viewers question on what’s going to happen with in the first scene of the movie. It also it creates a feeling as if time is running out due to the fact that the sound is similar to what you would expect to hear in a chase scene. As well as this the sound used throughout this sequence helps to create a dramatic atmosphere full of suspense and tension, making and setting atone to the film, which gives the viewer an insight into what to expect in terms of storyline. Due to the soundtrack being completely bizarre it therefore generates discomfort within the viewers as the soundtrack is very unpredictable and is not something what people are used to hearing. As well as this the music seems to come across as unstable and unpredictable, this is due to the fact that it tends to switch between different pitches as if someone is turning the volume up and down over and over again.
The first few titles that are shown to the viewers is the directors name and the title of the movie. By showing the directors name first this may help create excitement in the audience, this is because Alfred Hitchcock was a famous English film director and producer at the time and was known for directing a number of great films.
The way the bars shoot across the screen while slicing the titles really does grab your attention and is not something to easy to miss. The slicing bar helps foreshadows the effect of a Psychopath slicing a victim with no sympathy, which we later witness in the movie. Another feature that makes these titles so effective is how they work perfectly in sync with the music. The orchestral piece uses many unorthodox melodic techniques (that the film would then become infamous for), and this immediately creates an unpredictable atmosphere because of the bizarre music.
