1

Step outline for film opening of Psycho

Genre: Psychological Horror
Description of action
Timings
Mise-enscene
Fades from black to the
00:00:00 Paramount
ident for the company
00:00:05
Ident
Paramount, saying: a
Paramount Release
Animated lines push onto 00:00:06 White lines
the the screen, an
00:00:23
push across
animated sequence
the screen to
saying Alfred Hitchcocks
reveal the
Psycho.
name Alfred
Hitchcocks:
and then
Psycho.
The line push away to
00:00:23 White font
reveal Starring Anthony
00:00:28
capitalised in
Perkins
the centre of
the screen.
The lines push the text
00:00:28 White font
again to read Vera
00:00:31
capitalised in
Miles
the centre of
the screen.
This happens again, John 00:00:31White font
Gavin
00:00:35
capitalised in
the centre of
the screen.
The lines push in from the 00:00:35White font
left, slightly smaller text
00:00:40
capitalised in
to the left of the screen
the centre of
reading Co-starring,
the screen.
Martin Balsam and John
McIntire
The text is then pushed
00:00:40White font

Sound
No sound is
heard.

Camerawo
rk

Editing

Typography

Fade to and from

black transition.

Diegetic sound
of violins playing
a very loud
staccato is
heard.

Captilised
white font,
clear and easy
to read against
the black
background.
Gives a sense
of importance
and
seriousness
amongst the
animated
sequence.

Violin melody

2
away and new text
appears in the bottom
centre in smaller writing:
With Simon Oakland,
Vaugh Taylor, Frank
Albertson, Lurene Tuttle,
Pat Hitchcock, John
Anderson, Mort Mills
The text is pushed away
and much bigger text is
seen to the left of the
screen reading: and
JANET LEIGH as Marion
Crane
Text appears to the right
hand side of the screen,
reading Screenplay by
Joseph Stefano, based on
the novel by Robert
Bloch
Text appears from the top
of the screen credditng:
Director of Photography:
John L Russell ASC, Art
Direction: Joseph Hurley
and Robert Clatworthy,
Set Decorator: George
Milo, Unit Manager: Lew
Leary, Titles designed by
Saul Bass
More credits appear,
reading: Edited by
George Tomasini A C E,
Costume supervisor
Helen Colvig, Make up

00:00:50

capitalised in
the centre of
the screen.

00:00:5000:01:06

White font
capitalised in
the centre of
the screen.

00:01:0600:01:18

White font
capitalised in
the centre of
the screen.

00:01:18
00:01:29

White font
capitalised in
the centre of
the screen.

00:01:29
00:01:39

White font
capitalised in
the centre of
the screen.

continues

Music continues
to play

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Supervision: Jack Barron
and Robert Dawn, Hair
Stylist Florence Bush,
Special Effects: Clarence
Champagne, Sound
Recording by: Waldon O
Watson, William Russell.
Then the copy right
information appears at
the bottom.
More text appears, saying
in bigger letters:
Assistant Director Hilton
A Green, Pictorial
Consultant Saul Bass
Text appears larger in the
centre of the screen:
Music by Bernard
Herrmann
Text appears again:
Directed by Alfred
Hitchcock

00:01:39
00:01:46

00:01:46
00:01:50
00:01:50
00:01:57

Flower card
with Happy
birthday Mom
love ??