24fps Psycho

About

A performance visually remixing and reinterpreting Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Psycho (1960).

Working with footage from the Institute National Audiovisuel (France), the Prelinger Archives (USA) and my own material, I have built software to analyse the visual and audio content of each frame in Psycho. The frames are then compared to a database of archival footage, and replaced with ‘matching’ stills and video clips.

The rate of frame-replacement varies according to the volume of the film’s iconic soundtrack – so that the audial freneticism is reflected on the screen. The result is a mesmerising, chaotic experience, and a reworking of a highly memorable film.

This is part of an ongoing body of work examining the technology of cinema.

Process

L’Institut National de l’Audiovisuel made a short film about the making of 24fps Psycho:

Pavillon Neuflize OBC / INA #2 Taking “Psycho” to Pieces from Institut national audiovisuel on Vimeo.

More information about this project can be found in Chapter 3 of my PhD thesis.