Ronan Roux
How is cinematography used to create atmosphere in the shower scene of
Psycho?
This scene is typical of the thriller genre as it uses many conventions that are
associated with thriller movies. The scene has a victim, a young, vulnerable
woman, and the killer whose identity is still a mystery at this point.
The scene uses a variety of different shot types. It includes roughly 30-40 shots
and uses a variety of camera shots including close-ups, extreme close-ups, midshots and long shots. Close-up shots are mainly used to show detailed
expressions and are combined with quick edits to show ferocity and the chaos of
the attack. Some of the camera angles that are used are high-angles from the
shower head, still shots when looking at the woman in the shower and another
high angle when looking at the dead body. These are effective as it shows
enough detail to see the expression of fear on the womans face and the midshots are used to show how brutal the attack is. Extreme Close-Ups are also used
effectively throughout the scene, such as an extreme close up of the womans
mouth when she screams. Here, the shot emphasises the terror and shock that
the victim is feeling as it dramatically zooms in on her scream. Tracking shots are
used at the beginning of the scene, from the bedroom to the bathroom, and at
the end of the scene, from the bathroom to the bedroom. This type of shot is
effective, especially at the end as it pans across to show the devastation and
brutality of the murder, as what was once a clean, pristine bathroom has now
been covered in blood. This could also be symbolic as the bathroom could
represent how something so clean and innocent could be ruined. There is a slight
pan of the camera before the murder takes place of the woman in the shower to
the shower curtain, which gives us just enough time to see the killer creeping up
towards the shower, knife in hand, so that he can make the audience jump when
he rips the shower curtain open. After the murder, there is a slow zoom out in a
rotation from the victims eye, which graphically matches the shot before of a
plug hole draining the blood and water. This, again, is symbolic as her life is quite
literally draining away, just like the water.
In terms of composition, the scene is purposefully kept plain and simple, with a
small amount of props used, so that the audience can really focus on the attack
as opposed to something else in the scene. Props that are used include the
victims clothes on the toilet seat, the shower curtain and the knife in the killers
hand. The victim takes off her clothes before getting in the shower, which could
be symbolic of her making herself vulnerable by removing her clothes and
exposing herself. In terms of framing, during the attack there are quick edits of
Ronan Roux
mid-shots from the killers perspective and the victims perspective. This is
effective as it speeds up the pace of the scene which, in turn, makes the
audience feel a similar sense of fear and general discomfort as they cant quite
catch up with each shot before it changes again.
The scene has a slow pace at the start which is effective in building up tension as
it keeps the audience stuck in anticipation as to what is going to happen. The
pace then speeds up as the attack starts to reflect the ferocity and brutality of
the murder. The attack is in a montage format to cram all the action and emotion
in that scene into a short space of time. There is also use of a dissolve cut from
the draining plug hole to the victims eye. Usually, a dissolve cut is used to show
a passing of time but here it is used to show a passing of ones life. There is also
a shot of the victim grabbing onto the shower curtain, before dying and pulling
the shower curtain down with her. This could be symbolic as her extended arm
and hand could represent her reaching out and trying to grasp onto life but then
she fails and rips the shower curtain down which could represent her failure in
holding onto life.
The scene also uses sound interestingly through a use of both diegetic and nondiegetic sound. Examples of diegetic sound include the footsteps of the woman,
the sound of paper tearing before she gets into the bathroom and the sound of
running water. Examples of non-diegetic sound include the sounds of the
stabbings and the womans scream which has been made louder to emphasise it.
