Focus: Assessment
How is cinematography used to create atmosphere in the
shower scene of ‘Psycho’?
The camerawork in the scene is primarily used to make the
scene more dramatic with the constant use of close-ups and high angle shots to
make the victim seem less powerful than she already is in this situation. There
is the frequent inclusion of POV (point of view) shots to show the perspective
of the murderer and the victim, but still using close ups or medium shots.
These are used to create tension and strip the victim of all power, not only
that but to show each and every one of her reactions to keep tension high until
the scene concludes.
The editing during
the actual murder is to make the scene seem more of a montage to capture each
stab, each reaction and each action into a short space of time, whilst
simultaneously upholding the tension. But before the actual murder and after it
the editing is slow with minimal switches of the camera.
Before the murder, diegetic sound is used to capture the
sound of the shower and to show there is lack of chaos at the time. While the
murder takes place, the non-diegetic sound is added, with the trademark
‘Psycho’ screech and with sound effects to imitate the sound of flesh being
slashed by the knife.
Outside the bathroom is dark, and the camera is obscured by
the shower curtain in this scene, that combined with the light of the bathroom
obscures not only the murderer’s entrance, but when they pull the shower
curtain back it obscures their face. The victim isn’t wearing any clothes which
instantly shows that she has been stripped of all power and gives a complete
sense of vulnerability, with her back against the wall and a murderer slashing
her from the front so she has no way of escaping. The murderer is holding a
knife, which puts them in a position of power and shows their intentions
instantly.
In this shot, it’s a more
over the shoulder and medium shot to draw the attention to the obscured doorway
that is almost out of view due to the frosted effect on the shower curtains.
This, alongside the lighting which contrasts the darker doorway creates a
slight bit of insecurity because the viewer is as clueless as the victim, not
only putting a feeling of vulnerability on the victim but upon the viewer too.
The use of diegetic sound, of simply just the shower running, no suspense music
has been included yet, creates a sense of tranquillity showing that there is
nothing bad occurring at this current moment, but yet signifying that this
could all change in an instant which is a very popular convention of Thriller
movies. With her back turned to the shower curtain, this could further show
that she is vulnerable and open to attack because she is facing the wall, so
not only can she not see through the shower curtain, but she is facing a
blocked area so she can’t escape either. She is wearing no clothes here, which
creates a feeling of her, again, being open to attack. People who wear clothes
or thick clothes are portrayed as having a chance and that they won’t be caught
off guard but in this situation, she is naked and has no cover so she can
easily be caught off guard if someone were to enter.
The motif created by this one scene will be that of
vulnerability, and lack of power and that is because this victim in particular
is off guard and completely open, oblivious to the fact that someone may have
entered her home. This is used to build up tension and create an unsettling
atmosphere, keeping the viewer prepared for anything at any time and ensuring,
at this point in the movie, that they are not relaxed and forced to expect
anything at any time.
Here, an extreme close-up of the knife is used to show
instantly the sudden danger and chaos of the situation, this is the point in
the scene where the bell chimes for this character showing that she is in fact
most definitely going to die. This casts the exact feeling the actress is feeling
across the viewer, making them feel helpless and powerless. Also, the fact that
the camera is tilted up to show the perspective of the knife from a lower angle
shows that the murderer is in power and that the victim is defenceless.
Non-diegetic sound is introduced here, which is the ‘Psycho screech’, which
builds tension, and the screech develops and consistently builds tension and
throws the mind of the viewer into a frenzy, the exact situation occurring
here. The focus on the knife with the background blurred, with the bathroom
light highlighting it as a significant prop is used to show that this knife
could possibly be the one that is used to kill every victim, this is the
murderer’s trademark weapon and they will not change it so the light highlight
is very significant. Also, the murderer’s face is removed from the frame, which
the director would have used to keep the viewer wondering who is committing the
atrocity. This is where the pandemonium breaks out and the editing becomes much
more rapid, and each stab and slash of the knife is compiled into a more
montage style of editing to cram all the information of what is happening here,
and to show how chaotic the situation is, giving a reflection of how panicked
the victim is.
Again, the lack of power and vulnerability crops up again
because the knife shows evidently who is in power, which is why weapons are
used as props, to shift the power between characters. The knife is used to establish
that this killer will have that state of power throughout the movie, which is a
very fundamental convention of Slasher Thriller movies; setting up the
foundations of the murderer’s intentions and style of killing.
Another extreme close-up of the knife, however it is focused
on the knife to blur out the face of the murderer and to show that the woman
has in fact now been stabbed. The actual stab is removed from the frame because
it’s a thriller and not a gory horror, and not only that but censorship was
much stricter when the film was made and the revelation of so much of the
victim was a big deal as it is, so they had to cover up most things by not only
removing the actual stabs to her from the frame but her body also, as best as
they can. It does show a few stabs to her and some of her body with the
necessary parts out of camera shot. There is the use of non-diegetic sound
edited in the represent the sound of the knife cutting the victim, which is
clearly edited since she’s not actually being stabbed. The lighting and water
work together to obscure the face of the murderer, combined with the montage
style editing just throws the whole situation into chaos to shock the viewer
with this sudden change in pace. It appears to be a POV shot of the victim
getting stabbed so it makes the viewer feel like they’re actually there at the
scene getting stabbed by this psycho.
After having suddenly sprung from a slow pace, relaxed scene
of being in the shower, the situation really escalates quickly and gives a
clear insight on just how the mind of this killer works perhaps. Quiet and
content one moment and then suddenly snaps and goes into frenzy, killing
someone. Either way, the use of the tense, fast pace music and rapid effects of
the slashing noises from the stabbing creates such a tense thriller style
atmosphere, further setting the scene for the progression of the character in
the movie.
The use of pathetic fallacy here to use the weather during
the fast paced montage editing further emphasises the scramble of a situation
occurring here, the quick switch to a time lapse of the clouds quickly moving,
with non-diegetic sound creating a thunder clap shows the viewer how bad the
situation is, as weather is often associated with situations, in this case a
thunderstorm represents the death of someone. This edit to the clouds outside
and the added thunder clap could be the representation of the point in which
this victim died, which means this could also show that this is the end of the
chaos and that now she is dead, it’s all over, allowing the viewer to finally
process the situation that’s just occurred and get a grip on how quickly all of
this just happened. The dark clouds show perfectly how evil this character is,
and further empowering them by showing that the weather is changed when they
commit a bad act, creating that fear factor to the antagonist that is another
typical convention in thriller movies.
The lighting in the background could show that the storm is
now passing though, giving another hint that the climax of the situation is
coming to a close, and that the chaos is over, the murderer struck their last
stab on the thunder clap and then that’s it, they immediately calm down once
the victim dies and their frenzied mind calms down. Almost as if that
thunderstorm is a view of the inside of their head as they killed this victim.
This
close-up of the plug hole shows that the situation has now ended and that it
is over, as the victim’s blood pours down the plug hole and the use of diegetic
sound is used again. All the tense music is gone and it is just the sound of
the water draining through the plug and the sound of the shower. That
tranquility and sense of security has returned and it is all calm again, the
situation has defused. It returns to slow editing, and in this scene the edit
fades into a close-up view of the victim’s eyeball with the use of a graphic
match. The water going down the drain could be a representation of her life
slipping away, hence the use of the graphic match. Everything is all subtle
again, no quick paced editing, no music and non-diegetic sound which all comes
back as quickly as the murderer came in and sparked the chaos, the mood is
changed very quickly to leave the viewer in that state of bemusement typically
used in thrillers. The lighting is focused onto the plug hole so that when the
frame fades into the one of the victim’s eye, the viewer will be looking
straight into it once the scene changes, just to add to the symapthy of the
victim after the death.
The
quick switch to the calm situation and quiet scene further represents the mind
of the murderer, and the typical outbursts of violence in such short spaces of
time used in thrillers. The quick change of pace within seconds is a very
common conventionof thrillers, because the director’s intention is to keep the
viewer on the edge of their seats so the rapid changes In pace leave the viewer
lost and of course on the edge of the seat wondering what happens next.
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