Analysis
of ‘Psycho’ shower scene, exploring how film techniques are used to create
effects
The pace at the beginning of the scene is very
slow and drawn out. This is done with the use of shots that last a long length
of time, possibly with either a hand-held camera or tracking. We see everything
that the female character does, leading the audience to believe that something
more must happen soon. It also shows how undisturbed the environment is, which
is strongly contrasted a few minutes later when the killer arrives.
This slow pace also gives the audience time to
become aware of the victim’s surroundings. We become familiar with the fact
that the shower is very loud, meaning that she will not be able to hear the
killer approaching, and others are unlikely to hear the murder at all. The fact
that she is naked and the lighting is very bright conveys how exposed and
defenceless she is. The bathroom is almost completely white, which could
connote the innocence of the character, how pure she was and how she didn’t
deserve to be killed. The white also emphasises the blood, showing the extent
of the damage the murderer has done.

The scene is edited so that there is a cutaway to
a cloudy sky very briefly. This is pathetic fallacy, as the weather has
connotations of doom and commotion. It also shows what is happening outside,
how the world is unaware of what is happening at the hotel, and perhaps that
the loud weather is preventing people from hearing the struggle. The editing
during the murder is very fast pace, contrasting to the slow pace before and after,
which highlights the chaos of the murder and shows how quickly it occurred. In
this section the iconic high-pitched string instrument soundtrack is playing
and each of the jabs of the music is the same length the shots. This allows the
audience to feel the panic and disorientation of the victim, inspiring sympathy
for her. The non-diegetic music turns to a very low bass tone after the murder,
which could be said to parallel her heartbeats slowly fading away.
For this shot, the camera has a staggered zoom
towards the woman’s mouth. This shows how rough and difficult the whole event
is. It is also very uneasy and disorientating, as the audience will not feel
comfortable getting close this close to the action. This also highlights that
the woman is screaming, giving a fearful and chilling feeling.
This
shot is an extreme close up into the plughole of the shower. The plughole is
slightly off-centre which could reflect the frenzy and chaos of the whole
scene. In this section you can also hear the diegetic sound of the water and
blood glugging down the plughole, which can represent her life dwindling away.
This is edited so that there is a graphic match between this and the next shot
which is an extreme close up of an eye. The pupil of her has got smaller from a
previous shot, showing that she is now dead. The graphic means that the shot of
the eye and the shot of the plughole share the same idea of her life draining
away.
This is another high angle shot which shows the
defencelessness and vulnerability of the victim, as we are looking down on her
as she is being stabbed. We can also notice how the setting is almost
completely white, while there is some red nail varnish on the woman’s
fingernails and a red flower pattern on the killer’s clothes. This is done
intentionally to have particular connotations: possibly death, blood and
anger.
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