Tuesday 27 September 2011

Alfred Hitchcock's: Psycho (1960) 'The Shower Scene'



Mise en Scene
Costume: Female is wearing a silk dressing gown showing she's very feminine and maybe wealthy. 
Attacker is covered up in something like a thick dressing gown; the face is not covered as the victim will be dead after but we can only see the outline of their face to create the mystery of the killer for the audience. The dressing gown may be worn to show they are staying in the hotel too and have not come in from the street to reduce suspicion of them.
Lighting: everyday, although hard to see in black and white. It is focused on her when in the shower; then the silhouette of the attacker is enhanced for us to be aware of the danger.
Acting: she is casual as she is alone. Rips up the paper she has been writing on and goes to put it in the bin but looks around, considers it and flushes it down the toilet instead; meaning she does not want it to be found and is an important part in the story. As she is washing, the attacker creeps up on her with a knife. She screams loudly but the attacker just stabs her body seven times, then flees. He seems as though he has planned everything and is not hesitant of her murder.
Props: she is writing in a notebook of some kind jotting down notes, which she ends up disposing of showing she has something to hide. The attacker murders her with a  knife, by stabbing her slowly, prolonging her death; maybe he is getting revenge.
Setting: the clip starts in the hotel bedroom where she is alone. It is quite standard showing she is most likely staying there alone. She then goes into the bathroom and starts having a shower, which is where the murder takes place.

Camera Angles
Close-up of the blood going down the drain after the murder, signposting it's over; could be a metaphor for her life going down the drain, ending
Extreme close-up of her eye wide open when she is dead, looking surprised, she was not expecting the attack 
Framing shot of her in the shower cubicle, washing and unaware of company. This is also the famous shower scene and so it's framed to just include the shower cubicle
Sound
Selective sound of the shower curtain when the attacker announces himself; this also starts the loud, screeching music. 
Ambient sound is used when the clip starts; it is very calm and delicate just as the lady is acting. During the stabbing, screeching music is used to emphasise the danger of the scene.
Sound effects are used to emphasise the stabbing which is what kills her
Editing
A reaction shot is used when the  lady turns around to find the attacker standing in front of her with  knife; it shows the horror and terror on her face
A dissolve shot is used when there is a close up of the water going down the tap which then turns into her eye where it then zooms out; this could be done to show her blood is draining out of her, as is her life.

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