How is cinematography used to create atmosphere in the shower scene of Psycho?

Cinematography is used in many ways to make this scene in ‘Psycho’ a memorable and thrilling scene. Camerawork, mise-en-scene, sound, lighting and editing techniques are used in very clever ways.

The use of camerawork is used in a very smart way for this scene. For example the pace of the editing is done so you feel immersed in the action and you feel like you are part of the murder. For example, the scene starts off very slowly with Marion doing maths trying to work out how much money she needs to give back. The close up shots of the paper and the midshot of Marion prove to be the shots used for the remainder of the scene as the shot very rarely changes. The composition of the scene is equally impressive; Marion will always be in the middle of the rule of thirds. This shows us how important the protagonist is. Proven in these images, the close up and the midshot is used widely in this scene.

The camera is always used in the scene to try and put you in the scene to, so you feel as if you are in the scene and not just watching it. For example the point of view shot is widely used in the scene and gives great affect to how the action unfolds. When Norman Bates goes to stab Marion we see this part of the action from Marion’s point of view, clearly showing us how scared she must be. The fact the shot is looking up towards Marion also tells us that Norman is the dominant force is this scene.

The editing is also done very well, for example, during the scene when the murder takes place, the editing is done very quickly and makes the scene feel very fast paced.

The knife attacks cut from the knife to Marion very quickly, giving the audience the feel that they are in the action. During the scene there is one stand out transition edit between Marion and the plughole. It is also a graphic match that doesn’t need any hints for people to understand. As the water and blood is washing away down the sink and swirling, a transition from the water goes to Marion’s eye, as well as the camera circling in a swirly movement, just like the plughole. This affects the scene really well and shows us how Marion’s life is slowly slipping away; Implying to the audience that she is dying on the bathroom floor.

The sound used for this scene is very affective. The scene starts off with only diegetic sound, creating a sense of eeriness and insecurities as you don’t know what’s going to happen and the idea of little sound is very disturbing. As the scene progresses, the screeching of violins comes in and starts to instigate the action. This then creates tension between the viewer and the film. As the screeching gets higher we start to feel more uncomfortable. As the action comes to an end, the music silences and the scene finish. The lighting for the scene is also very bright, which is strange considering what the scene entails. Stereotypically, the lighting would be very dark and dull for a scene like this. However the whole scene is very well lit.

The Mise-en-scene for the scene is also done very differently as to how you’d of thought. For example the setting is a very vulnerable place. With Marion being in the shower, we feel she is even more vulnerable than maybe she would be if she was elsewhere. Overall the vulnerability is added to when she is naked and totally vulnerable; this adds great tension to the scene. The knife used to kill Marion in the scene is a very larger knife that as you see it raised, get very nervous. The fact its such a big knife adds great tension to the scene.