Natasha Baxter

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

Within the shower scene of the film ‘psycho’ many typical conventions of typical thriller cinematography have been used such as the low key lighting giving it that ghoulish feeling as well as the high key lighting which makes the viewer feel quite uncomfortable as they watch the scene because of how normal the environment is.

It also uses close up shots for a strong tense atmosphere as well as some fast pace editing during the action that takes place within the scene for a sense of realism and tenseness when the action takes place.

The shot used here is a mid-shot however it is a tracking shot as throughout it the camera pans slightly over when another character becomes visible behind the shower curtain. Doing this is then creates the mysterious atmosphere even though the victim is completely oblivious of what’s going on as she has her back towards the curtain, this could suggest that the victim is awaiting a terrible surprise as no sound can be heard behind the diegetic sound of the water which also help masks the protagonists identity.

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As the scene goes on more mid shots are used whilst the tension builds to the struck moment when the villain appears. The shot used here is a mid-shot of the villain however the bright light shines behind its head so it becomes more of a shadow so all facial features and expressions are hidden keeping the villain a secret for the viewers to find out. This shot uses the composition of the golden mean focusing on the missing face as well on the knife to connote danger and suggest what is going to happen next.

The shot used here is a low angle shot of the antagonist and the protagonist. It mostly focuses on the victim to show her low superiority as well as her weakness as she is being stabbed. This does not mean that it is sowing the villain’s weakness as we can see from the body language that she is higher than the victim as she stabs her with the knife. In the scene no music is played only

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the natural diegetic sound of the woman going into the shower until the villain comes along and attacks her which is where she screamed which could almost be a starting signal of all the music to start happening of violins which we consider as high pitched music as well-known as deadly songs because of the pitches adding more and more tension.

Within the scene as the attack is taking place it cuts to a long shot of the black sky as we hear a storm with loud thunder creating a pathetic fallacy that something bad is happening which is added tension to the action because of the loud thunder storm.

In this shot they have used a close up of the plug hole of the shower showing that blood being washed away by the water

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from the shower. Using this type of shot for this specific scene could connote her life being washed away as water connotes cleanliness and being taken away because it is going down the drain. As the water goes down the violins become a more of a soother music with a lower pitch to as well follow the death that is coming upon the woman to create more mystery to it.

The shot type here is a close up of the victim’s eye after the villain attacked her. In the scene this eye is a graphic match to the plug hole as the transition spins around just like the water giving more tension as you see the pupils get smaller suggesting that her life is now at an end as if the water has stopped running like her life has come to an end. As we get to this shot of the scene the music stops and the only sound we can hear is the diegetic sound of the water again connoting her loneliness now she is dead.