1. Psycho shower scene analysis
The shower scene in psycho consists of a variety of camera angles and shots which creates a
visual whirlpool of tension for the viewers. The short scene includes numerous mid-shots the
characters facial expression. Furthermore, there are many close-ups and extreme close-ups to
add emphasis and the women's frantic facial expressions. The director also decided to use pov
shots to allow the audience to relate to the victim's position and the killer's position.in the
shower, scene sound is a significant factor that creates suspense and heightens the intensity of
the scene. The director decided to use non-diegetic sounds, for example, the intense musical
soundtrack and the sounds of objects used in the brutal attack. The nakedness of the character
creates vulnerability and seems like a calculated move from the director which supports that
idea the audience's reaction was specifically focused on when creating this legendary scene.
The water pouring down her body represents her washing her old life away and cleansing
herself from her sins. The scenes close-up shots are mainly used to emphasize facial expression
and body language, within this scene close-up shots were combined with quick edits to add
ferocity to the scene and represents how chaotic the attack was.
The initial shot in the shower scene is a mid-shot that zooms into the shower curtain this makes
the insinuate that the killer is coming into the room from behind. the is then slowly adjusted
around the curtain showing the women peacefully showering. The camera then pans to left and
we acknowledge that someone has entered the room. The director used dramatic irony, in this
case, to create suspension as the audience knows that someone has entered however the
women has no clue. The lighting within the bathroom is still fairly bright at that point of the
which is impactful as it gives the impression that all is calm. Immediately after this, a knife
emerges from the killer's waist and the music starts to penetrate with loud viscous strings
instrumentation which activates the audience and raises the feel of a horrific atmosphere.
Some may argue that the violent high-pitched string sounds represent the women's pain and
agony as she repeatedly gets stabbed, this is an unorthodox method which was used to
increase the intensity of the scene. The glistening light beams of the so perfectly that the
silhouette of the killers is seen through the reflection, however, the audience still have no idea
who the killer is leaving them just as discombobulated as the victim. After the murder there
was a slow zoom focusing on the victims eyeball this shot is significant as earlier there was the
exact same shot was used on the plug hole of the bathtub. This perhaps portrays the fate of the
character as the plug hole represents her life draining away as the blood pours away. In terms
of the composition, the scene was kept fairly simple with a small number of props used, this is
because the director wanted to focus all the attention specifically on the characters in the
scene.
