Analysis of Psycho

In this post i will be writing about mise-en-scene, camera shots and sound used in Psycho.

Mise-en-scene

The lighting in Psycho is generally dark as the setting was mostly at night or in dark buildings. This dark lighting could foreshadow that danger is ahead of our protagonists. Furthermore the dark lighting could mean that the current character could be evil so they may be the villain that will prevent the problems. As the setting is at night, this means that the scene will feel much more spooky as the lighting is dark so the audience are on edge and expecting something to happen.  here is an image of a very dark room with Norman Bates. The lighting here suggests that Norman may be in danger or he may be the one presenting the problem.

Back lighting was also used in Psycho as it creates silhouettes. The audience will therefore not see the character in detail or at all. This creates a sense of mystery as we do not see who it is. This mystery adds suspense in the film as the person that we can see is killing someone while means the audience does not know who the killer is; adding suspense. As you can see in the image below, the killer is completely unrecognisable and therefore the audience can only have ideas on who it is and this adds mystery, suspense and confusion.

Props where also used in Psycho to add suspense or create tension between characters. In the scene where Norman and Marion are in the back room eating sandwiches, there are many birds in the background. One specific bird behind Norman is a bird of prey. This could imply that he is the bird of prey/predator and that Marion is in danger with him around; Marion is the prey. In the image below you can see the birds in the background, and you can see the huge bird of prey. These birds can represent Norma or that there will be danger overlooking and challenging our protagonists.

There are some facial expressions that really added to the scene. One in particular is when Lila Crane is scared as she just saw Norman's mothers's dead body and then turned around to find Norman with a knife. Her facial expression shows that she is incredibly frightened. This facial expression stood out as we was expecting her to be found and was lowering the excitement, but when we saw her face then the suspense really hit the audience and we could feel her terror.

Body language used by Marion also adds suspense. Marion's body language seems to stay majority the same. She always seems stern and back straight. This could reflect her feeling as she feels very tense as she has ran away with stolen money. Therefore her body language can be justified that she is on edge, tense and possibly stressed. On the other hand she may be stern as she knows what she whats so she thinking and planning her plan. therefore she is tense as she has many thoughts rushing through her head. An example of this body language can be seen in the image below.

Sound

when the women in Psycho walk, we can hear their heels click on the floor; this is diegetic sound. this sound makes the scenes feel more feminine and stereotypical which could make the viewers think that the women are more vulnerable and weak. therefore this could add suspense as we will think that they will be the next target and could easily be killed. this means that we associate this sound with a stereotypical feminine women who back in 1960 would have been seen as weak and easy prey.

non-diegetic sound was also used in psycho in the famous shower scene. there is some suspenseful music that plays when Norman pulls the shower curtain across that really makes the scene stand out, makes it suspenseful and its what makes the scene famous. the reason it adds suspense is because its fast past instrumental music that is very shocking. being as the editing is fast pace the music really fits in with the scene.

here is the shower scene with the famous suspenseful music