Psycho analysis
In probably the most famous, and well-edited scene in all of film at the time, also known as the shower scene from Hitchcock's film Psycho. Hitchcock uses editing and sound as cinematic manipulation to create a carefully thought out horrific murder scene. As the result, in less than one minute, we witness a combination of 78 shots within this analysis.
The scene opens with a lady sitting at her desk in her home, this lures in the audience into a false sense of security as it is a familiar, calming and therefore relatable setting for the audience. The editing is used in a very similar way as the pace of editing has a very steady cut rhythm making us, as an audience, feel like this is normal which therefore makes us feel comfortable and again into a false sense of security. This is a technique used in many different thriller genre films in order to make the audience easier to scare and shock as they are not expecting the event that occurs shortly after, almost like the saying 'the calm before the storm'.
Shortly after the pace of the scene increases, along with the pace and amount of edits and shots within the sequence. This also has the same effect on the suspense and tension that is building within the audience. This quick pace is stereotypical of the thriller genre as the director wants to keep them on the edge of their seat at all times and to keep them engaged from beginning to end. Following the outline of pacing yourself slowly and then having a buildup followed by a release is an editing technique commonly used with editing a suspense scene such as this.
By using an eye-level shot and looking directly above the character's shoulder, the director is allowing us to see what the lady can see. This is cleverly used to lead the audience into feeling that we are experiencing the event with her and a part of the scene ourselves. When the audience can do this, it is more engaging and creates an escalation in suspense and tension. This is because we imagine the character as ourselves, putting us into the same position and experiencing the same things as the victim.
We can see the editor use 'Shot-Reverse Shot' when it alternated between the woman's point of view and the killers. The result of this is a fast pace and is over very quickly, it could be connoting the viewer's heartbeat and emphasizing the pounding with fast edits.
Once the scene reaches the climax of the murder being committed, there are fast Celluloid cuts that replace the flesh cuts felt by the protagonist, and the sound becomes very loud and non-diegetic. Both the volume and the juxtaposition of diegetic to non-diegetic breaks the tension and suspense that had been created with the silence and slow-paced editing that had been used throughout buildup of the scene. The hidden violence and gore is found in most thriller film as the storylines play more in the minds of the audience rather than seeing the whole picture. This draws the fine line that there is between the Horror and Thriller genres.
Following this, once the stabbing has occurred, the shots are held for much longer, which almost connotes the murderer lingering at the scene of the crime and perhaps the slow death of the woman now on the floor of the shower. This is conventional of a thriller as a stereotypical event that takes place in almost every thriller is a death or murder. Using the longer shots to allow them to almost become the protagonist’s movements allows the villain to stay hidden throughout the sequence, other than becoming symbolized by the knife in several shots. This is another typical convention in thriller film as is created further questions and therefore suspense for the audience.
The editing is used in coherence with the conventional events to make the audience empathizes with the victim and feel the true extent of the murder and the victim’s emotions. This is particularly effective when used in contrast with the fast editing climax to the slow-paced editing of the death, it calms the audience down leaving them to recover from the action that had taken place previously. Almost mirroring the state of mind of the protagonist who is slowly dying in the shot.
The scene opens with a lady sitting at her desk in her home, this lures in the audience into a false sense of security as it is a familiar, calming and therefore relatable setting for the audience. The editing is used in a very similar way as the pace of editing has a very steady cut rhythm making us, as an audience, feel like this is normal which therefore makes us feel comfortable and again into a false sense of security. This is a technique used in many different thriller genre films in order to make the audience easier to scare and shock as they are not expecting the event that occurs shortly after, almost like the saying 'the calm before the storm'.
Shortly after the pace of the scene increases, along with the pace and amount of edits and shots within the sequence. This also has the same effect on the suspense and tension that is building within the audience. This quick pace is stereotypical of the thriller genre as the director wants to keep them on the edge of their seat at all times and to keep them engaged from beginning to end. Following the outline of pacing yourself slowly and then having a buildup followed by a release is an editing technique commonly used with editing a suspense scene such as this.
By using an eye-level shot and looking directly above the character's shoulder, the director is allowing us to see what the lady can see. This is cleverly used to lead the audience into feeling that we are experiencing the event with her and a part of the scene ourselves. When the audience can do this, it is more engaging and creates an escalation in suspense and tension. This is because we imagine the character as ourselves, putting us into the same position and experiencing the same things as the victim.
We can see the editor use 'Shot-Reverse Shot' when it alternated between the woman's point of view and the killers. The result of this is a fast pace and is over very quickly, it could be connoting the viewer's heartbeat and emphasizing the pounding with fast edits.
Once the scene reaches the climax of the murder being committed, there are fast Celluloid cuts that replace the flesh cuts felt by the protagonist, and the sound becomes very loud and non-diegetic. Both the volume and the juxtaposition of diegetic to non-diegetic breaks the tension and suspense that had been created with the silence and slow-paced editing that had been used throughout buildup of the scene. The hidden violence and gore is found in most thriller film as the storylines play more in the minds of the audience rather than seeing the whole picture. This draws the fine line that there is between the Horror and Thriller genres.
Following this, once the stabbing has occurred, the shots are held for much longer, which almost connotes the murderer lingering at the scene of the crime and perhaps the slow death of the woman now on the floor of the shower. This is conventional of a thriller as a stereotypical event that takes place in almost every thriller is a death or murder. Using the longer shots to allow them to almost become the protagonist’s movements allows the villain to stay hidden throughout the sequence, other than becoming symbolized by the knife in several shots. This is another typical convention in thriller film as is created further questions and therefore suspense for the audience.
The editing is used in coherence with the conventional events to make the audience empathizes with the victim and feel the true extent of the murder and the victim’s emotions. This is particularly effective when used in contrast with the fast editing climax to the slow-paced editing of the death, it calms the audience down leaving them to recover from the action that had taken place previously. Almost mirroring the state of mind of the protagonist who is slowly dying in the shot.
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