Analysis Of Horror Micro Elements
AS Film Studies
Analysis of Horror Micro Elements
Mise en Scene, Cinematography, Editing Lighting and Sound
Psycho (1960) – D: Alfred Hitchcock
Shower Scene
The task for this assignment is to analyse and discuss how Mise en Scene, cinematography, editing and sound are used within a Horror film to portray meaning. The film I've chosen to analyse is Alfred Hitchcock's “Psycho (1960)” and the scene I've chosen to discuss is one of the most famous scenes in Horror film, the shower scene.
The shower scene is such a memorable scene because Hitchcock uses a number of micro elements, that make up the scene, to create different emotions within the audience. Micro elements are a key part of all horror films. There are a number of things that make up micro elements, such as cinematography, the way in which the camera is positioned, angled and how it moves; Editing, the way one camera show moves into the next; Mise en Scene, the way sets, props, characters are seen within a camera's frame; Lighting, the way light is used within scenes and finally Sound within the scene, diagetic and non-diagetic.
The sequence begins with the character Marion Crane, flushing the notes she had made in the scene before, about the stolen money, down the toilet, with this shot along with the Marion showering, it gives the audience the idea that she is trying to cleanse herself from her robbery earlier in the film, as she intends to return the money.
In this scene in particular sound is very important and the music used is known by most people, even if they've not seen the film. The music used at the start of the scene is very slow and allows tension to build up within the audience, and gives the viewer an idea that something is about to happen to the character, Marion. The only diagetic sound that's really heard in the scene is the water from the shower, which muffles the sound of someone entering the room. Once the intruder arrives at the shower where Marion is, a quick harsh...
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