Hitchcock uses black and white film throughout. The music in Psycho features a range of different shrill string instruments. The music sets the scene for the horror and suspense which dominates the film. The music also helps to sustain the mysteriousness of the film and the plot. The sense of tension which is created by the music portrays the tension on screen experienced by the characters. An example of when this music is used would be when Marion is driving along the highway at night, just before she finds herself at the Bates Motel.
Lighting is used in the film to create an atmosphere. Hitchcock uses black and white lighting throughout because it creates an eerier atmosphere, gives a more mysterious affect which cannot be achieved as well with colour. Backlighting is used in the shower scene to hide the murderers face, and to make the characters and scene look sinister. The lighting used in the shower scene is also very bright, as you would expect a bathroom to be. We see the shape of a woman’s hair on the murderer, so we are led to believe that the murderer actually is a woman this effect is created due to the backlighting which hides the murderers face.
The shower scene alone took seven days to shoot, and there were seventy camera set ups. Effectiveness is maintained through the scene due to all the quick shots used. The shower scene lasts approximately two minutes. The quick shots which make up the scene are of Marion being killed. As the audience, we don’t actually see the knife piercing into Marion’s skin. Instead we see quick shots of the knife. Sound affects of the knife plunging into her skin are added over the scene, these sound affects give the audience the impression that she is actually being stabbed, and the sound affects make the scene feel more realistic. The screeching string music also comes back during the shower scene. The music also adds to the suspense and horror of the scene.
The shower scene consists of many different camera angles and sizes. The different camera shots and sizes make the scene more interesting and varying to watch. When Marion is being stabbed, close ups are used on her screaming face and on the knife. The close ups make her reaction look more realistic. Point of view shots are used in addition so that the audience see the mise en scene from Marion’s view and from Norman’s view. The point of view shots also add to the scene to make it more look authentic.
At the end of the shower scene, the camera zooms out of Marion’s eye; and the sound of the shower running continues. The continuous sound of the shower is effective because it brings the scene back to reality, and the audience then start to wonder about what is going to happen with the body.
Norman Bates as a character comes across as quite nervous at times. We can tell that when he is under pressure, he tends to stutter. An example of this is when Norman gets questioned by the Private Investigator Arbogast. When Arbogast asks Norman if Marion stayed at the Motel, one of his replies is “You know, it’s tough keeping track of the time around here… Oh yeah. Well, it, it was raining, and um, her hair was all wet. I’ll tell ya, it’s not a very good picture of her either…well, um, she arrived rather late one night and she went straight to sleep and uh, left early the next morning… oh, very early, … the, um, the, um the, next morning. Sunday.” This quote tells us that Norman became very nervous when he was being questioned. We also know that he was nervous because he kept changing his story and stuttering.
Norman also has an aggressive side. He became aggressive towards Marion when she suggests that Norman puts his mother into an institution. Norman replies with “You mean an institution? A madhouse? ... Have you ever seen inside one of those places? The laughing and the tears! And the eyes studying you. My mother there? But she’s harmless. She’s as harmless as one of those stuffed birds!” This quote shows us that Norman feels very strongly towards his mother. It is almost as if he has been inside one of those institutions because he knows all about them, and what they are like. Also, the last part where he describes his mother as being harmless like a stuffed bird ties in with the ending because his mother indeed is as harmless as a stuffed bird because Norman himself has stuffed her through his hobby of taxidermy.
In conclusion, there are many reasons why psycho was a classic when it was released and still remains a classic today. Hitchcock used new film making ideas and experimented with different techniques. He experimented with lighting, as in the shower scene, the backlighting used gave the scene a more mysterious feel. The different types of lighting used at different points in the film changed the mood and atmosphere of the scenes. Hitchcock also experimented with different types of camera shots. The different shots created a varying atmosphere throughput the film. The varying camera shots also made the film more interesting to watch. The string music also gave the film a more chilling and suspenseful feel. The string music was used as a warning in the film, and when the music started the audience are to feel as if something is going to happen. Hitchcock used film noir in Psycho. This was much more effective than if he had used colour film. I feel that compared to modern day thrillers today, Psycho was more sinister and mysterious because of the black and white film. All of these different film making techniques combined together made Psycho the classic it is today.
