Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960)- Shower Scene-

Thriller Analysis

The film is in black and white and the clothing and props are typical of a 1960 film. The scene has no dialogue and this might be used to highlight that the woman is alone at home or

it may also be to emphasise the women’s screams when she is being murdered. When the shadow of the murderer appears behind her, she has her back to it, which could be

because Hitchcock didn’t want the woman to see the murderer before he kills her, so then she is shocked when he kills her.

After the murder takes place, the music continues to play as the woman falls down the wall for a dramatic effect.

The iconography of the blood in the scene is also highly effective, it is visibly thicker and darker in the water and we witness the mass of it flow away. The movie is purposely filmed in black and white; this creates a harshness and constant dark town throughout; this primarily communicates mystery in the suspense.

Mise-en-scene

The close up of the camera on the curtains which depicts the dark figure holding the knife, creates a suspense and tension as the woman is not aware of what is behind her and the use of the close up also highlights the fact that something horrendous is about to occur.

The second close up in the scene is a close up on the woman's hand and a downward tilt which shows her hand slowly failing, which symbolizes her last moment alive and this yet again raises suspension as we don’t know who the murderer is.

The camera is placed on the woman herself to depict her emotions of being attacked which were fear and anger.

There's an eye level shot of the murderer attacking the woman in the shower and this emphasizes the fact that the audience are forced to be the woman’s place and feels like the murderer is attacking you.

Hitchcock uses panning across the bath tub floor to the plug hole to direct the audiences focus to the woman’s downfall. This continuity is maintained as a fade transition of the plug whole merges into the woman’s still eye in a rotating motion. This means to show that she died due to shock and pain and was fully conscious when she died.

Camera angles, shots and movement

Editing is used to create suspense. At the beginning the pace of the editing is the same it has a very steady cut making us as an audience feel like its normal it makes us feel comfortable.

The editing of a scene can help portray feeling and emotion. The editing in this clip helps make the audience feel suspense and tension.

“Shot-Reverse Shot” is used when it goes from the women to the killers point of view, the pace of that section is fast and is over very quickly it could be emphasising the viewers heart pounding with the fast edits.

When the murder starts stabbing fast cuts and loud music are used to frighten to break the suspense that had been created with the silence and slow paced editing.

When the woman is being attacked, there were short cuts to capture her reaction and this makes the scene more horrific to watch.

Editing

The music creates a chilling atmosphere that is now famous throughout all cinematography.

The sound can also help to evoke audience reaction. In this scene it starts very quiet we can only hear Diagetic sounds i.e Footsteps, Pulling of the Shower curtain, the sound of the water hitting the floor of the shower.

When the murder starts stabbing fast cuts and loud music are used to frighten to break the suspense that had been created with the silence and slow paced editing.

The sound becomes non-diagetic and very loud and both the volume and the transformation from diagetic to non diagetic breaks the tension and creates a frightening moment.

Sound

The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan, 1999)- Opening Sequence-

Thriller Analysis

The opening of the sixth sense starts off with the titles and credits and we do not see anything in the scene until 2mins 42seconds in which it only shows a light bulb in the shot. This suggests what type of genre it is for example it could be horror or a thriller because of the mise-en-scene as we can see a yellow light bulb with a dark background.

The house appears to be a ‘normal’ looking home and the light neutral tones of colour wihtin the house create a warm feel and therefore keeps the audience settled. But an important prop in the opening scene is the award that the couple are celebrating and this shows the importance towards the object and reveals some information about the character. For example, the award is for being the best ‘psychologist’ and from this we know that the man is a psychologist.

The couple are both wearing formal clothing to suggest the importance of the award that the man has gained. The lighting in the opening scene is essential to convey particular emotions. For example, the lighting used when the couple are celebrating is brighter and calm, as this matches the mood of the characters. But, when the characters move upstairs, the lighting becomes darker as the mood intensifies and suspense is built.

The enigma codes comes in when we see a woman holding the wine bottle tightly to herself as we hear noises in the background and the mise-en-scene gives the enigma codes towards the audience due to the exposition of the character and the shadow at the back.

Mise-en-scene

The use of camera angles, shots and movements within the opening scene a crucial to help build suspense and tension. A close up shot is revealed of a light bulb, slowing turning on, to present the opening scene and make a transition from the darkness, to artificial light. This is when the characters are presented, when eventually a couple are sharing the evening together.

The close up shots are also used to present the feelings and emotions of characters. These shots are essential to evoke emotion towards the audience.

The eye level shots are used to make the audience feel more part of the action, and create realism. An example of the crucial part that movement plays within the scene, is when the mysterious character goes to use the gun, and the camera pans away from the character, to allow the imagination of the audience to take charge of the scene.

The Composition is also used to see how the audience react to the opening scene. For example, at the start of the scene when the light bulb is presented, it is presented in the corner of the shot, so that the faded character can be seen. This allows the audience to see different perspectives of the scene, and add another dimension to what they are seeing.

Camera angles, shots and movement

Continual Editing is used to give a sense of reality to the scene- this makes it relatable for the audience and means many can empathise more easily.

In the scene where the man approaches the bathroom realising that someone is there, the Eye-line Match is used as we see the face of someone and then we see what he is looking at; the empty door frame. This is effective as the protagonist makes the audience feel the fear and a feeling of threat.

The camera very slowly zooms in toward the bathroom, and then gradually pans the bathroom floor to show the clothes lying there. However when the legs of a man are seen the camera very quickly cranes upwards to reveal the full length body. This mimics the way a person's eyes would survey a room when cautious and therefore we feel as though we are seeing through the protagonists eyes.

Vincent and Malcolm are never seen in the same shot and this implies how disconnected they are and the fact that Malcolm could never reach his patient and therefore he has failed him.

In the scene where Malcolm is shot and is lying on the bed, the camera zooms out and effectively moved away from the action which has the effect of leaving the couple alone for what could potentially be their last moments together.

Editing

The music used in the opening of the film is old classical and it mixes within the noises that are made in the background, for example the creaking stairs and the sound of the wind after the window glass is broken.

The music helps to add up tension and catch the audiences attention. From the beginning of the opening images, the non-diegetic sound is a dramatic and mystifying

background track. This gives the audience an immediate understanding of the genre of the film. The sound that is used matches the mood within the scene for example, there’s calm diegetic

sound used when the couple are together celebrating something. However the mood changes as the sound changes. The couple move from downstairs to upstairs, where there use of non-diegetic sounds are used to build suspense.

The sound is parallel to the opening title credits. The dark and mysterious credits presented link to the building suspense created for the audience from the sound which is used.

Sound