Analysis of Editing & Sound in Psycho Shower Scene

http://thevideofactorys.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/analysis-of-the-shower-scene-from-psycho-1960/

MICRO Analysis of the “Shower Scene” from Psycho 1960

(Editing & Sound)

In this scene we see a women getting ready to have a shower, undressing and when in the shower having a nice relaxing, personal, private moment alone until we are aware as a viewer that she isn’t alone we as an audience know more than the character. Then the person appears from the back behind the curtain obscured completely we can only see a silhouette and then he begins to stab slowly at the body of the women. After he leaves quickly she leans against the wall and slowly slides down and trying to escape.  Read the rest of the entry to see my analysis
My Analysis:
In this scene from “Psycho” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) editing is used to create suspense and inevitability. At the beginning the pace of the editing is the same it has a very steady cut rhythm making us as an audience feel like its normal it makes us feel comfortable. As with editing a suspense scene you want to pace yourself slow and then have a build up and then a release this method was used effectively in the scene from “Psycho”. The editing of a scene can help portray feeling and emotion. The editing in this clip helps make the audience feel suspence and tension. We can see the editor use “Shot-Reverse Shot” when it goes from the women to the killers POV the pace of that section is fast and is over very quickly it could be emphasising the viewers heart pounding with the fast edits. 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. It also reflects the editors work aswell, At the climax 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 nondiagetic and very loud both the volume and the juxtaposition of diagetic to non diagetic breaks the tension and creates a frightening momment. After the stabbing occurs the editor chooses to linger in what has just happen holding shots for much longer by doing this one could suggest that the editing reflects the life of the woman and as she is dying slowly the cuts are holding for longer.