Film Conventions Used in Psycho

Below are a list of Film Conventions that are used in the 1960's film Psycho in the Famous Shower Scene with definitions, effects that it would have on an audience and an example from Psycho.

Non-Diegetic Sounds
(Sounds that the audience can hear but the character can not)
Effect on Audience - Creates suspense by building up tension.
Example from Psycho - Background Music in the Shower Scene before Marion gets murdered.


Diegetic Sounds
(Sounds that both the audience and the characters can hear)
Effect on Audience - Emphasises the horror of what is happening on screen; the narrative.
Example from Psycho - The exaggerated sound of the falling water from the shower head when Marion is in the shower.


Fast Paced Editing
(The speed of the editing is quick)
Effect on Audience - Gives the audience a rush of adrenaline, shock and terror.
Example from Psycho -When Marion is getting stabbed by the knife by the murderer. Constant shots of Marion then Murderer.

Slow Paced Editing

(The speed of the editing is slow)

Effect on Audience - Gives the audience a sense of calmness, tranquil and relaxation.

Example from Psycho -Before the sequence of Marion’s Murder, when she is sat at her table writing and deciding where she will dispose of her writing.

Cut Edit

(A straight forward immediate replacement of one shot of a scene to another)

Effect on Audience - Illustrates to the audience a change of scene or to show the audience an important part of a narrative or a character's reaction or point of view.

Example from Psycho - A cut from the upper half of Marion's body (shoulder up) to an immediate cut of Marion's legs and feet climbing into the shower.

Dissolve Edit

(Where one scene ends and "dissolves" and changes into the beginning of the next scene.)

Effect on Audience - Shows the audience the disappearance of what had happened in the last scene; the last scene is now in the past (history).

Example from Psycho - The plughole in the shower draining the mixure of blood and water dissolves into the lifeless eye of the murdered Marion.

Point of View Shot

(Where the camera is put in a place of a character's point of view)

Effect on Audience -  Let's the audience see the action from the character's eyes; as if the audience was the character themself.

Example from Psycho - The fast paced editing sequence when Marion is getting stabbed by the Murderer; Point of View Shot from the Knife's Point of View.

Panning Shot

(A camera shot that moves either left to right or right to left)

Effect on Audience - Forces the audience to look elsewhere and follow the direction of where the camera is taking them.

Example from Psycho - After the audience see the lifeless Marion left on the bathroom floor, the camera pans left to right away from the murder and Marion and into the hotel room where it stops to the money wrapped in newspaper on the bedside table.

Lighting

(How the scene's lighting is controlled)

Effect on Audience - Adds to setting the scene and atmosphere of the narrative on screen for the audience to experience.

Example from Psycho - The lighting cleverly controlled to be behind the Murderer so that the Murderer's identity is concealed and kept a secret from the audience. The Murderer becomes a sinister outined silhouette of a person.

Mise on Scene

(This is what is seen on the set of a scene but can also mean the costumes, props and make-up of a scene)

Effect on Audience - Makes the set of the scene look realistic or unrealistic due to certain contexts for the audience watching.

Example from Psycho - The opened, unpacked suitcase at the beginning of the scene that Marion walks past to go to the bathroom and flush down the toilet her notes. Shows that Marion doesn't intend to stay at the hotel for very long.

Costume

(The clothes that characters wear in different scenes)

Effect on Audience - Can reflect the audience's view on the character's personality due to what kind of clothes the character is wearing.

Example from Psycho - Elegant bath robe that Marion is wearing seems to be made out of silk, therefore audience see Marion also as an elegant, mature and well-groomed woman.