Psycho shower scene (Miss Hartt)

Psycho hitchock

 

How is editing used to enhance the codes conventions of a thriller in this scene?

The setting of this scene is in a bathroom. This is an unusual place to film a scene of a thriller movie but it was very effective. At first when the woman is going in to the bathroom about to have a shower, even though there is low key lighting the audience get manipulated in to thinking that nothing much is really going to happen in this scene because its a bathroom and no one really suspects things to happen in a bathroom. However when the stalker comes in and you can see his shadow thats when the audience know something dramatic is about to happen. So while the person is trying to stab her the audience at this point are very intrigued in whats going on due to the build up of the scene.

In this scene, many editing techniques are used to enhance the codes and convetions of a thriller.
The key convention used is low key lighting. Low key lighting is used the whole way through this scene because it helps the express the mood and atmosphere in the scene which is scary but also keeps the audience wondering what's going to happen next. When the killer pulls the curtain aside and the camera is on him/her, that is when low key lighting is used the most because you can only see a shadow so the identity is hidden which is another main convention of a thriller. Hidden identity is used in this scene to keep the audience in suspense until they find out who the killer. This is conventional to a thriller because it helps make the scene look more dramatic and keeps the audience excited to find out what's going to happen next.

The major iconography used in this scene is a knife. This is conventional to a thriller because even though it  is a small object it could kill someone, and in most thriller films knifes are used more then guns and other weapons because it does more harm and it seems more dangerous.

In this scene, there are also a lot of camera affects used, e.g. close ups. This helps enhance the codes and conventions of a thriller because it emphasizes on something in particular and in this seen it was emphasizing on the woman's facial expressions when she was getting stabbed and this showed the audience how she was really feeling so it has more of an impact on the audience. In this scene, at one point the camera is edited to show an extreme close up of her hand after she has been stabbed, you see her fingers curled into a fist against the wall which helps show the audience all the pain she was feeling.

Another editing effect used in this scene is the hand held camera. This is used when the woman is in the shower and the killer is trying to stab her. This is effective because it makes the audience feel as if they are the woman and it focuses on how she is seeing the man so it gives the audience the full effect of what's going on from her point of view.