Pyscho- Parlor Scene

The Parlor scene starts with a low angle mid shot or Norman in front of an stuffed eagle with it’s wings prepped open looking ready to swoop down at any given time. The angle is put in this position to make Norman look threating and in control of the environment around him. The open wings of the eagle behind Norman could also suggest that he is ready to attack at any given moment. In the next shot it shows Norman placing the food tray on the table, the camera then cuts to Marion who agrees to eat the sandwiches made and the camera follows her in a mid pan shot as she goes to sit down. Marion is now closer to the camera in this two shot of both her and Norman; this could mean that we’re meant to prefer Marion over Norman as he is further away from the audience, there are   shadows based on both of their faces to reveal that they both have a dark secret, but Norman is sitting in the corner where the shadows lay to around him to suggest that he is the more sinister out of the two as Marion in this shot sits in the light. Also Norman seems to be ‘eyeing up’ Marion, not in a sexual way but more as a hunter, analysing her to see if she’s worthy enough to be hunted, as Marion doesn’t even look his way.

The camera then shows Marion in a mid shot with the office lamp close to her, during this shot she seems to be very calm, relaxed and enjoying the sandwiches that she’s eating. As the shot shows her in open space, free to move around and doesn’t seem to be trapped in the space shown. The camera then cuts onto Norman who looks like he’s in darkness and again connotes that he might have a dark side to him, but during this shot Norman seems to mimic the crow behind him; resting, watching and trying to contain himself as he’s always fidgeting or moving around, he then feels the bird in his hand to show that he has a physical connection with the birds and that they’re not all there for show.

The camera keeps jumping between mid shots of both Marion and Norman as the carry on their conversation, until Marion mentions about putting Norman’s mother in a mental asylum… The camera changes to an unusual angle to show the dark side breaking through as the shadows once again follow his tracks as if he’s in control of the environment around him. This camera angle shows the eagle in the background again, to resemble that he’s decided that she’s on his blood list and that he could unleash his inner motives, to break out and go berserk on her make. The camera changes to a close up of Norman, showing that his anger but again showing the peaceful crow behind him, resembling that he’s trying to cage up his feelings, but also that death looms in the air as he now knows that she has to be exterminated.