Psycho Analysis

Psycho Analysis.

The scene begins with a low angle mid shot looking up at Norman Bates positioning him in a dominant manner which tells us he is going to control the events that will happen in this situation. In this shot Norman is placed with the light behind him suggesting that he has left all good behind him, the room is also slit by Norman with the light on one side and darkness on the other. Marion is positioned in the light and Norman in the dark clearly telling the audience Marion is the innocent, weak character in the scene and Norman is more evil and sinister. Norman then orders Marion to 'sit down' and she obeys giving the audience a clear indication of who is in charge. Normans head also seems to be a part of the bird of prey in attack pose hanging on his wall, possibly foreshadowing an attack Norman is going to commit later on.

The next cut is a fixed mid shot showing both Marion and Norman at an equal level in the frame. In this cut Norman is constantly trying to get closer to Marion showing how he is trying to make her feel uncomfortable. In the shot Marion is positioned closer to the audience in the light, she practically lights up the room,  making us feel literally closer to her and we can relate more to her character. Whereas Norman is placed a lot further away from the audience, in the dark making him appear even more sinister and creepy as he is lurking in the background. Norman doesn't take his eyes off of Marion he has a fixed gaze on her showing us that an obsession may have begun.

We then see a mid shot of Marion who is placed by the only light source in the room  as the room has a dark atmosphere, this shows Marion as sweet and harmless. Her body language reveals that she feels quite relaxed yet still a bit protective and uneasy as her arms are covering her upper body, She is also surrounded by objects and only occupies a small space in the frame as it is full of props it makes her appear trapped and isolated. There are also small stuffed birds behind Marion that would be seen as prey revealing that she is weak, helpless and prey to Norman.

The next cut is a low angle close up looking up at Norman who has much bigger birds behind him showing his power over Marion. Normans body language is enclosed showing he is being defensive and is afraid to open up to   Marion as he doesn't feel completely comfortable in her company. Where he is positioned in the room it is unlit as he is making a conscious decision to stay in the dark, he is also surrounded in his own shadow which increases his presence on screen but it could also be foreshadowing events that will later on happen in the film. As his shadow is swallowing Norman up this could mean Norman is his own worst enemy.

The camera then cuts to us seeing a low angle mid shot looking up at Norman again, in this shot his shadow makes him look bigger in the frame and fills us a much larger space. When he tells Marion about his unusual hobby of taxidermy she doesn't seem to be as disgusted as Norman assumed so we then see he begins to feel more comfortable as he sits back in his chair and begins to stroke one of the birds.

The low angle close up looking up changes from a fixed camera as the camera moves to look up at Norman even more making him appear even more dangerous than he already does. His shadow makes him look bigger again when he leans forward making him look bigger in the frame, he is now positioned closer to Marion making us as an audience worried for her welfare. When Marion insults his mother he quickly becomes defensive and the birds of prey are visually connected to Norman assumed in attack positions.

The camera then moves closer to Norman as he dominates the screen with a close up, he doesn't blink at all and never takes his eyes off of Marion again making him appear creepy and obsessed as it is an unnatural thing to do. Norman suddenly becomes angry on the spot as he appears trapped both by the camera and Marion as she is asking him questions he doesn't like so we see him begin to feel uncomfortable.

We then see a close up of Marion but this is different from what we have seen of her in the beginning of the scene, as the light has gone she is now in darkness suggesting she has turned to evil. As the camera gets closer to Marion we see a realisation that she has become trapped by Norman so she starts to look scared and fearful.

The next frame is a Low angle medium close up looking up at Marion showing that she has taken control of the situation and the bird on the screen with her appears to be bigger than the birds that she was next to before showing a change in Marion's power. She is also the one who decides to put an end to the conversation ending the scene with Marion in control.

The scene then finishes with a high angle mid point of view showing Marion's view of Norman in this shot he appears pathetic and weak as though he is a little boy he has also been emasculated by Marion.