Analysis of the Psycho Trailer

CameraworkAt the start of the trailer, there are multiple camera shots of parts of someone’s body, such as the hands and feet, as well as blood mixed with water. These close up shots indicate from the very start that some kind of attack as occurred. The trailer cuts to a shot that only shows to silhouette of a man, who has a dagger in his hand. This provides a chilling feel to the scene, because it enables the audience to piece the previous close-ups of the body parts and work out it is the man with the dagger who has attacked the person. The inclusion during this sequence of quick scenes of a shower curtain being pulled gives the only concrete piece of evidence as to where the crime has taken place. For this reason, this part of the trailer is conventional of the thriller genre because it preserves that element of mystery that enables people to guess what is happening, or alternatively, the element of mystery adds a degree of fear and confusion to the audience, because they have little understanding of the situation other than the fact that there has been an attack. For this reason, the chilling nature of the scene is increased.

Camerawork is also used to create aspects of the trailer that are unconventional. The example of this is the establishing shot that is used to show the director of the film, Alfred Hitchcock, explaining what is happening in the scene. This technique is unconventional because it is extremely rare for the director to actually explain what is happening in the film, usually, the action that is happening in the trailer will explain the basic narrative or plot of the film. Nevertheless, the inclusion of Hitchcock explaining does add a slight chill to the trailer, because it emphasises that the fact that Hitchcock has to explain means that what is actually happening in the scene is not what the audience would expect.

Mise-En-SceneLow-key lighting is used to create conventions of both the genre and the form (see Picture 2). The lighting in this scene is low enough to create a silhouette of the person with a dagger in his hand. The shot is seen from the perspective of someone who is looking at the attacker. Due to the fact that the person’s face cannot be seen, it reveals him as mysterious and unnerving, and intensifies the negative connotations placed on him. In other words, his danger and fear factor is greater because he cannot be seen. The creation of the form that this creates is the element of mystery, because all trailers reveal something about a film, but none will reveal a great amount about that film. The absence of the person’s facial details conforms to this convention. Furthermore, this scene conforms to the conventions of the thriller genre due to the fact that there is an element of mystery, and that element of mystery provides the thrill to the trailer. If there is a thrill to the genre, then it is usually because of the fact that there is something off-putting of slightly uncomfortable about the scene. Again, the absence of facial details is the reason for the off-putting nature

and subsequent convention of the scene.

Props are also used to create mystery and suspense that is critical to making a thriller movie successful. During the scene, shortly before the aforementioned scene where we do not see the person’s face, a shower curtain is seen being pulled from its attachments. This tearing indicates desperation or lack of control, and from later footage in the trailer, it is revealed that a murder has taken place. Therefore, the audience can look back to what has happened earlier on in the trailer to realise that the shower curtain has been torn because of a lack of control caused by injury and death. This is conventional of the genre

Picture 1: An establishing shot is used to show Hitchcock explaining the scene.

Picture 2: The low key lighting in this scene reveals nothing about the face of the antagonist.

Picture 3: The shower curtain being torn indicates a real danger scenario.

because it adds a distressing feel to the trailer. Furthermore, it is conventional of the form because it is a highly significant part of the film, though this point is affected by the benefit of hindsight, because it is clear that looking back, the shower scene is unquestionably the most famous in the whole movie. If a trailer contains a highly significant part of the movie in it, then it serves to make the movie more appealing to the consumer, and this in turn has the effect of boosting potential box office revenue.

Sound

At the start of the trailer, non-diegetic music is used in conjunction with the shots that show a person being attacked and slumping in a shower. The music adds suspense and tension to the sequence of scenes and serves to accentuate the danger that the scene connotes. The music initially starts fairly fast paced, and thus matches the speed of the scene transitions, thus, by creating a direct form of link between the non-diegetic music and the action in the trailer, the importance and significance of this sequence is increased. This is a convention of the form because it is the utilisation of this combination that creates a very significant scene. The director, Hitchcock, no doubt, as most directors do, understands that the purpose of a trailer is to give insight into the film whilst trying to sell it to the paying public. This means that he has to pinpoint a key scene that makes the film look good and appealing. The utilisation of the non-diegetic music means that

the overall sequence of shots at the beginning of the trailer conforms to this function and therefore makes the film look chilling and appealing at the same time.

After this point in the trailer, the music quietens down, and the camera focuses on a Motel. This is particularly clear due to diegetic sound that is used at this point. Hitchcock acts as a narrator at this point, as he is heard and seen talking about what is happening at this point in the trailer. This in itself is unconventional of the form, because, typically, most trailers are simply a sequence of shots from a film, that rely on the power of thought and discovery on the part of the consumer to gain an understanding into what is happening. This trailer differs from conventional practice because there is a lack of assumed knowledge in the film. This can connote many things, and one of those connotations of the narration from Hitchcock is that his film differs from what has ever been done before, hence the need for narration. What is notable about this part of the trailer is how the volume of Hitchcock’s voice dominates over the non-diegetic sound of the music, which has at this stage slowed up and decreased in volume. The effect that this creates is chilling and cold; because it seems unusual that Hitchcock is explaining the scene. Furthermore, given that he then talks about the motel being a scene of a crime, the chill of the scene is only increased. The absence of overbearing music makes the dialogue from Hitchcock seem more poignant.

Editing

Picture 4: Non-diegetic music at this point in the trailer adds suspense and sells the film to the audience.

Picture 5: Hitchcock explains the scene, his diegetic dialogue dominating over the non-diegetic music at this point.

This trailer utilises notable examples of fast paced editing at both the start and towards the end of the trailer. The fast paced editing is particularly noticeable at the start when the attack happens in the shower. The fast paced editing occurs in the form of quick snap scenes that change very quickly. The effect is that it creates a panic affect, and indicates that there is some

danger and suspense involved in the movie. At the same time, when a scene changes into another, it fades to black quickly and then from black to the scene. This creates a blinking effect and suggests that we are seeing the scene from a person’s perspective. Arguably, this is not particularly a convention of the form because a trailer is a combination of shots selected from the film. Nevertheless, the blinking is an example of how editing can be used to create a feeling, which in the case of a thriller film is fear. The blinking affect makes it clear, especially as the camera changes to scenes of attack in the shower, that the person whose eyes we are looking from is in fear or is scared. Crosscutting is also used throughout the trailer. The camera continually cuts to different locations, sometimes with different characters and sometimes with the same characters. In conventional terms with regards to the form, this has the effect of showing that there are a variety of settings and characters in the movie, which can boost interest and sales as a consequence. The crosscutting also has the effect of allowing the trailer to conform to the idea that it shows a range of clips from the movie. Extremely rarely does a film trailer show just one clip. It is far more conventional for a trailer to show a wide range of clips because it gives a better idea of what is actually in the film, and just like as previously explained, this can boost sales and profit.

Picture 6: The scene, through cross cutting, cuts from a two shot two a close up of someone in a completely different location.