Host: “The opening scene uses lighting very cleverly. Would you please explain your use of its contrasting ability in this scene and what you hoped to achieve?”
Hitchcock: “The idea of truth and lies is sensed throughout the entirety of Psycho, however, it is most significantly represented in the opening scene. The main protagonist, Marion and her love interest, Sam have sheltered themselves in a shabby hotel room absent from reality. The scene begins with the camera panning across the city of Phoenix, Arizona before gradually zooming to the window of the hotel room. I deliberately directed this, as it captures the intense light surrounding a secret hideaway that the two forbidden lovers have created. The opening in the window portrays a dark…show more content… There are three incidences in the film where Psycho’s costume designer, Rita Riggs and I worked together to carefully utilise apparel to portray the idea of honesty and deception. Firstly, in the opening scene, Marion is wearing white coloured undergarments. This purposefully creates a harsh contrast between the dark appearance of the hotel room and Marion because, despite her risqué actions, I wanted her to appear pure and respectable. This is reinforced when she leaves the hotel room, entirely dressed in white and carrying a white purse, as once again, she is a moral woman. Contrastingly, in the bedroom scene, Marion is dressed in black undergarments and is in possession of a black purse. Her undergarments and accessories in this scene were deliberately used to foreshadow her scandalous incentive of embezzlement, which also underlyingly suggests that her desire for happiness corrupted her morality, as she is now a criminal. Also in the same scene, the last article of clothing placed in Marion’s suitcase is white, which cleverly gives the viewer false anticipation for a positive outcome. As you have seen the film, you know this to be deceitful, however, this is precisely directed as Psycho is centred on revelations. Lastly, in the shower scene, Marion begins to feel remorseful and therefore, concurs to returning the money and revealing herself. I chose to portray her washing away of…show more content… If the image had been shot in a wider angle, it would appear less violent as the viewer would be unable to witness a more uncontrolled and frantic sequence. Firstly, through the use of close shots the viewer is able to experience this event on a more subjective level and therefore, with every stab of the knife, they scream in horror of its authenticity. Together with the close ups, I have edited the shower scene in a rapid manner to visually depict a vigorous and chaotic scene. Ultimately, my objective when filming it was to convey its brutality, so the audience endured intense emotions in regards to the murder of the beloved character, Marion. The use of close-ups, a short duration between cuts and an exaggerated stabbing sound of the knife entering and exiting her skin effectively explores a multi-sensory experience of violence in a simple
