Practice misc-en-scene analysis: psycho (1960)

Setting starts of at the bates motel where we see a woman looking at the house on the top of the hill where Norman and Norma bates live. Suspenseful music plays in the background because there is no dialogue. We finally see Norman walking towards Marian with supper which she did not want but will eat anyways because it gives the characters to find out more about each other. We get to see their costumes which are typical for 1960 when this movie was released. Outside there is low ambient lighting which means the scene is quiet dark. They both entre the parlor room where we see the decor and the stuffed birds around the room. In the room everything is old fashion and there is candles all around the room and a lamp providing the light for the scene. When Norman is talking to Marian we get the tagline of the film from Norman ‘a boy’s best friend is his mother’

Marian seems suspicious of Norman because of the hobby of stuffing animals and because of the way he defends his mother even though it seems like he wants to get away from her but he can’t because she is ill. Norman seems creepy and has an obsession with his mother and won’t agree with anyone who wants him to go against his mother.