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FILM TECHNIQUE
Performance
The actor's choices of voice, gesture, expression, stillness and timing as shaped in the finished film.
Look beyond big speeches. Listening and tiny adjustments may carry the scene.
See it in a scene.
The Apartment · 1960
Going up? Character, floor by floor.
It is a workday in the insurance building. Baxter has a cold and wants a moment with Fran, who is operating the elevator.
Psycho · 1960
Hospitality turns defensive
Marion eats in the motel parlor while Norman talks about his birds, his life and his mother. A hospitable exchange becomes more guarded when she suggests a change.
Further reading
Original explanations informed by these sources.
Yale Film Analysis Guide: Mise-en-scène ↗Writing the Scene ↗