The Sixth Sense is the story of a boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist. The main character is a boy called Cole, as he is the main focus he is able to do what some people think children are more susceptible to do; see dead people. The film shows what a child that is not seen as ‘normal’ can endure. It also touches on the way someone can have guilt etc.
Through the whole film there is a range from the pace of shots, however, throughout most film the shots are usually quite long in length.
The scene i find interesting is the party scene, the opening shot shows two boys, one being the main character. Cole tries to show the other boy a trick that he learnt however, he is told that it is stupid, this is a two shot, yet it does not show the closeness between the characters, by the dialogue it has the opposite effect, in this shot you can hear the party atmosphere, there is then a voice over followed by a shot of Cole on his own, from this point the lighting begins to change; it becomes darker and the no die-getic music begins. There is a shot of a shadow which is quite common for a thriller, as well as the eerie non-digetic music. The shots seem to focus more on the expressions of the actors more than the length of the shots as they are quite long. The volume of the speech is also quite quiet which adds to the suspense and mystery. There are some medium shots and some close ups. At one point a balloon bursts, this seems to be a focus in this scene as the balloon could be a sign for innocence. From when Cole is shoved into the ‘dungeon’ they use diegetic thuds, and banging noise which lets the audience use their imagination to create an idea of what is actually happening; this is sometimes used as the audience’s imagination can sometimes be more effective than actually noticing what is happening. The party scene elaborates on the fears when someone is in a busy safe house, yet there is always something that could happen to jeopardise their safety. Also the innocence expected from a child is not present in this scene. In a lot of the shots the dungeon or the balloon is present.
You have included some good analysis so far Stacey. you could make improvements by considering the following points:
ReplyDeleteWhen discussing the length of camers shots you should consider the effect of shot choices for the audience.
When the balloon bursts, is it the focus of the shot? Is the colour significant? Is the sound of the bang emphasised over the non-diegetic music?
Who would the target audience for the film be? Justify this with discussion of age rating and the style of the film.
Why are the dungeon and balloon often present in shots? Do they provide the audience with essential information?
The Sixth Sense is famous for having a major twist. How is this achieved while releasing small clues throughout the film?
You've used good terminology throughout. Continue to do so with each analysis and make changes with reference to my comments.