KG - Technical Analysis of The Sixth Sense

Some people class this film as a horror, others class it as a supernatural thriller, but as youtube wouldn't let me watch any of the films I was originally going to analyse I had to settle for this, but I think it's useful to us as a film in itself because of the style it's been made, it is beautifully put together, and the main character played by Haley Jole Osment, who I think we can draw inspiration on for our character in our opening, regardless of the fact that he isn't in this opening.

Technical Analysis
I did the first 5 minutes as the first 2 and a half are purely titles.

First 2 and a half minutes, opening titles:

• Opens with the title sequence for Hollywood Pictures, followed by that for Spy Glass Entertainment.
• The music then begins, it is played in the minor key and is from what I can distinguish purely strings.
• The titles then begin, they are white on a black background and one by one fade in, expand slowly to fill the screen, and then fade out again. It starts with the production companies, then the production team, followed by the bankable star of Bruce Willis, and then the title of The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan, 1999).
• As the title appears the music changes to a higher key on the strings with a quicker tempo, this stops as the titles fade out. Whilst the title is there though, the fade seems to move across the lettering to create the effect of a shadow walking infront of the lettering, before fading altogether.
• The actor's names then all fade in and out one by one, followed by the rest of the credits before ending with the writer and director M. Night Shyamalan.
• The music then gets louder and the pitch is increased, but is still quite chilling, still played on the strings.

The point where the film begins, about 2:45 minutes in:

• The film then begins, fading in from black slowly to distinguish a CU of a lightbulb framed slightly off centre.
• Cuts to a shot from behind a shelf in what appears to be a basement, stairs are visible to the left. A door closes and footsteps are heard and then seen coming down the stairs, the camera has remained static. The footsteps belonged to a woman who is now standing at the bottom of the stairs, she pauses before walking towards the camera, as she does so the camera peds up slightly to get a MCU of the woman.
• As she moves down the camera moves with her and likewise as she moves up the camera moves with her, it is at this point that the audience establishes that she is searching for a wine bottle and that the shelf the camera is behind is in fact a wine rack.
• The camera moves forward to a CU of the woman's face as her facial expression changes.
• Then cuts to a MLS from the right of the wine rack as the sound of keys is heard above and as the women turns around.
• As she continues to turn cuts to a shot from the side of the staircase now opposite the wine rack where the camera began. LS from this point so that the whole of the woman is visible through the staircase. Woman moves towards the staircase and up it hurriedly, the camera remains static.
• Cuts to a MS of a shelf with candles in jars and thankyou cards in children's handwriting positioned on it. Music is faint in the background, clearly a CD playing in the scene but unimportant so not loud enough to be distinguished.
• Cuts to a MS of a man's hand holding a wine glass as he moves towards an object in the foreground hidden by the use of lighting.
• Camera peds up as the woman enters the room, ending in a MS of the couple.
• As the man moves backwards the camera moves to accommodate him in the framing. As the couple sit down camera moves down with them to keep them framed as before.
• Cuts to the object that wasn't visible before which is a frame on a chair.
• Camera tracks forward until the shot is a CU of the frame so the audience can read it and see the couple's faces reflected in it.
• Music is still faintly in the background as before, CD is clearly still playing creating a sense of verisimilitude, the fire in the room can also be heard crackling but the main emphasis of sound is the dialogue.

Aanalysis, useful to use or not?
This isn't the most exiciting or effective opening, but I feel it creates a sense of unease particularly through use of music in the opening titles, it is chilling and the change when the title of the film appears is effective in keeping audiences on the edge of their seats, I know the first time I watched this film I felt a shiver at that point, and the use of lighting even on the titles is effective in creating the impression of not being on your own, which is also created in the opening with the woman in the basement, as the feels a chill and the framing makes her look small and vulnerable inside the dank dark basement before she quickly runs upstairs.
The other reason this is effective particularly for us is that it is so easy to do, it is not impossible for us to create this opening and to successfully create the feeling of unease and foreboding.