Mica Gale: The Sixth Sense Opening Sequence Analysis

These are some of the opening credits the audience sees, the main character's actor and last shown is the writer and director of the film. The dark colours of these credits suggest to the audience that the film may be of the horror/thriller/mystery genre.

Here are some props of cards from children and a row of candles. Even though we have not been introduced to the character these cards belong to, we can assume that they work with children, are good at their job, and so receives thank you cards from the. The prop of the row of candles conveys the idea that the characters are relaxing and wanted a romantic setting. Throughout the film, red is the colour of something about to happen, so the red cards could represent this and be a warning to the characters.

The images above show the contrast in high key lighting (left) and low key lighting (right) when Malcolm finds Vincent in his bathroom. Although the audience already see Malcolm as the "good guy" from his award and cards from patients and Vincent as the "bad guy" for breaking in and standing near naked in his house, the lighting suggests otherwise. This choice of lighting could show Vincent's perspective as he thinks Malcolm left him without curing him and he is now left exposed with no one to help him.

This screenshot shows to the audience the setting of the film as it tells them this is taking place a year after Vincent shooting Malcolm. It also shows them the outside location so they become more immersed into the "world" of the film with the plot and characters.

This screen capture introduces the audience to the main young character. His costume suggests that he comes from a poorer family due to the old trench-coat, battered satchel and glasses that are way too big for him. The satchel and t-shirt suggest to the audience that he is off going to school but he is an outsider due to his background.

A long shot is used on this female character to demonstrate to the audience that she is alone and scared at this fact. This presents the idea to the audience that the genre of the film is close to a mystery/horror.

This clip shows a zoom into the award which brings the audience closer to the main character as they are able to see up close the work that he has done. This zoom also shows the audience how close their relationship is as they are able to see their reflection when they sit close to each other as she reads to him.

Here, a long shot has been used from the side of the staircase, looking through the hall and onto the couple. This may have been used to make the audience feel as though they are observers and are actually in the house with them, perhaps creating an eerie atmosphere as they are watching the characters who are unaware they are there.

This clip shows a point of view shot from the perspective of Malcolm to put the audience in his shows at that moment. This gives information to the audience in more detail than a third person shot. The audience can see some of the character's possessions have been scattered as the phone is off the hook and paper is spread across the floor. The audience can also see that someone had broken in as broken glass lay on the windowsill and the window is broken.

Here, focuses are used to draw the audience to the information that they need to understand the character of Cole as they get this information from Malcolm's notes. This again immerses them into the "world" of the film.

This shows a 'sting' sound effect when the title of the film is introduced to the audience. This could have been used to scare the audience a little and hint that the genre may be a horror/mystery and prepare them for this genre.

This shows silence after the couple discover someone has broken into their bedroom window. The use of silence makes the wind sound effect as the shadow moves across and the woman's scream sound much louder to the audience, creating an eerie atmosphere.

This shows an ascending in volume hum as Malcolm gets closer to discovering who or what has broken into their house. This builds suspense for the audience and makes them feel tense as they prepare for the worst.

The silence used in this clip makes the gunshot sound louder to the audience compared to how quietly and softly Vincent is speaking. This makes the murder more of a surprise to the audience as they would not expect this from the scared man they saw when he was first introduced.

This clip shows Malcolm following Cole with a non-diegetic string score, slowing getting louder. This shows that Malcolm is trying to see where he is going but as he get closer, Cole moves further away. This makes the audience see that Cole is just an innocent and scared child who needs help from Malcolm but is anxious around him.

This slow fade in and fade out of the credits slowly builds up to make the audience wonder what is going to happen and for the tension to build, making the opening sequence more unexpected for the audience.

An eye-line match is used between the couple and Malcolm's award. This shows the audience what they are looking at in more detail and the connection they have with it, making the audience feel closer to the characters.

This clip shows a shot reverse shot between Malcolm and Vincent. This shows that there is a connection between them as the audience later finds out.

Here is a fade to black after Malcolm is shot by Vincent. This could suggest his life as he is dying so may convey to the audience what his vision is currently like. However, this fade to black could also be showing the audience that time is passing.

In this clip, short takes are used between Malcolm and Cole, showing to the audience that he is the child that Malcolm's notes were about that were shown previously. The use of short takes also demonstrates that Cole is anxious as he tries to get away quickly and makes them see he is an innocent child.

Mica Gale