Sixth Sense Film Techniques

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The Sixth Sense, a 1999 horror movie written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The movie tells a story of a nine year old boy named Cole, played by Haley Joel Osment, and the frightening secret he has been keeping from others. Dr. Malcolm Crowe, played by Bruce Willis, is a child psychologist who attempts to help Cole overcome his problems. Quickly Crowe feels he cannot help Cole overcome his problem. Drifting away from his wife and friends, he wants to quit working with Cole because no progress is seen. However, Cole convinces him to stay on the case and tells him his deepest secret, he is able to see and communicate with dead people everywhere he goes. Through the themes and underlying meanings of the piece, the movie constructs an important idea emphasized throughout the film. Digging deep into the meaning of these functions, the audience is able to …show more content…

Some themes of the movie are categorized as afterlife and communication with others. Shyamalan uses many film techniques to portray the movie in a particular way. Two specific methods that were highlighted was lighting and camera movement, two crucial components to film. During the scene where Cole is attending the birthday party, the viewer is able to see Cole’s shadow moving up the wall towards the voice and it is described as backlighting. The character is made to look mysterious due to the effect of the shadows. It creates a sense of impending doom in the movie which is very suspenseful. He also uses low key lighting in many scenes in the movie. For example, when Cole is in his house and goes to the bathroom the lighting enhances the shadows and it is used when leading up to a suspenseful event, creating no distractions so the audience doesn’t know what will happen next. Along with lighting, camera movement is a crucial aspect to film. It creates character and uniqueness to a film. Zoom is used many times during the duration of this