The Sixth Sense Deconstruction

The Sixth Sense. 

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Lead up to the dialogue

Drawing Towards the car - Parallel Lines 

Closing in on the Subject

Sound

• The sound in this part of the scene is diegetic, as the characters within the scene are hearing the conversation, but to us it seems like a voice over as we are panning in to reveal the subjects, we are not directly brought to see them. Which uneasily sets the scene foreshadowing the revelation that is to come. 
• The background noise of the car horns, and the rustling of the wind and the leaves leads us to believe that everything is normal within this scene, showing that there is nothing wrong and everything is as it seems. 
• The silence of the two main protagonists in the car shows the distance between them, within their  relationship. It conveys an issue, and we see very clearly in the next part of this scene what this issue is and what can be done about it. 

Camera Angles 

• The shot is an establishing shot, as it is focusing on the surroundings of the characters, and at first there are no clear protagonists, which are focused on solely by the camera angles. 
• A track is used to get closer towards the car, a smooth movement us used indicating that there is nothing wrong and that everything is as it seems in reality. 

Lighting 

• This scene is naturally lit, which is unusual for a horror scene, but as this is a psychological horror, it tries to comply with reality, and play on this fact, making us believe that the natural lighting is warm and inviting when really it is conveying the opposite after there has just been a major traffic accident. 
• The lighting is moderate and not high key or low key due to the fact that there is no atmospheric pools of light or darkness. This conveys to the audience the feel of normality and reality. 
• 
  

Mise En Scene

• The cars are all dull colours, not one car stands out, they all look grey or dark green which connotes to the audience the themes of corruption and dullness, hinting to the audience what will be in the scene, before we here or see the characters. 
• The red tail lights on the cars are the dominant, and they connote the danger, it could show the dangers of the cars, or it could be showing the danger that the child is to himself. 
• The cars are all at a diagonal angel to fit them into the shot, but also conveying to the audience that something is not right, suggesting the tension and anxiety of the characters. 
• The two yellow lines that run parallel could indicate that the two lives of the mother and child will always be separate, they will never be able to fully understand what the other is going through, as the lines will never meet. 
• The framing is very tight, due to the amount of traffic there is no where for the cars or the people involved in the cars to move too, indicating that they will be stuck in this position for some while. 
• There is a moderate amount of visual information, as we can set the scene and establish what has happened, but we do not know if what we think is confirmed, as there is not enough clear information, all we can see is a traffic jam, which we believe to be caused by a crash, but our ideas can not be confirmed because there is not enough visual information. 

Editing.

• There is no clear difference of editing in this shot, as it is all one shot, the only change is when the car window appears and we see the two characters emerge. 

Inside the Car.

Sound. 

• All the sound within this clip is diegetic, with the sound of the car's beeping in the background, and the rustle of the wind it makes this clip seem ordinary with no indication of any uncomfort but due to the surrounding sounds being too normal, it plays on the mind of the viewer, questioning all of the sounds within the scene, and all of the motives of the sound. 
• The dialogue is all on one tone, suggesting to the viewer that something is not right, as the tone does not change correctly as it would in a normal conversation. Also there are a lot of pauses between the lines of dialogue, showing that there is a lot of reluctancy to answer the questions.

Lighting 

• The light in which is used to light this frame is natural, as the show is lit all around, and from all angles, which can only be done with natural lighting. The lighting suggests that everything is as it seems and is normal, even though we as an audience suggest that something is going to happen in the near future. 

Camera Angles

• The shot is framed with the outside of the car door, as if we are outside the car looking in, giving us as an audience a outlookers's perspective, as we are not really yet connected with the two characters who are within the car. 
• A medium shot is used to solely focus on the facial reactions between the two characters, as a full shot is not required, also if a full shot was used it would diminish the view in from the window. 
• A Two shot is also used to show the son and the mother engaged in conversation, it shows the relationship between the two, showing how close the relationship is, and how linked both of the characters are. 
• We are on eye shot with the characters and are not looking down on them, or looking up to them, showing no shift of power, and showing that we can emphasise and engage with the characters. 

Mise En Scene

• The women in this shot is dressed in a red top, this connotes to the audience danger, and foreshadows what is to come in the near future. 
• The way in which the two characters are positioned shows a close bond between the two, but in this scene it looks like the relationship is frayed by the body positions. 
• The background is in focus, showing that what is going on in the background is also important.
• There is a lot of black within the scene, showing darkness and conveying death, which is a typical theme within this scene. 
• The density of this shot is moderate, as they is a fair amount of information within the shot, but it shows that there are still many questions that are still left unanswered. 
• There is no where for the characters to escape as the framing is tight, showing that the characters are unable to move, and are trapped. 

Editing. 

• The editing within this scene is minimal, to focus solely on the characters interactions. There is a lot of invisible editing to emphasise this fact. .
• There is very little editing, and the only change in shot is between the focus on the little boy, and his mother to show the reaction shots between each other, to maximise each person's facial reaction.