Sixth Sense- Opening Sequence Analysis

In this essay, I am going to analyse the opening sequence of Sixth Sense through the areas of mise-en-scene, editing, camerawork and finally sound. An opening sequence should include continuity editing; giving the audience an idea about the setting of the film, the characters and key events in the film and titles and credits etc. This makes the audience want to carry on watching as the opening sequence is interesting and attractive.

First of all, the opening credits are white with a black background which shows that the film is serious. This also relates to the music in the opening credits as it creates tension and gives off a creepy vibe to the audience. Additionally, the font is spaced out which makes seem very isolated.

 In the opening scene, the setting is in a cellar with low key lighting to create shadows and look scary. This makes the audience believe that something frightening is about to happen. However, in the end the women leaves the cellar unharmed.



The costume of Malcolm and Anna, as in the opening sequence the we find out the names of the couple, relate to their wealth, as Malcolm is wearing a suit indicating that he is high in class, and Anna is in a long silk dress which also indicates the same thing. However, Vincent Grey is wearing nothing but his underwear, which cuts and bruises up his legs and is holding a gun. This highlights that he is very unstable and a dangerous character, making the audience keep an eye on him.

One way editing makes the opening sequence of Sixth Sense good is when the credits fade in and out. This creates tension and a creepy atmosphere as the audience are starting to understand the type of film they are going to watch.



Additionally, an eyeline match is used in the last scene of the opening sequence to show the little boy, in Bruce Willis's (Malcolm) perspective to highlight that the boy is important in this scene and makes the audience attracted to him.



There is a use of dissolve into 'next fall' to show the jump in time and that the story has moved on from the last scene. This gives the audience a new story to focus on as it provides them with a new setting and a new character.

One way camera work makes the opening sequence of Sixth Sense good is the long shot of Malcolm's wife in the cellar. This shows that she is alone and weak creating tension and fear towards her as something unexpected may occur.



Also, the use of zoom on certain props such as, the frame and cards, indicate that they are important and that the audience should keep them in mind to understand future events. The frame and cards portray that he is good at his job and that people respect him because of it.



Finally, in the last scene of the opening sequence there is a quick pan, in Bruce Willis's Perspective, of the young boy walking past the bushes, this shows that he is important in this scene as Malcolm wants to keep his eyes on the boy at all times.

Lastly, the use of silence when Malcolm's wife (Anna) is in the cellar creates tension and fear and emphasizes that something is about to happen to her as there is no sound. It makes the audience feel uncomfortable as they don't expect what is going to happen next due to the use of silence. The fact that Anna is in the cellar on her own creates more of an effect and she is more vulnerable and an easy target.

Another aspect of sound which makes the opening sequence of Sixth Sense is dialogue between Malcolm and Vincent is calm and relax which makes the shooting ironic as Malcolm is labelled good at his job so the audience believe that he is able to calm down his former patient (Vincent) but instead Vincent shoots Malcolm and himself.


Finally, whilst the credits are being played tense creepy music is being played when the credits fade in and out which foreshadows the future events that occur in the opening scene and rest of the film.