The Sixth Sense opening

Mise en sceneThe opening of the sixth sense starts off with the credits and the institutions. We do not see anything in the scene until 2mins 42 seconds in which shows a light bulb in the shot. This can connote what type of genre it is because of the mise en scene as all we see is a yellow light bulb and a dark, black background. This shows that it may be a thriller or horror. Then the enigma codes kick in when we see the lady holding the wine bottle tight to herself as we hear cracking noises. The mise en scene also gives enigma codes towards the audience due to the exposition of the character and the shadow at the back. The mise en scene in the opening of the sixth scene is helpful to me and my group as it helps us decide where we could film our opening thriller movie and what can do to help give enigma codes e.g. the shadow in the opening is helpful.

SoundThe music used in the opening of the sixth sense is old classical music but it mixes in with lots of noises such as creaking stairs and the sound of the wind after the window glass broke. These are all enigma codes to the audience and leads them to asking questions such as ‘why is there background noises?’ or ‘is there someone else in the house?’.

These all add up to catching the audiences attention and also helping them figure out the genre it is. The music also identifies the time period this was set in so as its classic we could say it was set a long time ago. The speed of the music and change of the music comments on the action in the movie and may even foreshadow.

Cinematography

The cinematography also comments on the type of film it is and gives enigma codes as well. The close up/ medium shot of the clothes on the floor is a way to capture the audiences attention and set enigma codes to get them wondering what is in the bathroom. The close up shot of the protagonist character explains that the scene that is about to happen is not what was expected showing that there will be action or thriller in the next scene.

The facial expression on the guy that has gotten into the house shows that he is being controlled by something or someone to go into this mans and lady’s house which also connotes to the genre and may set a narrative to the audiences minds.

NarrativeWe recognise that from when we see the lady running up the stairs and see the shot of the broken window and broken telephone, that the movie will consist of something supernatural e.g. ghosts. We also could tell that the narrative will consist of injuries and death due to the scene of the guy with a gun. We know that the narrative will be a binary opposition of evil vs. good or spirits vs. humans.

We then see that the narrative is to do with that past and the present as the next scenes are with a boy age 10 which the first few scenes were the foreshadowing of the little boy growing up.

This is helpful to me as it gives me ideas of what type of narrative to do for my thriller opening scene and how to set the enigma codes of the narrative.