The Sixth Sense

Sound


While the opening sequence to the sixth sense starts, a deep based, spine tingling piece of music is played. When the title 'sixth sense' fades in and out of the black screen a body jolting high note is played on the violin (something like what is used in 'jaws' or 'psycho'). The sound introduces the film as being scary, and this is what the audience automatically expects from the sound used in the opening sequence.


Lighting


When the title sequence ends we are presented with a totally dark shot. The shot is of a lightbulb which very slowly lights up.
The shot is then cut to what seems like a point of view shot from behind a wine rack which gives us a view of a character coming down the stairs on the left.
The use of darkness could connote maybe the presence of an evil of some sort. It also creates fear amongst the audience, this use of mature techniques shows us that this film is aimed for young adults and adults.
The room in which both characters are in is also dimly lit, this could be to create a romantic feel, as it is obvious that these two characters are a couple.




Camera


The first shot used in the sequence is the close up of the light bulb. I don't think this bulb connotes anything, just denotes that someone may be entering the room where the bulb is.
There is then quite an extraordinary shot from behind the wine rack. With this shot we see the woman entering the basement by walking down the stairs. This shot gives the audience the feel as though they are placed in the position of someone lying in wait for the woman, which brings a sense of fear from the very start.
When the woman leaves the basement it cuts to a close up of some candles on a sideboard (probably used to establish another room). There s then a panning shot from a mans legs which pans up until its more of a medium shot of him and the woman standing together.
There shots used are quite relaxed and slow, which aids the romantic relaxed film the director may be trying to create with these two characters.


Studio and Marketing


Characters


>Bruce Willis
>Haley Joel Osment
>Toni Collette
>Olivia Williams
>Donnie Wahlberg


Director


>M.Night Shyamalan


Producers


>Kathleen Kennedy
>Frank Marshall
>Barry Mendell
>Sam Mercer


Music by


>James Newton Howard


Budget & Takings


The sixth sense had a budget of $40 million. it took in $26.6 million in its opening weekend and overall, took a worldwide gross of $672,806,292.

V for Vendetta

During lesson we discussed the opening sequence of the Action Thriller 'V For Vendetta'. We were first asked what audience would the film attract. 

One of the first things that came to mind was:

>People who enjoyed watching Natalie Portman in films like 'Star Wars' are more likely to watch this film, due to her taking a main role.

>Audiences that may be interested in action or violence will watch V for Vendetta as it has both of these things.

>A younger audience under the 15 certificate will be drawn by temptation to the film but may not be able to watch it.

We were then asked, judging on the opening sequence what things connote the audience it is aimed towards.

>The music played in the opening sequence was a war type themed music, this appeals to the young male audience.

>The music played also anchors what is going on in the footage.

Preliminary exercise

My group was set a task to complete a preliminary exercise, which would test our ability in using media equipment. The task was to make a short clip of someone opening a door, walking in a room, sitting down and exchanging words with another character.  We were in a group of three which consisted of me Luciana and Gamze. We went through a process of making mistakes, Leaving the camera on record etc. But we got some reasonable footage in the end.

We used a long shot of Luciana walking through the door which continues onto the other shot where we use a panning shot to follow her across the class to where she was going to sit. Once she was sat down we used Shot reverse shot to bring the conversation and reactions between her and Gamze together.

Once we had all our footage we edited it on final cut pro. We cut all the separate shots and picked the best ones to tightly fit together so the cutting between shots runs smoothly.