Analysis of the second scene from The Sixth Sense

Scene Two - "I see dead people"

The second scene that I have decided to analyse is the scene where the little boy says to the main character (his doctor) that he can see dead people. This is a hugely significant part of the film as the little boy hasn't been able to trust anyone with his secret. However, with his doctor he feels like he can trust him and decides to tell him what he has been afraid of his whole life. I have decided to analyse this scene as the music and camera angles are used in a specific way to create massive amounts of  suspense for the audience where they wonder what the boy is thinking and if he is going to tell his secret to the man; of which he eventually does.

The first camera angle I looked at was an over the shoulder shot of the boy starting to talk to his "doctor" about his secret. This shot shows the clear difference between the boy and the doctor and shows that the boy is more vulnerable than the doctor. This is shown by the doctor standing slightly higher than the boy, making it look as if he is looking over him with more power. This is effective as it shows clearly to the audience that the boy is weak and is in need of help and reassurance from the doctor that he trusts enough to tell his secret to. The over the shoulder shot shows clearly the emotions and body language of the man to show that he is anxious as to what the boy is going to tell him. The doctors job is to make the patient feel like they can talk to them about anything and this is what the boy is starting to do. This is effective as it makes the audience feel like they're they are their watching the conversation happen and are as anxious as the doctor to find out what is wrong with the boy.

The second part of the scene that I looked at was the close up shot where the boy tells the doctor about his secret. The close up is used to show that this part of the scene is very important and is a significant part in the audience knowing what is wrong with the boy. This also allows the audience to feel connected to the boy and to know exactly what he is feeling. The non diegetic music is very quite and subtle to create a tense atmosphere as the audience are anxious to find out what the boy has been hiding everybody. This is effectively used as it not only let's the audience feel more connected to what he is saying but also shows them exactly the emotions that he is feeling. For example, when he starts to speak to the doctor he stumbles with his words looking scared and anxious. But as he starts to calm down in front of the man he starts to tell him that he can see dead people. The close up allows the audience to see that the boy looks relieved that he has told somebody about his secret and that someone may be able to help him.it that will hopefully understand him. I see this scene as a climax point in the film as the audience not only find out what is wrong with the boy but they finally feel connected as to why he has been acting the way he has been with certain things.

The third way that the scene created suspense was through the use of a zoom. The shot originally starts off with a mid shot of the doctor sitting on a chair next to the bed where the boy is lying. Then as the doctor starts to take in what the boy has told him the shot changes to a close up of his face. The zoom into his face is effective as it shows clearly the way that man's facial expressions have changed. He starts of by looking worried but then his face changes to being apprehensive as to whether he believes what the boy has told him. The doctor then goes on to say to the boy that it may be a nightmare or something in fact more serious. In the scene the lighting is dark to show that the topic of death and ghosts is abnormal and dark which is something that people don't normally talk about . Furthermore, people see it as quite haunting as the audience instantly relate seeing dead people in horror films which is quite scary. The audience then start to think of the dark, death aspect as an unknown suspense of what and how the doctor is going to help the boy.