The document analyzes the shower scene from Psycho (1960) and the opening sequence of The Sixth Sense (1999). For Psycho, it discusses how the black and white filming, lack of dialogue, camera angles, editing, music, and sounds are used to build suspense and tension during the iconic shower scene murder. For The Sixth Sense, it examines how the opening credits, lighting, costumes, camera shots, composition, editing, eye-line matching, zooming, and music/sounds are employed to introduce the characters and setting while hinting at mystery and threat.

1. Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960)- Shower
Scene-ThrillerAnalysis

2.  The film is in black and white and the clothing and props are typical of a 1960 film.
 The scene has no dialogue and this might be used to highlight that the woman is alone at home or it
may also be to emphasise the women’s screams when she is being murdered.
 When the shadow of the murderer appears behind her, she has her back to it, which could be because
Hitchcock didn’t want the woman to see the murderer before he kills her, so then she is shocked when
he kills her.
 After the murder takes place, the music continues to play as the woman falls down the wall for a
dramatic effect.
 The iconography of the blood in the scene is also highly effective, it is visibly thicker and darker in the
water and we witness the mass of it flow away. The movie is purposely filmed in black and white; this
creates a harshness and constant dark town throughout; this primarily communicates mystery in the
suspense.

3.  The close up of the camera on the curtains which depicts the dark figure holding the knife, creates a
suspense and tension as the woman is not aware of what is behind her and the use of the close up also
highlights the fact that something horrendous is about to occur.
 The second close up in the scene is a close up on the woman's hand and a downward tilt which shows
her hand slowly failing, which symbolizes her last moment alive and this yet again raises suspension as
we don’t know who the murderer is.
 The camera is placed on the woman herself to depict her emotions of being attacked which were fear
and anger.
 There's an eye level shot of the murderer attacking the woman in the shower and this emphasizes the
fact that the audience are forced to be the woman’s place and feels like the murderer is attacking you.
 Hitchcock uses panning across the bath tub floor to the plug hole to direct the audiences focus to the
woman’s downfall. This continuity is maintained as a fade transition of the plug whole merges into the
woman’s still eye in a rotating motion. This means to show that she died due to shock and pain and
was fully conscious when she died.

4.  Editing is used to create suspense. At the beginning the pace of the editing is the same it has a very
steady cut making us as an audience feel like its normal it makes us feel comfortable.
 The editing of a scene can help portray feeling and emotion. The editing in this clip helps make the
audience feel suspense and tension.
 “Shot-Reverse Shot” is used when it goes from the women to the killers point of view, the pace of that
section is fast and is over very quickly it could be emphasising the viewers heart pounding with the fast
edits.
 When the murder starts stabbing fast cuts and loud music are used to frighten to break the suspense
that had been created with the silence and slow paced editing.
 When the woman is being attacked, there were short cuts to capture her reaction and this makes the
scene more horrific to watch.

5.  The music creates a chilling atmosphere that is now famous throughout all
cinematography.
 The sound can also help to evoke audience reaction. In this scene it starts very quiet we
can only hear Diagetic sounds i.e Footsteps, Pulling of the Shower curtain, the sound of
the water hitting the floor of the shower.
 When the murder starts stabbing fast cuts and loud music are used to frighten to break
the suspense that had been created with the silence and slow paced editing.
 The sound becomes non-diagetic and very loud and both the volume and the
transformation from diagetic to non diagetic breaks the tension and creates a
frightening moment.

6. The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan, 1999)- Opening
Sequence-Thriller Analysis

7.  The opening of the sixth sense starts off with the titles and credits and we do not see anything in the scene
until 2mins 42seconds in which it only shows a light bulb in the shot. This suggests what type of genre it is
for example it could be horror or a thriller because of the mise-en-scene as we can see a yellow light bulb
with a dark background.
 The house appears to be a ‘normal’ looking home and the light neutral tones of colour wihtin the house
create a warm feel and therefore keeps the audience settled. But an important prop in the opening scene is
the award that the couple are celebrating and this shows the importance towards the object and reveals
some information about the character. For example, the award is for being the best ‘psychologist’ and from
this we know that the man is a psychologist.
 The couple are both wearing formal clothing to suggest the importance of the award that the man has
gained. The lighting in the opening scene is essential to convey particular emotions. For example, the
lighting used when the couple are celebrating is brighter and calm, as this matches the mood of the
characters. But, when the characters move upstairs, the lighting becomes darker as the mood intensifies
and suspense is built.
 The enigma codes comes in when we see a woman holding the wine bottle tightly to herself as we hear
noises in the background and the mise-en-scene gives the enigma codes towards the audience due to the
exposition of the character and the shadow at the back.

8.  The use of camera angles, shots and movements within the opening scene a crucial to help build
suspense and tension. A close up shot is revealed of a light bulb, slowing turning on, to present the
opening scene and make a transition from the darkness, to artificial light. This is when the characters
are presented, when eventually a couple are sharing the evening together.
 The close up shots are also used to present the feelings and emotions of characters. These shots are
essential to evoke emotion towards the audience.
 The eye level shots are used to make the audience feel more part of the action, and create realism. An
example of the crucial part that movement plays within the scene, is when the mysterious character
goes to use the gun, and the camera pans away from the character, to allow the imagination of the
audience to take charge of the scene.
 The Composition is also used to see how the audience react to the opening scene. For example, at the
start of the scene when the light bulb is presented, it is presented in the corner of the shot, so that the
faded character can be seen. This allows the audience to see different perspectives of the scene, and
add another dimension to what they are seeing.

9.  Continual Editing is used to give a sense of reality to the scene- this makes it relatable for the audience
and means many can empathise more easily.
 In the scene where the man approaches the bathroom realising that someone is there, the Eye-line
Match is used as we see the face of someone and then we see what he is looking at; the empty door
frame. This is effective as the protagonist makes the audience feel the fear and a feeling of threat.
 The camera very slowly zooms in toward the bathroom, and then gradually pans the bathroom floor to
show the clothes lying there. However when the legs of a man are seen the camera very quickly cranes
upwards to reveal the full length body. This mimics the way a person's eyes would survey a room when
cautious and therefore we feel as though we are seeing through the protagonists eyes.
 Vincent and Malcolm are never seen in the same shot and this implies how disconnected they are and
the fact that Malcolm could never reach his patient and therefore he has failed him.
 In the scene where Malcolm is shot and is lying on the bed, the camera zooms out and effectively
moved away from the action which has the effect of leaving the couple alone for what could potentially
be their last moments together.

10.  Themusic usedin theopeningof the film is oldclassicalandit mixes within thenoisesthatare madein the background, for examplethecreaking stairsand the
soundof the windafterthe windowglassisbroken.
 Themusic helpsto adduptensionandcatch theaudiencesattention.
 From the beginningof theopeningimages, thenon-diegeticsoundisa dramatic andmystifyingbackground track. This gives theaudiencean immediate
understandingof the genre of thefilm.
 Thesoundthat isusedmatchesthemoodwithin the sceneforexample, there’scalm diegeticsoundused whenthe couplearetogether celebratingsomething.
Howeverthemoodchangesasthe soundchanges.Thecouplemove from downstairsto upstairs,wherethereuseof non-diegeticsoundsare usedto buildsuspense.
 Thesoundis parallelto theopeningtitlecredits.Thedarkandmysteriouscreditspresentedlinkto the buildingsuspensecreatedforthe audiencefrom the sound
whichis used.