M. Night Shyamalan uses lighting, camerawork, editing, and sound design to build tension and fear in a scene from The Sixth Sense. The corridor is dark while Cole's bedroom provides safety and light. Close-ups capture Cole's panic and the woman's injuries. Unexpected cuts and changes in sound level startle the audience. Shyamalan skillfully employs techniques of the thriller genre to induce adrenaline and shock in viewers.

1. M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN
The Sixth Sense – Suicide Ghost Scene

2. LIGHTING
• The corridor is dark which adds a sense of fear and mystery. The only light source is
coming from Cole’s room which is still dim but bright enough to light up his face and let
the audience see his expression and movements. He needs the toilet but is clearly
anxious about venturing down the scary, dark corridor.
• M. Night Shyamalan uses the contrast of light (in the kitchen) and dark (in the corridor) to
demonstrate how something’s happening in the kitchen and how that should be the
audience’s focus. This builds tension and unease.
• After Cole sees the woman ghost he runs away towards his bedroom. In his bedroom you
can see his tent clearly lit up compared to the dark corridor, this represents safety as if it’s
‘the light at the end of the tunnel’.
• When Cole enters the tent he turns on a torch pointed at his face, this brings the focus
completely on his panicked expression and later onto his many religious figurines.

3. CAMERA
• Close ups are used a fair bit in this extract to capture all of the emotions and actions of
the scene. For example, when Cole leaves his room he is seen as uneasy, then when the
woman walks past the toilet door he turns around cautiously and seems uncomfortable.
Further close ups are used to reveal the woman’s battered face and slit wrists. These
close ups of the woman are used to shock the audience. The last close ups are of many
religious figurines which demonstrate how Cole is religious and thinks of religion as an
escape and protection.
• There is a longshot which reveals the whole kitchen and how all of the cupboards and
draws have been opened. This reveal links in with another scene of the film where all the
cupboards swing open when Cole is left alone in the kitchen eating breakfast. This shot
was used to reveal the cause of the earlier mystery.
• When Cole runs down the corridor the camera is shaky to represent panic, it also gives
the audience the feel of Cole being chased.

4. EDITING
• There is a cut to a thermostat which shows the temperature decreasing majorly, this
suggest a ghost is present because the cold is typically associated with death. This cut
puts the audience on edge.
• The clip of Cole urinating lasts for a while without anything happening, this makes the
woman walking right past the doorway unexpected and therefore startling the audience.
• When the woman turns around to Cole there is suddenly an increase of cuts. This speeds
up the pace of the scene dramatically and induces an adrenaline rush in the audience.
• The highs and lulls the editing causes in this scene alone is typical of the thriller genre
and is impressively directed by M. Night Shyamalan

5. SOUND
• The scene starts off without any background music, just diegetic sounds of Cole creaking
the door open and scurrying to the toilet and urinating. The stream of urine is then the
only sound that can be heard, this silence makes the scene quite eerie.
• When the woman walks past the doorway there is a sudden loud piece of instrumental
which trails off creepily. This sudden noise is used to enhance the woman passing closely
by the camera, make the viewers ‘jump’ with fear and increase the tension of the
situation.
• You can hear movement in the kitchen but can’t see the cause. This heightens the
mystery of the woman, what’s she doing? Who is she?
• Shyamalan introduces a slow eerie track to the scene as Cole walks down the corridor
and into the kitchen building apprehension of what’s to happen. When the woman turns
around the music starts getting louder and increases in pace to demonstrate the panic
and fear that Cole is experiencing along with the audience.