The Sixth Sense & Terminator Comparison

The sixth sense

This scene we are analysing is set at the scene of a car accident focusing on the two main characters (a mother and her son) as they are held up in their car because of the commotion ahead. This instantly puts the two main characters in a position where they are trapped because in a typical traffic jam you cannot abandon your car and have no choice to sit and wait until it clears. This is a common convention of a thriller because the scene is set in a common day situation which isn't pleasant to anyone directly or indirectly involved and as it is a realistic and common experience, it enables the viewer to see them self in the characters positions much more easily.

As we start to get a longer and better overview of the characters we see fear and curiosity in there expressions, especially in the young boys. After the general comments made by the mother there is a dramatic pause before the young boy looks towards his mum and says “ I'm ready to communicate with you now.”  This takes the audience and his mother by shock and triggers their curiosity into what the boy means by this statement as it isn't something that a boy of his age would ever say. The young boy then goes on to explain to his mother that he knows someone got hurt in the accident ahead. This foreshadows to the audience that something is abnormal in this situation as he knows information that his mother doesn't when he is in almost the same situation that she is. The young boy then shocks the audience by stating that the woman who died in the accident is stood by his window.

Tension builds very quickly in this part of the scene due to many reasons. The first being that information about the paranormal is coming from a young child’s perspective, and the fact that the child looks terrified amplifies the unpleasant situation. Too add to this tension you see a camera shot of the woman stood outside the child’s window with blood running down her face. This is a graphic image that comes as a shock to the audience and is very unconventional; this is because the shot is taken from the mothers point of view however due to the conversations, reactions, and next shot, it is clear that it is only the child who can see the woman.

The sound in this clip is a variety of digetic and non- digetic however it is all made to sound like part of a realistic clip and setting. This is because in the situation at hand extra disturbing sounds aren't needed because the sounds you would usually hear in that situation aren't pleasant anyway. Sirens are always a signal of danger and can always be heard at the scene of an accident as well as the rumble of many static car engines. This all helps the audience relate to the situation that the mother is in with her child behaving in that way; and also the situation the child is in being terrified of what is happening to him and why.

 Terminator

In this scene it is automatically clear to the audience instantly which character is the terminator due to how he is presented from the moment he enters the bar. The terminator walks in unusual straight lines which shows power and the fact that nothing can get in his way, the way he walks up to the wire mesh in the start and then smoothly moves round it signifies that he is unstoppable. Because this is set in a happy atmosphere of a club where everyone is dancing the terminator stands out dramatically in the crowd by his un-energetic movement and actions. Also what the terminator is wearing compared to everyone else in the club signifies that he is in a place where he doesn't fit in. When the terminator first enters the club the camera tracks backwards from the character with a shot that is slightly lower than eye level, this makes the character out to seem intimidating and dangerous and makes you as an audience are backing off from the character.

As the terminator passes through the club scene it is made obvious by his actions that he is looking for something from his actions and his power is shown when he crushes a full grown mans hand with no effort needed. The lighting in this club is red and blue foreshadowing danger and just before the terminator confronts the woman who he is after a woman wearing a bright red dress is at the front of the camera. The colour red always relates to danger and can foreshadow death because it is the colour of blood.

The sound in this scene is non-digetic as you would expect to hear songs playing in a nightclub. However the song playing has been chosen by the producer of this film to add a sense of fear and insecurity because the song lyrics are not pleasant and repeat the line “ you've got me burning”. Also in this clip just before the woman is killed time is slowed down. This can be done for dramatic effect and to help the viewer take in what is going on and possibly even to enable them to relate to the situation better by placing themselves in the woman’s situation.

Comparison

In comparison the scenes from these movies are completely different and do not abide by many of the typical conventions of a thriller. Firstly ‘The Sixth Sense’ focuses on making the audience feel uncomfortable in a mysterious and unpleasant situation, whilst ‘The Terminator’ focuses on making the audience feel in danger of a super-human being with the confrontation of death. However both movies focus on getting the audience to see the situation from the characters perspective and rely on them being able to relate to the characters feeling the emotions themselves even though it isn't happening to them in real life. 

Secondly both movies keep the camera shots around eye level to help the audience interact with what is going on and feel more connected to the characters. This is a typical convention of a thriller and is included in most thrillers. If the producer failed to get the audience to feel in the characters situation or relate to the film, it would not be a good movie for the thriller genre and would disappoint the audience massively. 

Analysing Title Sequences

Captain America

Captain America’s title sequenced is fully animated and designed in a cartoon fashion. The cartoon has clever transitions between different animations and there is movement all the time in the title sequence, as each name is displayed the movement slows down to allow it to be read. The music in the background of this sequence is band music and enables the title sequence to flow through along to the rhythm, there are no lyrics or singing in this sequence making it very effective.

I like this sequence because there is lots of movement and transitions between different titles however this slows down to enable you to read the titles easily without feeling sick. I also like how the titles change at just the right speed enabling you to have enough time to read them properly but ensuring they do not drag on and you are not waiting around for the next titles. This title sequence is effective because it displays all the boring information to the viewer whilst not making the viewers too bored because there is more going on than just text displayed.

I feel this has been done because it first of all sets the scene for the time period the movie is set in and also it gives the viewer a fist insight of what the movie is about. In the sequence we see images of planes and tanks, all which are designed in the World War 2 poster theme foreshadowing the film, might be set in war time or about war. This all gets the viewer’s imagination triggered of what the movie might be about.

Hulk

The tile sequence of the hulk is packed with different shots and fast cuts. This immediately gains the audience’s attention before the movie has even started as they are trying to take on everything that’s going on and make a logical explanation onto why it is going on as so much is unknown at this point of the movie and can’t be matched together easily. This title sequence has mysterious music in and no digetic sound from the clips that you are seeing behind the titles; there are also no lyrics creating a dramatic entrance to the movie. The way they have incorporated the titles into a brief and mysterious introduction to the movie is a very good technique as it draws the audience’s attention so quickly and sets them in the right frame of mind to watch the film.

I like this sequence as it is unconventional to many other title sequences due to the amount that is happening behind the title seen. The clips in the background of scientific experiments and genetic testing give a very good first insight in the movie and the slight confusion with all the clips only motivates the audience into watching the rest of the film. However for some viewers this might confuse them too much and corrupt them in understanding the main plot of the movie due to the amount of information they can take on board at once.

I feel this has been done to engage the audience instantly in the film they are about to watch without giving information away about the main plot. I think they have made it more clear what the film is about possibly preparing the audience in interpreting and understanding the film to a higher level.

The Incredible

The title sequences for the incredible are very quick giving the audience an insight that they are about to watch an action packed movie. This title sequence is completely animated giving a fantasised view of things that don’t have much relation to the plot film. As titles are displayed the fast animation in the background is cut to a slower smooth animation of the text in a digital effect of what you might see on a PowerPoint. This enables it to be read easily however the boring information Is separated by action packed basic animation shots. The music in this title sequence is also action packed and allows the transitions between animation and text to be applied to the rhythm, keeping a nice beat and flow of the opening sequence.
 

I like this opening sequence and feel that it displays the titles in a modern way that is easy on the eye and not boring. However I don’t feel like much information of the film is given away and i feel that the title sequence is only relatable too once you have seen the movie which defeats the object slightly.
 

I think the reason behind the fast action and unrealistic animation is to hint to the viewer this is a superhero movie and is going to be nothing like reality. The way that everything flows quickly relates to superhuman behaviour and the upbeat music, fast action titles, and bright happy colours show that this is going to be a good family movie that is happy and action packed.

Martin Scorsese Research/Fact File

Name: Martin Charles Scorsese

Born: November 17, 1942

Died: -

Occupations: American film director, screenwriter,

producer, actor, and film historian.

Nationality: American

Education: Cardinal Hayes High School

Spouse:

Laraine Marie Brennan (1965–ca 71; divorced)
Julia Cameron (1976–77; divorced)
Isabella Rossellini (1979–82; divorced)
Barbara De Fina (1985–91; divorced)
Helen Morris (1999–present)

Parents:

Charles Scorsese
Catherine Scorsese

 In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation. Scorsese is also a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema.

Scorsese's body of work addresses such themes as Italian American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, machismo, modern crime, and violence. Scorsese is hailed as one of the most significant and influential filmmakers of all time, directing landmark films such as Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), and Goodfellas (1990) – all of which he collaborated on with actor and close friend Robert De Niro. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed (2006), having been nominated a previous five times.

Shutter Island Screenshot Analysis

This screenshot is from the movie ‘Shutter Island’ which is a movie in the thriller genre. This shot is a long shot.  The opening to this movie is simply a blank screen in which a boat starts to appear from in a fade motion. This creates suspense straight away by instantly creating a sense of mystery in the fact that not much information is known at this point and not much is given away either. This scene doesn't reveal anything apart from there is two people on a boat at sea , where as other openings to other genres would usually set the scene instantly giving an overview of where the movie is set. The fact that the mode is old also adds to suspense as it shows they are probably travelling some place that isn't pleasant and can relate back to the look of a pirate ship. As pirates are known to kill people and aren't nice people it can help to generate fear and curiosity for the audience even though it isn't directly related.

This screenshot is from later in the film of ‘Shutter Island’ and is a close up shot. This shot is important as is shows facial expression of the actor ‘Leonardo Dicaprio’, his face shows fear and curiosity. This shot helps the audience to relate to how the actor is feeling and see themselves in the situation at hand. The dim lighting in this shot helps create suspense by aiding mystery to the shot, with half of the actors face dark and the dark background it means that more information is unknown to the audience helping them create up their own scenarios in their head and giving them an over-active imagination to what is going on which can create a lot of fear.

This screen shot is a long shot showing the mysterious views of ‘Shutter Island’ . The lighting is dim and the sky dark which can signify that the place is unpleasant.  The fact that there are two people in the shot wearing all white adds to the mystery at hand as it hints that the place isn't normal and could be a uniform of some kind. This gives the audience a view of location and in this case shows them that the place is un-escapable due to the high cliff walls and no low point around the island. The sign of a trap automatically creates the suspense as many people panic in a trapped situation.

This shot also has dim lighting to create suspense and is a mid shot. The expressions on the actors faces don’t give a happy vibe to the audience and the clothes that they are wearing add to the mystery of the storyline as to why they are dressed in that kind of formal clothing yet seem to be travelling to a horrible place. The shot shows that the actors are looking at something which makes the audience curious as to what they are looking at because it is not in the shot. The mystery and suspense of this creates fear in the audience. 

This shot again reveals little to the audience from the way it is taken from a low angle looking up at the actors. This shot helps create suspicion as it’s a view you wouldn't usually see of a person and it stops the audience viewing where the actors are standing and what is in the scene around them. The dim lighting is used again to show that the place isn't a place you would want to be and the fact they are standing with a policeman of some kind signifies the place might be dangerous.