The Sixth Sense

The Scene in which Dr. Malcolm Crowe is shot by one of his ex patients in his own home uses many camera techniques which connotate various aspects of the thriller genre. With it being the most important scene in the film (even though this is unknown until the very end of the film) the director needs to keep the audience on their seats and want to keep watching. 

The scene starts with a medium shot of Anna Crowe. The light is noir in order to add mystery to the beginning of the scene, not giving away too much to the audience, heightening the tension. The chiaroscuro lighting (non ambient) is casting a shadow behind her, connotating and hinting that there is someone else around whom the audience, and characters within the mise-en-scene do not know about, adding the fear of uncertainty amongst the audience. This extreme of lighting is highlighting her face, showing the raw fear and emotion, worrying the audience that something is wrong. A zoom shot is used to show broken plates on the floor. The camera is uneven and wobbly showing that this is a point of view shot from Malcom as he walks towards the mess on the floor, the effect of doing this is to make the audience feel involved as although they know that the camera is meant to be Malcom, they feel it could also be themselves and they feel the emotion and fear that he would feel. 

This shot shows Anna screaming. The low lighting makes the shot seem like a nightmare and her and Malcom are inprisioned inside it. The fact that the audience now know there is something there, makes them feel even more on edge, yet still making them want to keep watching. The effect of shooting this inside their home plays on the fear of clautraphobia again because they are trapped inside the room and even thoigh there is a window next to them, we know they cannot escape as they are upstairs. It also makes the scene ironic because people normally feel safe in their own homes and this privacy and safety has been invaded; causing more fear amoungst the audience as they know it could happen to them too. The director has still not given away who is there, still building up the suspense and fear amounst the audience (and characters).
 The camera pans around quickly, towards the source of the shadow.

It is hinted that the intruder is inside the bathroom by using the rule of thirds to centre the focal point drawing the eye to the door, which is framing the fear within the shot. The use of the light is ironic as usually light means safety, however, in this case, it is bringing 'light' showing the audience who the intruder is, heightening fear once again as they perhaps do not want to know any more. The effect of using a door way is to once again build tension as the door is acting as as a hideaway for the intruder, the audience will be on the edge of their seats are they are unsure of what is going to happen, whether the camera will zoom closer; revealing the person or whether the suspense will build more, still not giving away their identity. The area within in the door, using ambient lighting (as it is within the mise-en-scene), is much brighter than the area around, giving a sense of detachment  from the rest of the shot. However, this is unusual as normally it is the area in which the source of the fear is coming from, that is darker than the rest of the shot. 

A close up of Malcom and Anna's faces are used in response to the shot of the door. This shows the raw emotion and fear on their faces causing the audience to empathise with them. Empathy is important with the audience as people who watch films engage with the films much better if they can relate to the characters. In the shot, Malcom is is front of Anna, showing that he is in charge; the domineering character.  In thrillers, the woman character is often either the hero; femme fatale, such as the Bride in Kill Bill, or she is the victim. From this, the audience gather that Anna is the victim, because of the camera angle. It is making her look small, and like she is hiding behind her husband, keeping the audience involved as they will be feeling her fear. The light of the door is also casting a square area of light on Anna, almost as if to 'frame' her as the victim. This is ironic, as later it is revealed that Anna actually was not the victim. 

The camera zoomed slowly, towards the door, mimicking the way that Malcom would move towards the bathroom, showing the fear in his movements. This shot still not does reveil the identity of the inruder, only showing his clothes on the floor and his legs, once again building on the tension and curiosity of the audience. The fact that his clothes are on the floor makes the audience wonder what has happened and why the man isn't wearing them. The light is still dark in order to not give too much away, similarily with the fairly long shot, making sure the audience cannot identify anything about the man.

The identity of the intruder is given away and the camera cuts to this close up of Malcom's face giving the audience a feel of the shock and emotion Malcom is feeling. He is obviously scared, resulting in the audience also feeling his fear. This reflects on the audience more so as a few shots ago, he was the character who was seen to take charge, which is often the case with male characters.