Visual Design Analysis

Visual Design Analysis

The Sixth Sense is a 1991 supernatural thriller directed by M Night Shyamalan that follows a child psychologist who helps a child troubled by his ability to see ghosts. When we meet Dr. Malcolm Crowe (played by Bruce Willis), his house has been broken into by one of his former patients who then shoots him in the stomach. We then meet Malcolm’s current patient (1 year after the incident), Cole Sear. Cole has seemingly the same issue as the patient who shot Malcolm, the ability to see ghosts. The story then progresses on with Cole using his powers to help the spirits move on from this world. In the end we find out that Malcolm has been dead since he first was shot in the beginning of the film. In the end, Malcolm finishes his own unfinished business by helping Cole with his gift, and thus moves on from this world. In this clip (1:35:40-1:43:58), Malcolm and Cole go to the wake of a little girl who died unexpectedly. The little girl’s spirit visited Cole so he could help her deliver her final message to her father. This scene shows the depth of detail used by the visual design crew to create a very realistic and symbolic scene.

The setting of this scene really sets the mood of the scene right from the beginning. When the scene begins, it shows Malcolm and Cole walking into a wake for a little girl. Everybody is wearing black and there are mourning people everywhere. The set designer (Douglas Mowat) placed bouquets of flowers all around the room, and included various pictures of the family on the walls and tables. Candles are lit around a picture of the deceased girl. These pictures are there to show the incomplete family that has been torn apart by this death. The camera goes around the room to show each family member except for the girl that died. These pictures and flowers are there to create a somber mood. After Malcolm and Cole go into the little girl’s room, placed around the room are dolls and puppets. These items are here to not only show that this was the little girl’s room, but the dolls give you the creepy feeling of being watched. In truth you are being watched by the spirit of the girl. These simple objects create the feelings of creepiness and sadness by giving us knowledge of the situation.

The color palette used by Douglas Mowat helps set the mood also. All of the clothes that are worn at the wake are black. Except for one person. The black clothes tell us that this is a formal event and that this could be a sad event. All of the colors used in this scene are dark ones. The walls are white with a dark blue wallpaper. All of the clothing being worn is black. Even a lot of the pictures are black or have black frames. This sets a depressing mood for the scene and helps the audience understand that this is a sad event. The one person not wearing black is the mother. We find out about the mother poisoning her daughter later in this scene. Her wearing red is symbolic of the evil thing that she did. Her lack of black clothing also shows that she is not mourning the death of her child. The bright red dress makes her stand out in the dark room with all of the black colors and almost makes her look sinister. The black colors that were chosen for this scene help set the somber mood and gets the audience feeling depressed just like the characters; while the red dress was used to symbolize the evil deed performed by the mother.

The lighting of the room in this scene is used to make the set seem dark and depressing. The lighting used is very low key. When we first enter this home, it seems very dark. In fact, if you pay attention to the lights, every single one of them is off. The only light source in the room is two candles around the girl’s picture. In the background you can even see that the shades are pulled shut, allowing no outside light in. This lack of lighting makes the scene depressing and dark. When Malcolm and Cole go upstairs to the girl’s room, once again the room is extremely dark. This lighting however, is not used to set a somber mood, but rather one of fear and suspense. This scene is meant to be scary, because you know that the spirit is somewhere hiding in the room. This low amount of lighting strikes fear and sadness into the hearts of the audience. Douglas Mowat used lack of lighting in order to create a very depressing and scary scene.

This scene from The Sixth Sense uses a large amount of items, colors, and lighting in order to create a somber and fearful mood. When we first enter this home, we are shocked by the dark colors and low lighting-creating a depressing feel. When we go upstairs with Malcolm and Cole, the low lighting and puppets on the shelves create a mood of fear. Whether it’s the setting or the colors or the lighting, Douglas Mowat makes this scene altogether dark and depressing.