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Unbreakable - From M. Night Shyamalan, Writer/Director of 'The Sixth Sense'. Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson



	Despite being only 30 years old, Shyamalan is able to direct with a sense of clarity and confidence that is rarely seen from a young filmmaker. With each new film, the writer/director grows closer to defining a unique style that is clearly all his own. "As both a writer/director, Night has been able to create a very defined style that give his films a very particular stamp," says Mendel. "While his stories delve beyond the immediate rational realm of reality, they are still very character driven and tap into very deep, real emotions that audiences relate to in a personal way." "Night's style is one of strong storytelling, strong characters and strong performances," adds Sam Mercer. "He's not going for the 'MTV' style with a lot of cuts to have that kind of high gloss... he's going for the emotional reactions so that when you are sitting in a theatre, you almost feel like you are sitting in the driver's seat, having the same experiences as those on screen." "It [the film] has to be very real... with supernatural subjects done as if they were real... and treated with that same kind of respect and importance," says Shyamalan. "I don't like artifice. More and more I am pulling artifice out of the movie as if I were making a documentary." Shooting the film in continuity and with very little coverage were two rarely used filmmaking techniques Shyamalan implemented in making "Unbreakable" in order to give the film the sense of realism he desired. "Shooting in continuity is extremely rare due to the challenges it can present in terms of scheduling the locations needed and the timing of the actor's schedules," explains Sam Mercer. "But it was very important to Night in this case because he wanted the actors to go on the same emotional journey as the characters and experience their feelings truthfully as the story was unfolding. Although it was not always easy to execute from a logistical standpoint, it has definitely been beneficial in terms of helping to deliver incredibly strong performances from our entire cast." "It has been very helpful to shoot in continuity," says Samuel L. Jackson. "It enables you to know from day to day what's happened before and to know what is going to happen next. It allows you to prepare yourself in a whole new way so that the character develops naturally over the period of the shoot." Shooting with a confidence that he describes as "high-risk, high-reward," Shyamalan has shot "Unbreakable" with very little coverage that allows the audience an almost voyeuristic point-of-view of the scene. "All of the scenes are being done in one shot instead of using traditional coverage," explains Shyamalan, "so that the movie is actually more like theatre with longer scenes and fewer cuts to make it much more realistic for the viewer... as if they were right there watching something that is actually taking place in real life and not on a movie screen.

	"Every shot has serious meaning when I am designing the look of the film," continues Shyamalan, "which is not always easy because even if it's a cool shot, if it doesn't have meaning, I throw it out. Brick Mason, my storyboard artist, and I always used to joke whenever either one of us would say 'that's a cool shot' because that always meant it's not going in the movie." "That is his belief, that you don't need to be indulgent," says Mercer. "The train wreck is a good example of that... it is more about the David Dunn character and his experience of what is happening to him and less about a third person watching this horrific event as you would on a large, stunt-oriented picture like 'The Fugitive.' That's not servicing his storytelling, so he doesn't shoot things in that manner. He wants the audience to feel that everything is real and that's why there are fewer camera setups and why things are designed and decorated more simply, with only the information that needs to be there to tell the story." "What I am really excited about is that I feel like I have really grown as a director," says Shyamalan. "I felt like I took a leap from 'Wide Awake' to 'The Sixth Sense' and another one from there to 'Unbreakable.' This is definitely the closest I have ever come to the style of films I want to be making -- it has the heart, the action, the humor and the suspense that will make audiences gasp and have fun in an intelligent way that makes them think. "For me personally, the success of 'The Sixth Sense' was not only that it was a financial success... but that it was resonant," continues Shyamalan. "People came back over and over again and were thinking about it for a long time. All you have to do is say 'The Sixth Sense' and it elicits a feeling as opposed to many movies which are just a ride." "I think what Night does so well in his films is that he brings a message into the movie and at the same time tells a very exciting, entertaining story that keeps you on the edge of your seat," says Mercer. "This one definitely is that kind of thrill ride, but I think you will also walk away with a sense that you can be who you want to be and can realize your goals... that nothing is insurmountable and that we are all kind of extraordinary human beings."
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