1. Thriller film convention
What is a thriller film?
A thriller has mystery and suspense, it
makes the audience think what is going to
happen next and keeps them guessing on
the edge of their seats. A thriller takes the
audience on a roller ‘coaster ride’ where
it builds up emotion and then a release.

2. Thriller convention
Most thrillers start off with a normal, happy beginning however when you get to
know the main characters Things usually go wrong and you begin to suspect
and conjecture what is going on.
You might have characters that pose a threat. Also there are lots of twist and
mystery to the story and therefore this allows the audience questioning to
themselves.
There are lots of enigma codes put in, this is when a scene is put in to make the
audience think of a question such as why did he do that? Or who did it? The
thriller builds tension up using different effects.
For example they might use sad music this is called (non– dietetic sound) or the
sound of thunder to build the suspense up slowly which is (dietetic sound).
Therefore this makes the audience frighten for the character, and it makes
the audience worried what if something happens to the character.

3. What are the genre signifiers?
• These are signs that point to the type of film. In thriller films it
would have lots of enigma codes and mystery like for example
heavy breathing, or a mystery call from no where. There are
some sounds effects that possible can make the audience question
or wonder such as foot steps, a window smashing, or a character
weeping. All of those effects make the audience questioning
themselves and it makes it apprehension.

4. How do they show the setting and
characters?
• The way they show the setting in a thriller film would be taken
scenes in old fashion looking school or places in a city or town. for
example like London eye or a mystery looking place such as an
unknown office.
• These setting grab audience tension because of the way the scenes is
set out and the way it looks. For instance it might have colours to
emphasis the meanings for example blue; black, grey. Those colours
in the setting might represent mystery and thriller Therefore this
makes the audience to encourage watching the film.
The way they show the characters in thriller film is by
showing how intense and how mysterious they are.
Therefore it makes the audience want to know more about
them.

5. What sort of characters do they have?
• The sort of characters in a thriller film would be characters such as
protagonist this means the main character in the film and the one that has
to face the threat of the enemy in the film. This builds up more tension
and suspense to the audience.
• However the antagonist character is the one who brings up the treat or
danger to the protagonist character which the character that has to deal
with the fear in the film. This makes the film more emotional and
confusing to the audience because it will make them think and wonder
what might happen next.

6. What sort of music/sound do they
use?
• The sort of music or sound thriller films uses is sometime emotional sounds like
for example a piano playing when a character is crying and upset. This makes
the audience drawn their tension to the scene because of the sound effect. This
makes it sound more attention-grabbing and affective.
• Also this can be know as a (non– dietetic sound) this refers that the sound is
played by an instrument which makes the sound effect more non-dietetic.
• However sometime in thriller films they use mystery sounds for example a
thunder or a lightning from the sky. This makes it more exciting and very
tension grabbing to the audience because it makes them wonder what’s
happening. However this sound effect is known has (dietetic sound) because it’s
more pragmatic and real.

7. How do they show narrative?
• The way they show the narrative in a thriller film is by showing
different scenes. For example they might show the beginning then
after there might be different parts of mystery plots of the film. Such
as the beginning might be cheerful and ordinary after that there might
be scenes of mystery and crisis.
• However in some mystery scenes they sometimes show the enemy
which is the antagonist character who tries to threat the protagonist
character who will be fighting against the enemy.
• This builds up tension of the thriller film, because of the mystification
and the shocking moments in the film.

8. What is the editing like?
• The editing is like they try to create suspense or build up
tensions by having sound effects or music as this is
important in the film and in trailers. However at the
beginning is always calm and normal after it builds up
mystery and suspense by showing show all the mystery
and nervous parts of the film The reason for this is that as it
create tension it makes the audience to watch it more or be
more engaged with the trailer. In trailers they show quick
clips because they don't want it to be boring but want to
show short clips of the film as this will give the audience a
clear idea of the film .