2. Mise En Scene
Actor/Actresses
Setting
Colour
Lighting
Costume
Make up
Props
Setting: The setting is a very important element to a Psychological thrillers The
two most common location for Psychological thriller to be set in; is the city. and
inside a building. E.g. An house jail restaurant. The countryside isn’t as commonly
used as it can get confused with a horror film.
Costumes; The antagonist (the villain ) normally typically wears smart clothing.
E.g. Suit or shirt and jeans. The costume normally matches the locations. For
example If it was an urban built up area the character would more than likely to be
wearing a suit and tie.
Also the antagonist normally wear dark clothing, as s the colour black represents
death, mystery and suspicion.
The protagonist is the opposite to this; as they normally dress in brightly coloured
clothing.
Lighting: Low level lighting is commonly used in Psychological thriller as it create
suspicion and tension. In some films it’s used to create shadows which makes the
audience feel fear and tension.
Props: Mirror are commonly used in psychological thriller to portray the used of
reflections of a characters inner self as well as representing the ‘dark side’ of the
character.
Props are normally the key aspects in an psychological thriller as they are
normally used to create clues that are related to the rest of the film. They do this to
keep the audience engaged.
3. Sound
•Non diegetic
•Diegetic
•Dialogue
When watching a film, more often than not there will be some
sort of music that accompanies the images we are watching,
whether we realise it or not, this music can help us
understand what is happening in the film. It provides depth
to the character(s), or the environment (setting).
Clearly, from a commercial point of view the music has done
its job and also has The music is important as it reinforces the
relationship between the setting and the characters. Without
the correct music, an film can look unprofessional.
High tension music or eerie sounds are most commonly used
in psychological thriller. Sometime however; in complete
contrast to this silence is used, this makes the audience tense.
4. Camera Movement/Shots& editing
Quick editing is commonly used in this genre type as it create tension as the audience
suspect something is wrong and become restless.
The most common shot types that are used in Psychological thriller are; the mid shot and
the close up. Theses are commonly used because it helps the audience relate to the
character as they are able to see the emotion and tension on their faces. This creates
an realistic feel to the film as the audience can relate to the actor or actresses
situation, this makes the film more scary.
Common techniques used in psychological thriller are flashbacks and faced paced
editing. These techniques can be used for several different reasons. The flashback is
used to help show the past. This gives an insight into an characters past and shows an
important message or helps explain why the character(s) are the way they are.
Editing is also an important element in the film production because it also helps to create
emotions for the audience such as montage were it excites the audience due to its fast
pace.
There are several editing styles that are conventional to a thriller film such as slow
motion; this style of editing in thriller films builds suspense because the audience
want to know what happens next in the scene but it is pro-longed by the editing.
Fast paced editing is also another conventional style of editing as the fast moving scenes
build up tension and excitement within the audience. Fast paced editing could be
conventionally used in chase scenes between a victim and a killer.
