This is my research into the thriller genre for A2 Media Studies

1. Research - Thriller
By Callum Mitchell

2. General conventions
Because we're doing a Thriller/Drama I wanted
to look at both sides to make sure I am
covering everything so we get it right. I had
already looked into general conventions in
Drama's so this time I wanted to look into
thriller conventions. The main foundation to a
thriller film is suspense and slight fear. The
point of a thriller is to thrill you as it says in the
name so it needs to do whatever it can to keep
you on the edge of your seat. There is often a
lot of character development however usually
from good to evil as events take place that
changes the character. Thrillers usually show
good and evil battling against each-other. This
could either take place with other characters or
within a character himself for example: His
good side battling his evil side in a conflict or
situation. Thrillers often tackle the narrative
through focusing on one character and showing
his trials and obstacles and try and get you to
relate to the character.

3. Usually the storyline revolves around an enigma or the hero who is the only one
who can solve the enigma. There's always bound to be some sort of violence in
thrillers also because it makes it more exciting and more thrilling. They often
bring real life cooperation's like the police or the army to deal with the problem
that only the hero can solve. There are usually similarities between the hero and
the villain and in the end the hero usually solves the enigma. The exciting part of
thrillers is there is so much you can do with them and you don't have to stick to
a few select storylines however you have a few guidelines that you should stay
within but the rest is your oyster. I found many codes and conventions in
thrillers and decided to split it up into media aspects.

4. Cinematography
The thriller genre is very closely related to horror but does have major differences. The
point of a thriller film is to wow the audience and cinematography plays a huge part.
Close up shots and Extreme close up
shots are a necessity in a thriller film
because they build up suspense and
emotions in the characters face. Close
ups build intensity and tension. Using
close ups also allow the camera to
highlight certain parts of the face which
may be a crucial part to storyline and it
also allows you to see the delight in eyes
or the fear in someone's mouth. Close
ups allow you to get into the characters
head and feel what they feel which is
really important for the thriller genre as
character development is crucial.

5. In most film establishing shots are used to tell
the audience where about the scene is to take
place so therefore in a thriller establishing shots
are a must have. It’s important for thrillers
because to tell the story, you need to know
where the scene takes that job perfectly.
In thrillers establishing a characters position is
very important to the story for example if
they’re losing a battle or inferior to the other
character high angle shots are used. They allow
the shot to tell the part of thrillers and are
always used. story about who is winning and
loosing. That is why they are such an important
Opposite to this, low angle shots are also really
important in the thriller genre as it shows the
superior character which is important to the plot
of the story. They often show obstacles the
character has to get over or face. For example a
low angle shot of a building as the hero has to
reach a certain floor to save someone.

6. Point of view shots are also very important in
the thriller genre because what a character sees
is an important part of getting inside their head.
You can hear what the character can hear so
that’s one sense ticked off so seeing is also
powerful. Also you can easily show fear in a
characters point of view using this shot
connecting the audience with the emotions of
the characters.
Tilted shots are used in thrillers to create
uneasiness and mayhem. This is because it isn’t
the normal shot. This means that it’s not what
people are used to therefore creates this effect
of mayhem. In thrillers they are used along with
mise en scene to set the mood of the shot and it
is an easy visual way of disrupting the
equilibrium through cinematography.

7. Special mention
I wanted to show some cinematography of the great Alfred Hitchcock, one of our
earliest pioneers of modern filmmaking. I looked into some of his greatest
cinematography and here’s what I found.
Alfred’s main goal was to interact with the audience so did all he could to show
emotion in a shot. He did this in many ways by moving from a close up of a face to a
wide shot of astonished faces. Close ups and extreme close ups were a personal
favorite as he found that almost all emotion was in the face. Following characters and
tracking also was a good way to show emotion. Some of Hitchcock’s films were silent
as he believed that a story can be told visually. And he said: “When we tell a story in
cinema, we should only resort to dialogue when it is impossible to do otherwise…”.
This way Hitchcock uses a variety of different shots and lots of pans to create emotion
and tell the story in a powerful way. Pan’s are one of Hitchcock’s favorites because it
creates suspense and tension. So in relation to our film I feel pan’s are such an
important part of creating tension and suspense. There are many other amazing
things Hitchcock did but I only wanted to keep this brief and I am already getting
ahead of myself and getting excited researching his work. I may come back to his work
in another post but for now I’ll leave it at this.

8. Mise en scene
There are 3 main parts to the mise en scene, all of which I will cover:
- Lighting and colour
- Settings and props
- Costume, hair and makeup
Starting off with lighting. In thrillers lighting is a key
part to telling the story. For example casting shadows
with lighting portrays a dark mood and mysterious
character. Just by adjusting the lighting of a shot can
really change the whole mood of a scene. That’s why
lighting is important for a thriller. Lighting itself is also
important to the cinematography as it makes a shot
or scene look so much better than just the average
look. This is important to the look of our film
especially because we want to do anything we
possibly can to make our film look more professional
and by changing the lighting in the shot and the
colour in post production, you can really give a scene
a really professional look.

9. Settings any film are a necessity, even more so in
thrillers due to the fact that story is a major part.
Setting tells you where the scene takes place
therefore is important in terms of the storyline of the
film. Typical thriller settings are things like: Dark
alleys, haunted houses, mental asylums and mainly
dark places. This is because you can have lots of
suspense in these settings as it’s a bit more scary. So
in terms of the setting, it often relates to the
characters and sometimes is opposite. Either way, it’s
important to the story telling.
Colour is also an important part of the thriller genre
as we often associate it with emotions. For example if
the scene takes place in a cold environment, you can
use a blue tint on the scene to emphasise the
coldness of the image. Colour can also be used to
symbolise what is about to happen within a scene.
For example a black look on the scene can often
symbolise that there is going to be or has been a
death. This is just a few of the minor ways colour can
be used and I feel it will come in really handy when
we are trying to tell the story in our film.

10. Props again, similar to settings are a really important
way of telling the story. Typically in thrillers you have
props such as: weapons used by the villains, fast cars
and even cooperation's like the police or the mafia.
Other than physical props, you can have things such
as blood which is a key part of thrillers as there’s
usually a fight scene to make suspense. The bottom
line is a lot of violent props are used to build
suspense and tension as they are dangerous.
Costumes are similar to props in the terms that it is
what a character looks like can add again to the
development of the storyline. This is because how a
character is presented changes how the audience
perceives them. For example if the character is in a
suit and tie it gives you more information about their
posh background and high class personality as appose
to wearing a tracksuit and baggy t shirts. Even
something as simple as an item of clothing can
change how a character is looked at. For thrillers
smart style clothes are important and clothes that an
intellectual person would wear.

11. Editing
Traditionally in thrillers the main way to edit the film is to create suspense and tension.
This can be done in many ways through different types of procedures but the end goal
is the same. You’re wanting to try and make the audience literally sit on the edge of
their seats and as the name states ‘thrill’ them.
In thrillers, directors will use lots of jump cuts. This is
because jump cuts tend to keep the audience on the
edge of their seat. Using these kind of cuts can also
speed up the film giving the director more time to
focus on creating the suspense of the film.
Continuing from this, long duration edits will be used.
What I mean by this is keeping a certain shot on for a
long period of time. They do this to build suspense
and tension and lead it up to something shocking or
what I like to call a false shock. (when the shot builds
up tension to shock you with something and nothing
happens). Using long duration shots in the editing
stage allows you to do this.

12. Another form of cut used is a cross cut. A cross cut is
used to show two things happening at once and it
constantly cuts between them. This allows the
audience to focus on more than one part of the film
at one point in time. It also builds suspense as you
can see two events happening at once and it allows
you to be more emotionally involved in the film which
is the whole point of a thriller.
Continuous editing is another technique used by
editors in thriller films. The reason for this is because
it makes it easier for the audience to understand and
follow the film. In thrillers the story line is a
fundamental part. This is because they need to keep
the audience thrilled and a good story can do this.
Thrillers usually have complex storyline therefore it is
important to do anything you possibly can to make
the audience understand the film. So in comes
continuous editing to make the film much more
easier for the audience to understand.

13. Sound
Sound is a huge part for thrillers as it is used to create suspense and tension, usually in
the music but still in other aspects.
Music in sound is used to create suspense and it is
the most effective way of creating it. Orchestral music
is a common one used but anything really that rises in
volume or pitch can be used to build up suspense to
an event that happens. Personally I feel that music in
thrillers is the most important part of building tension
and suspense. Music is also good for portraying the
emotions of the characters and showing what they
are feeling without dialogue.
As in any film dialogue is important and with the
complex storylines in thrillers is even more important.
In thrillers, typically long dialogue is used to explain
the complex situations.

14. Characters
As with any genre there are typical characters that follow typical stereotypes. Thrillers
are no exception from this rule and although have different storylines still maintain
stereotypes.
There is the main character, the protagonist who is
always seeking to try and restore the equilibrium
within the film. This guy is often referred to as the
hero and the person who is always saving the day. A
good example of these characters are: James Bond,
Jack Bauer etc.
As well as the main character you often have a ‘Bond
Girl’ as I will refer to it. This is either a man or woman
who catches the eye of the main character and often
features a love story throughout the film between
them.

15. You often have the helper which is a character who is
always helping the main character In his challenges.
You often learn to really like this character and feel
like you’re his friend because he’s such a nice guy.
And something dramatic happens to this character
like either he dies or comes close to death but
because you’re so emotionally attached to the
character you are really effected by the event that
happens. An example of this kind of character is:
Goose from top gun. You begin to really like him and
get emotionally attached to him then he dies! *RIP
Goose who’s death I haven’t gotten over yet even
though I watched Top Gun a good 5 years ago! :’(*
And finally you have the antagonist. The ‘enemy’ who
is doing anything he possibly can to stop the hero
from achieving his goal. This enemy is often
motivated by some form of revenge and does not
stop until he has revenge.

16. Conclusion
In conclusion I feel that there are many important codes and conventions of thrillers
that we must stick to and if we stray too far away from this then I feel our film won’t
make any sense. I think that music is such an important part of creating suspense in
our film and if we don’t have this then I believe that our film wont work. One thing we
mustn’t forget though is that our genre is a hybrid genre and it is a Thriller-Drama
therefore can’t get too hung up and ways to do our film until we’ve researched into
the Drama genre.