1. Thriller film convention
what is a Thriller?
What is a thriller film?
What makes a movie a thriller, is mystery
and suspense. Thrillers make the audience
predict what is going to happen next and
also keeps them focused and nervous on
their seats. A thriller takes the audience on
a ‘roller coaster’ ride where tension is built
up and relief succeeds tension.

2. Thriller convention
Thriller conventions
Most thrillers start off with a normal, happy beginning. However , when you get to
know the main characters things usually go wrong ; for instance if you look at
figure 2 the characters looks upset. It is then when you begin to suspect and
conjecture what is going on.
You might have characters that pose a threat. Also, there are lots of twists and
mystery in the story and therefore this allows the audience to wonder what
comes up next.
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 up tension using different effects. As you can see in figure 1 a
character is on the phone with a mysterious expression in his face. This makes
the viewers wonder Who could this be?
Also, music is important in building tension. They might use sad music which 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 scary for
the character, and it makes the audience worried about what will happen to the
protagonist.
Figure 2
Figure 1

3. What are the genre signifiers?
• In this genre, there is a lot of enigma codes and mystery. For
example heavy breathing, or as you can see in figure 2 a character
has picked up a unexpected phone call. This call seems mysterious
from the beginning. There are some sound effects that possibly can
make the audience wonder. For instance , if you look at figure 1
you could see that the character seems scary by the sound of foot
steps. Or for instance when a window smashes, or a character
weeps for no reason. All of those effects make the audience
questioning themselves and it makes the audience feel hesitation.
Figure 2
Figure 1

4. Figure 1 Figure 2
• The way they show the setting in a thriller, is by finding unique places
to shoot for example, old fashion looking school or areas in a city or
town like London eye in figure2 or a mystery looking place such as an
unknown office.
• These setting grabs the audience’s attention because of the way the
scenes are set out and the way it looks. For instance it might have
colours to emphasis the meanings for example black, and grey has you
s in figure 3 and 4.Those colours in the background might represent
mystery and thriller Therefore this makes the audience encourage to
watch the film.
Figure 3 Figure 4
The way they show the characters in thriller film is by
showing how intense and how mysterious they are has you s
in figure 3 and 4. Therefore it makes the audience want to
know more about them.

5. Figure 1
• The sort of characters in a thriller film would be characters such as
protagonist this means the main character in the film. for example if you
look at figure 2 the man in the grey suit is the main character. So he is 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. for instance if you look at figure 1 .
this means the protagonist character 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.
Figure 2

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
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 also sometime in thriller films they use mystery sounds for example a
sound of thunder has you see in figuer2, or water dripping from tap has you see
this in figure 3. 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.
Figure 3
Figure 2

7. How do they show narrative?
Figure 1
• The way they show the narrative in a thriller film is by showing different
scenes. For example they might show how the beginning then after there
might be different parts of mystery plots of the film. Such as the
beginning might be cheerful and ordinary has you can s in figure 1 after
there might be scenes of mystery and crisis for example if look at figure
4.
• However in some mystery scenes they sometimes show the enemy which
is the antagonist character. Therefore who tries to threat the protagonist
character who will be fighting against the enemy has you see in figure 2.
also the lady is worried how to fight back to the antagonist in figure 3.
• This builds up tension in the thriller film, because of the mystification
and the shocking moments in the film.
Figure 4 Figure 3 Figure 2

8. What is the editing like?
Figure 1
• The editing is like they try to create suspense or build up
tensions by having sound effects or music. Therefore this is
important in the film and in trailers.
• However at the beginning of the trailer it is always calm and
normal. after it builds up mystery and suspense by showing
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.
• However in trailers they show quick sharp clips because they
don't want to bored the audience. Therefore they show short
clips of the film as this will give the audience a clear idea
from the film.
Figure 2
Those are some examples of scenes in figure
1 and 2 that can grab audience tension.

9. • A subgenre is a certain category of a film for example a psychological thriller. However psychological thriller means
someone who has a mental problem in their mind. This makes them emotional and this also effects their health.
Those are some example of psychological thriller films:

10. • A hybrid genre is a mix of two or more genres: eg.
Action thriller.
• Those are some examples
This is This is mystery
romantic thriller