2. Conventions of a Thriller Film
Typical thriller films involve a lot of action with car
chases, fights and lots of shooting. However, I am going
against the usual thriller genre film because my film is a
short film and although in the thriller short films I looked at
involved chases, I am going against this which may not
work when coming to film my idea but will be good as I
can talk about how I challenged conventions in my
evaluation.
My coursework is based on the thriller genre, however it is
specified in the short film area. The idea I am trying to give
off is a killer vs a ordinary couple, however the story flips
when the ‘killer’ gets into the couples house to find out
that they are the killers and he is a police investigator
undercover.
3. Typical Plot
Thrillers will often display binary opposites of good vs bad
within the genre e.g. two gangs fighting against each
other. A sense of threat and danger is always posed
towards the ‘good’ people, given off by the ‘bad’
people which is later overturned as good always beats
bad. However, I found this was wrong in short films as the
‘good’ didn’t always win.
In my short film, the plot is totally different as there is a
massive twist during the film. This will engage the
audience even more then it already has done and will
make them feel sympathetic towards the police
investigator as the story continues.
4. Typical Narrative
The narrative is usually from the main protagonist’s
perspective by following them in their events which they
must overcome. FISKE’s theory is introduced here as it
involves the audience as they feel as if it is themselves
going through these events. As the film approaches its
climax, the audience get an understanding of why the
hero is after the villain as they have had history where
they fall out etc.
The narrative in my short film is different as there is no
history between the policeman and the couple. This
makes it harder for the audience to understand and get
involved in the film, but through the use of camera shots
and angles, I will try to engage them as much as possible.
5. Characters
There are usually heroes, villains and victims who are
somehow related to the hero in each thriller film. The
villain usually gets away with everything right up until the
end when the hero finally finds them and defeats them.
The hero is usually male and so is the villain, but the victim
is usually female. From one of the short films I looked
at, the villain was a man and the victim was a couple.
My film involves a hero as well as a villain and the
audience are introduced to victims towards the end of
the film.
6. Character’s Continued
The hero’s appearance is usually smart and formal and
have a professional look about them. They are usually
middle aged (30-40) and often have a family. The villain
on the other hand is of similar age, maybe younger but
has a scruffy look which signifies their mystery look. They
usually dress in dark clothes which have connotation of
death and evil which is why they are the villain.
My main character (policeman) will be dressed formally
because of his occupation and this follows the
conventions of the thriller genre. However, the couple
will have a happy look about them as I don’t want to
make the storyline obvious which is why I have a twist in
the film.
7. Iconography
The usual setting for a thriller film is in an urban city. This
makes it more realistic. Main colours that would be used are
black and white which are their own opposites as black
represents evil and white represents innocence. Guns are
the most common weapons used but other weapons may
include knives and bats. Black cars are common
too, especially in chases and this includes police vehicles
too.
My setting hasn’t been decided yet, but it is filmed in a
house so it doesn’t matter if it is in an urban city or not
because the audience will not know this. Weapons will be
used and will feature different kind of weapons including
garden tools.
