genre conventions for a thriller film

1. Genre conventions
Thriller

2. Thriller Genre
Analysis of the conventions with in a thriller. – camera, characters, mise en scene

3. Overview of some things that you get in
a film of the thriller genre
 You get a lot of closes ups to show the emotion on a characters faces – this
helps to build up the tension and let the audience know what the character is
feeling.
 Lots of non-diegetic sound to help build up the apprehension of the climax
which is normally where the music comes to a head and then the beat slows
and the volume normally decreases.
 Usually includes a battle between the protagonist and the anti-protagonist
this then leads to a disruption of the equilibrium. What we normally get in a
thriller film is.
 Equilibrium – disruption of this – discovery of the disruption – climax –
resolution
 Resolution can be happy or sad but I normally a happy ending also in the
resolution things don’t have to go back to the same way they were before the
disruption

4. Overview of some things that you get in
a film of the thriller genre
 We sometime see special effects to create things like an explosion. This builds up the drama in
the scene. Also depending on the sub–genre different special effects may be used.
 Dark visual effects to build tension and keep the viewer interested in watching.
 Low key lighting
 They are often set in urban areas.
 quick cuts – changing in angle – this can be used to disorientate the audience and it can also be
used to build up the tension
 We see shadows and get some diegetic sound or breathing which makes the audience see that
the character is bring watched or something important/scary is happening
 We sometimes get a montage of shots and we also sometimes get some black and white shots

5. Character conventions
 The protagonists is often brave heroic and male
- This makes people want to be him and makes people want him to win.
- Often they will be shown to look weak by the use of high angles and the music but
then we see them become brave and we all want him to win because we are
always ‘rooting for the underdog’
 Anti-protagonist is also often male and they are normally hidden this is done by
the use of shots and the depth of field because we sometime get a shot where the
‘bad guy’ is in the back of the shot but is blurred out because we have a shallow
depth of field
 The anti-protagonists is often out for revenge and this is only uncovered at the
end of the film but the audience are trying to uncover him the whole way through
which keeps them interested
 They are often dressed in dark clothing to give the connotations of fear and
mystery

6. Cinematography conventions
 Lots of close ups and extreme closes ups on the protagonist this shows the
audience there emotions which allows the audience to be able to connect
with the character also we sometimes see and extreme close up to show how
uneasy the protagonist is which then also makes the audience feel uneasy
 Shots of the anti-protagonist and quick cuts to hide there identity and
increase the mystery around there character.
- We often see the back of them or then in a dark setting and in dark clothes so
it hard to see them or figure who they are or what they want this is done to
keep the viewer asking questions throughout and it also means they are going
to want to carry on watching

7. Mise en scene conventions
 In a thriller the location is always really important because it helps set the tone of the thriller and helps the
audience know what's going on and establish a theme.
 The lighting is often low key which give the audience the idea that tension is building and sets a good
scene. Also they also use shadows which could be used to represent the inner darkness or evil within people
or beings within a thriller film. They can also be used to increase the tension and eeriness in the sense
when this is combined by the lighting and the sound it really makes the audience feel uneasy.
 Often mirrors are also used this could be to show the audience the reflection of someone’s soul and their
inner self. This lets the audience know how the character is really feeling and gives them more of an insight
and makes it easier to relate or to not relate to the character, but this could also lead to some people in
the audience feeling uneasy. Mirrors are also used to represent ‘evil’ in some characters.
 Colour is really important in thriller films because we associate different emotions, and thoughts, with
different colours. Applying this knowledge thrillers would generally use dark greys, black, and red. The dark
colours both have connotations of death around them and then the red has connotations of blood and
trouble which are both often found in a thriller
 Costume hair and makeup make actors appear lifelike to the characters they are playing. Also it normally
changes depending on the target audience
 In thriller films there is often the use of incorporating weapons of different sorts. We normally see camera
shots to make us focus on the wepon so that we know it is important. Often extreme close ups are also used
to make us aware of the weapon and to make the audience feel uneasy