Thrillers typically use sound, titles/fonts, and camera shots to provoke fear and tension in audiences. Sound is usually non-diegetic and includes slow, abrupt music to build mystery and tension, while titles/fonts stand out from the background. Camera shots vary from long shots to establish setting to close-ups showing emotions. Lighting is also key, using low-key lighting in intense scenes to draw audiences in. Characters usually include a likeable protagonist and distinct, unlikable antagonist who has committed a nefarious deed. Common themes involve detectives, femme fatales, action elements, and serious topics. Costumes, locations, and props help set the period and status of characters in urban environments as

1. Genre Research
JAMIE MACPHERSON
My chosen genre is
Thriller.

2. Sound
Sound is usually non-diegetic in a thriller, as it is meant to provoke fear and tension
in the audience. Music is usually slow and abrupt, often sounding very mysterious
and sinister. However, depending on the scene, the music could be contrapuntal to
the scene(The music of a jack-in-a-box in a murder sequence.) Sound effects tend to
be discordant, standing out from all the other non-diegetic noises to scare and
provoke the audience.

3. Titles/Fonts
Titles and fonts in thrillers usually stand out from the background, to signify them
and make them the focus of the shot. They are usually scrawled on the screen and
not clean cut at all. They could have the effect of being typed onto the screen, or
look like it’s been written on in chalk. The fonts can either be small for opening titles,
or large, to convey a location or the passing of time.

4. Camera Shots
Camera shots in thrillers usually have a variety of shots. It varies from extreme long
shots to give a sense of location and setting, to extreme close-ups to show emotions
such as fear, anger and panic. Form cuts are frequently used as well(A form cut is
cutting from one object to another object of a similar shape, such as a plughole to an
eyeball.) Speaking of objects, there are also a lot of close-ups of objects, used for
foreshadowing and story-telling.

5. Lighting/Color
Lighting is a key point of a thriller, as it is one of the most effective ways to show
meaning and purpose in a scene of a thriller. For example, if there is low-key lighting
in an interrogation scene, it’ll bring the audience closer in and put them on the edge
of their seats compared to an interrogation scene with high-key lighting. Dark scenes
with very little lighting are used frequently, particularly with the antagonist to give
the character life and meaning to the audience, instead of being just another
character. Color-wise, there are usually very dark and bleak scenes, although you can
have strong colors, such as reds to signify passion or blood. Car chase scenes may
take place at night or during a rainstorm or a misty/foggy day. There are limited
bright colors, such as whites and blues, although as previously mentioned you can
have whites in title sequences.

6. Characters
In thrillers, there is usually a clean, designated protagonist and antagonist which are
distinct to the audience. The hero is usually likeable, even though they may be in an
unlikeable situation(such as an interrogation or a shootout with the antagonist.) The
villain usually would have committed some form of nefarious deed that the audience
is aware of to make us dislike them and want them to have their comeuppance. This
could range from murdering individuals, creating a product such as a poison or
neurotoxin, or possessing a large amount of drugs, for personal use or to sell on for
profit.

7. Themes/Representations
Themes and representations in thrillers are very branching. There is usually a
detective of some sort, could be clumsy or have a clumsy or an amateur partner.
There is a femme fatale in most cases, using her seductiveness, sexual awareness and
gender to manipulate men. There is usually some form of a brute, but that might not
be the antagonist, it could just be a henchman of the villain. There is usually action
elements in a thriller, such as car chases and gunfights. There can be highlights of
humor, but thrillers usually revolve around serious topics and issues.

8. Costumes
The costumes in a thriller very heavily. It can be impacted by period or time setting.
For example, a Victorian thriller will have characters dressed according to the time.
Status will also play a heavy part in costume. If the antagonist is a well-earned, high
paid leader of a global enterprise, he will more than likely dressed in expensive suits
and jackets, whereas if the antagonist is a crazed criminal they could be wearing torn
clothing, as could his lackies.

9. Locations
Locations in a thriller have a tendency to be set in urban environments and
metropoles, although this isn’t always the case. The antagonist will usually have a
hideout or a den, and the protagonist will be shown his workplace, often an office or
a police station, depending on the character’s job. The setting is usually in
somewhere such as the US or the UK, although, again, this isn’t always the case, it
depends on where the film has been shown for; eastern or western audiences. The
antagonist may have to travel across countries to track down the criminal.

10. Props
Props are used throughout thrillers, but can vary. If it is a periodic drama, then olden
guns, horse and cart, quill pens and inkpots will be used. For a more recent thriller,
pistols, police cars, computers, keyboards and other modern items will be used.
Rarely, if a futuristic thriller is created, then there will be futuristic technologies used
as props, such as laser weapons and spacecraft. More often than not, the protagonist
will usually have a single weapon, whereas the antagonist can have a whole arsenal
of weaponry and gadgets to try and kill the protagonist.