Thrillers often feature a character in danger or pursuit who is typically seen from the protagonist's point of view. Scenes may also show the villain's perspective to establish their motives. Action scenes keep the audience in suspense. Common themes include societal problems like kidnapping and murder. Heroes are usually police or FBI aiming to solve the case, while villains are dominant males not to be trusted. Settings are often dull urban cities shot in a way to create vulnerability or eerie atmospheres for suspense. Seminal thriller films include Pulp Fiction, The Dark Knight, and Psycho. Alfred Hitchcock was a renowned thriller director nominated for best director multiple times, influencing the genre through manipulation of audience fears.

1. Genre Research <br />1. Identifying key generic conventions of thrillersThriller films often have a character being threatened or in danger and the character is often in pursuit for something. The film often comes from the protagonists’ point of view however some scenes can be seen from the villains’ point of view so that the audience can establish why they are a villain. There are a lot of action shots in a thriller and the audience are constantly kept in suspense. Themes in thrillers are often centred on problems in society and things that societies are worried about, for example, kidnappings, disappearances and murders.Heroes in thrillers are mainly police officers or FBI who are shown in a positive light as they are always trying to solve the problem. The problem being the villain who is a stereotypical dominant male who the audience feel they shouldn’t trust. Other characters are either there to help the person in danger or help the villain but in some cases they may appear to be helping one side whereas they are actually undercover for the other side. Female roles are often there to support the man in danger.Villains you often see wearing clothes that portray their status and power, either a well fitted suit or an expensive leather jacket. Other characters are either seen in casual wear, to make them out as an average person being targeted or in more formal wear to give them a business look and make them out to be quite sophisticated and clever. Police and FBI are often seen in their uniform giving them high status and power, competing against the villain. Women are often portrayed as the damsel in distress so they would wear innocent clothes that are often neutral colours, or they are portrayed as sexy and alluring (maybe to use them as a distraction) by wearing a shocking red dress.The setting of a thriller is often in an urban city, where everything is not bright and colourful it is quite dull and boring with the main landscapes being grey and black. The reoccurring themes of red in thrillers signify danger or death.Camera shots often vary in thrillers, still shots are used in intimate scenes or scenes that establish the narratives of the film and the camera is usually panning or frantically moving in action scenes to establish all the movements of each character. High angled shots are often used when the protagonist is in danger to show their vulnerability and allow the audience to sympathise them. Lighting is important in thrillers as most often villains are shown in a dark setting giving an eerie atmosphere and creating suspense. Action shots in thrillers are usually at night to create suspense as it would not be the same if all the action was happening in broad daylight.<br />2. Seminal films – 3 key movies that influence the thriller genre.Pulp fiction – 1994 - The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption. The Dark Knight – 2008 - Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as it drives each of them to their limits. <br />Psycho – 1960 - A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a motel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother. <br />3. Directors – auteurAlfred Hitchcock was well known for directing thriller movies. He was nominated 5 times for best director but never won, his thriller movies include; Psycho, The Lodger and Blackmail.Alfred Hitchcock is considered the acknowledged auteur master of the thriller or suspense genre, manipulating his audience's fears and desires, and taking viewers into a state of association with the representation of reality facing the character. <br />http://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.htmlBrian De Palma was another thriller director whose movies have similar plots and ideas as Alfred Hitchcock’s. <br /> <br />159067521780519050227330Steven Spielberg became well known for his thriller Jaws in 1975<br />http://www.slideshare.net/Cissnei/conventions-of-thriller-films-and-tables-of-analysis<br />