This document provides an overview of the spy-thriller genre including its history and conventions. It discusses how Alfred Hitchcock helped establish many conventions in the 1920s-1940s through films like The Lodger and The 39 Steps. More recently, spy-thrillers contain more violence and modern plots. Key conventions discussed include narratives involving heroes facing danger, the use of sound and music to build tension, as well as lighting, editing, camera techniques and settings that create mystery and suspense.

1. Spy-thriller Genre Research
By Amber Grundy

2. Thriller and its Sub Genres
Thriller films are fast-paced keep the audiences adrenaline rushing. Thriller films keep the on the
edge of their seats as they build up tension
The subgenres of the Thriller genre are:
• Action
• Spy
• Horror
• Mystery
• Psychological
• Suspense
• Crime
• Supernatural
• Conspiracy
• Political
• Techno
• Drama
• Disaster
• Legal
• Religious
• Medical

3. History of Thriller films
Thriller films were first introduced in the 1920’s by a man called Harold Lloyd. He made the very
first thriller comic called Safety last. However, it was Alfred Hitchcock who made the very first
Thriller film
1920’s- 30’s
• Alfred Hitchcock made his very first thriller which was a silent thriller in 1926 called ‘The
Lodger’ which was about Jack the Ripper.
• Britain's first sound thriller was made in 1929 by Alfred Hitchcock that was called Blackmail.
1940’s
• Hitchcock continued to make suspense thrillers and he won an Oscar for one of his films
which was called Rebecca. This was combined with other genres to make it more appealing
to a wider audience.
• 1941 he released a film called suspicious which was about a women in danger of her own
husband.
• He later directed a film called the shadow of doubt that was based on a true event in the
1920’s. It was about a serial killer called the Merry Widow murderer.

4. 1950’s-60’s
• In the 1950’s, Alfred Hitchcock added a new convention to his thriller films. He added colour
as previously they were all in black and white.
• Blonde haired women were also used as the main character rather than brunettes as they
were seen as a sex icon in 1950’s films.
• Thriller films released in 1960’s:
Cape Fear- Lee Thompson,
The night of the Hunter- Charles Laughton
1970’s-80’s
• Thriller films in this era became more like horror films as they were scary but also contained a
lot of violence. However there was still a difference between the horror and thriller genre.
• Films released in this era were: Frenzy- Steven Spielberg (this contained a lot of blood and
gore), Don’t Look Now- Nicolas Roeg
Thrillers in the 21st Century
• Films contain more blood, violence, gore and death
• The plots are now more modern compared to previous thriller plots. This is because they
have started to involve violence and world problems as well as governments and other
institutions such as the army and police,
• Films released in this era are: Hostage, Ride, Captivity and many more.

5. Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock is a director who was most
famous for his thriller films. Altogether, he has
directed more than 50 films and he has been
given the award of the greatest ever film maker
in 2007 by the Daily Telegraph.
He started off making silent films. However,
since he has now introduced dialogue into his
films, he has a distinctive directing style of
allowing the audience relate with the
characters, by using certain camera angles
which copy a person’s view.
Usually, if he had a female role within his films,
he would use a blonde female character as
these were seen as sex symbols in the last
1900’s. He also used unique editing to show the
point of view shots build up suspense and
tension for the audience as he wanted them to
be scared.
Finally, he usually had twisted ending with
violence, crime and murder.

6. History of Spy films
Spy films had ideas taken from real life events such as wars.
The first spy film was by William Le called 'The Great War in 1897’’. The film was about a French
attack on Britain planned by a Russian spy.
1920’s-30’s
• Most spy films were based around the British secret service and other institutions such as the
army.
• Aliens were seen as villains, and the hero's were the spies.
• Terrorism, violence and assassination attempts were often seen in most spy films in this
decade.
• Alfred Hitchcock created spy films in the 1930s to go with his thriller films such as The Man
Who Knew Too Much, The 39 Steps, Sabotage and The Lady Vanishes. These included civilians
being caught up in international conspiracies.
Spy films continued to have the same conventions, narratives and characters up to modern day.

7. History of Spy-Thriller films
1920’s-30’s
• In 1928, one of the very first spy-thrillers was made called Spies by Fritz Lang. This film was
the inspiration for the James Bond films that were made many years after.
1940’-50’s
• Two Spy- thrillers were made in 1949 called ‘Cloak’ and ‘Dagger’ by Fritz lang.
• 2 spy- thriller films made in 1952 included Henry Hathaway's Diplomatic Courier and Joseph
Mankiewicz’s Fingers
1970’s-80’s
• In 1974, Francis ford Coppolla made a tense spy thriller called the Conversation.
1990’s-present day
• The spy-thriller genre today contains explosive action scenes, new technology, twisted plots.
An example of a present spy-thriller includes Mission Impossible III.

8. After looking at the history of the Thriller, Spy and Spy-thriller genre, I have noticed that there has
been a lot of changes over the decades.
In modern films, there are a lot stereotypical plots, however, they all seem to have a modern
twist on them to make them appeal to a wider audience so the audience don’t know what to
expect.
Over the years, sound and music has changed from complete silence to non-diegetic loud,
dramatic ambient sound and pleonastic sound to build suspense and tension on the audience.
3 point lighting has been introduced and colour has also become introduced to allow the
directors to show the dark side of characters and create different moods on the audience.

9. Conventions of Spy-Thriller
Narrative
• The narrative of a typical spy- thriller genre is usually a hero or a group of heroes fighting
against an enemy whilst completing a quest or objective.
• The film will always clearly show the danger that the hero faces.
• There will always be a danger or death threat in a thriller. A twist in the plot is often seen to
trick the audience about what is going to happen next.
• The narrative of a spy- thriller will cover-up of important information from the viewer to
suggest secrecy.
• Excitement, suspense, adventure and tension is normally created in a spy thriller genre to
thrill and captivate the audience.
• Thrillers sometimes include elements of science fiction, mystery, horror, crime, conspiracy
and sometimes include fight or chase scenes.
• Often includes working Institutions such as the police, the government or the army.

10. Typical Spy-thriller -Todorov narrative
Equilibrium: an equilibrium shown in the first few scenes will create a sense of normality for the
audience and the main character who is normally shown in the first few scenes.
A disruption- a disruption will happen from where the normality and narrative will change
Realisation- everyone realises what the problem is and the characters and events will suddenly
become connected.
Attempt to resolve- the tension builds up and things need to be resolved so the narrative can
carry on
Resolution- most things are sorted and everything comes together. The audience now
understand what is going on.
Re equilibrium- things change from good from bad and the narrative is back to normality and
can have a new equilibrium.
Flashbacks
• Creates a feeling of disorientation that can leave the audience feeling confused
• Sometimes used to give the audience information about a characters past and can help the
audience understand the film more

11. Sound
• Sound is important in a spy-thriller genre as it gives the film more meaning, helps to build up
suspense and can also set the mood for the film
• Long and fast paced non-diegetic sounds that play in the background get the audiences
adrenaline running and builds up tension
• Some thriller genres have silence in the scenes before something bad happens which also
creates tension for the audience
• Some times spy-thrillers contain voice overs to build suspense
• Ambient sound is sometimes used in thrillers to create a panic situation
• Orchestral music makes the audience think something bad is going happen
• Sounds in a spy- thriller start of slow and gradually turns fast pace to build up a dramatic
scene
• Sound bridges throughout the scenes
Setting
• Dark colour schemes are used to suggest mystery
• Settings of a normal environment is often seen as this creates suspense because the action is
unexpected
• The Woods or a forest is sometimes seen in spy-thrillers because the dark surroundings
would create an eerie atmosphere

12. Lighting
• Low key lighting is used a lot in thrillers as this creates an
eerie atmosphere and darkness so the audience are unaware
of the surroundings
• Shadows in thrillers are created through artificial and low key
lighting as they represent darkness and evil within the scene
• Three point lighting - three different lights are used and the
intensity of these lights are altered in order to create
mysterious and eerie effects.
• Back lighting is used to show the more dominant character in
a scene or to create a silhouette
Editing
• Reaction shots or slow motion is used in both spy and
thrillers. These clearly show the characters reaction or
actions
• A lot of fast scene cuts all together show fast paced action
and gives the audience a ‘never ending’ feeling about what is
going to happen next
Themes
• True story, isolation, loss, death, stalkers, murders, assassins,
espionage, hostage and investigation

13. Camera
• Tracking shots are used a lot in the spy-thriller genre to follow characters. This is because it is
fast paced and it exhilarates the audience.
• Close ups and extreme close ups are used to show facial expressions and even details of props.
• Wide shots show the point of emphasis in the middle of the frame so the audience can see the
surroundings of the characters.
• Two shots can show the relationship between characters but it can also show the differences in
the characters which make the audience wonder why they are together.
• Canted angle shots are used to suggest to the audience that something is about to change.
• Montage of shots
• Tracking and panning shots are used in the opening scenes of thriller films
• High angle shots sometimes used to make a character feel vulnerable or weak
Colour
• Single black and white shots are used to
create a dark and gloomy feel to the film.
The connotations of black is death and
misery which could forebode the rest of
the film if it is seen in the opening
sequence.

14. Costume
• Costumes determine a characters mood or personality and an audience can form an opinion
on a character by their costume
• Characters working for a particular institution tend to normally wear suits and look smart
• The hero is usually in a disguise so the villain doesn’t know who they are
• Costumes clearly show the audience who the hero and villain are
Props
• Props make a scene look realistic
• Mirrors are used a lot as it can show the darkness and evilness of the character. This makes
the audience feel nervous and uneasy
• Guns, knifes- these can show the audience who the hero and villain are and create a violent
tone to the film
• A white shower curtain or a tap and blood are used in some thrillers, particularly in murder
scenes
• Props can add a sense of suspense to the audience because they will wonder what the
reason is for the characters the props

15. Spy film:
Casino Royale trailer- James
Bond (2006)
I chose to look at Casino Royale as
it one of the most famous James
Bond films and it is an extremely
popular spy film. I wanted to find
out the typical conventions of a
spy film.
James Bond goes on his first ever mission as a 00. James
Bond faces Le Chiffre who is a banker to the world's
terrorists. Le Chiffre is taking part in a poker game at
Montenegro, where he must win back his money, to make
sure he is safe in the terrorist market. M, who is the boss of
MI6, tells Bond to attend this game and stop Le Chiffre from
winning. James Bond and his help from Felix Leiter, Mathis
takes part in the poker game.

16. Characters- James Bond (main character) shows male dominance. A beautiful women is featured a
lot, this could suggest she is used as a sex icon in the film as she is portrayed as being sexy and
glamorous.
Costume- James Bond is either seen in a suit or smart, casual clothing as he is a very high class male.
Setting- In a casino, on a plane- no action here, calmness. Not much action is taken place at night,
near the sea, on a boat.
Props- Guns, knifes, playing cards- guns and knifes are typical of a spy film as the audience are
expecting violence and action taking place.
Lighting- High key lighting in casino and on plane as nothing is really happening and the audience can
clearly focus on the setting and characters actions. However, when action takes place inside low key
lighting is used to show danger.
Sound- Non diegetic voice over monologue of a women over the army scene explaining who Le
Chiffre is. Fast paced music throughout the middle to the end of the trailer to show it is an action
based film. Empathetic sound is used when the action of cards and dice in the hand move in time
with the music. Pleonastic sounds of kicking in the action is used to show the forced used. The
famous James Bond sound track is non diegetic over the action to show it is all about him.
Camera- Close up of playing cards after the establishing shot of the casino to show the audience
where the characters are. Close up shot of Le Chiffre (villain) to show his facial expression and eyes.
Pan shot of the interior casino to change the audience view so they can see Le Chiffre.
Editing- Black and white scene at the start as the connotations of this is danger. Fade in and fade out
transitions are used. these are used a lot in spy films as they create mystery.

17. Thriller:
A Walk Amongst the Tomb
Stones trailer (2014)
Matt Scudder ( Liam Neeson) is a former cop. He is asked by a
drug dealer to find the men who kidnapped his wife. Matt
Scudder refuses but the drug dealer goes to see him again and
tells him how his wife was killed. Matt Scudder agrees to find
the men. He does some research and finds out they have taken
more than just one women and that every women they’ve
taken is connected to a drug dealer. He found out from another
family that their little girl had been taken but this time Scudder
tries to make sure she's returned alive unlike the rest.
I chose to look at A Walk
Amongst the Tombstones
because it is about kidnapping
and it mainly focus’s on one
character throughout the whole
film whereas a lot of films have
lots of different characters in
different situations. Therefore I
wanted to look at the
conventions of this type of film.

18. Characters: Kidnappers, Drug dealers, and the hero (Matt Scudder). The hero is male character therefore
shows male dominance. Unfortuanaly, it is women that are captured and this suggests they are vulnerable,
weak and have the stereotypes of being victims and need saving by a male hero.
Costume- Smart, casual clothing of the main character as he wants to blend in as he is undercover.
Settings- Action takes place in the streets and basements of houses
Props- Guns, knives, tape recorders, money and phones are the main props used. Money suggests threats to
the audience.
Lighting- Low key lighting is used to suggest mystery as we cant see a lot of things in most of the shots,
suggests something is hiding from the audience. This engages the audience and makes them want to watch
the film to find out what happens. Artificial lighting from the lamp is used when listening to the tape. It is
used to focus the audience on the tape and nothing else.
Sound- Non diegetic voice over monologue of the main character talking about what happened in his past
along with eerie ambient sound and non diegetic music in the background. Diegetic sound of screams coming
from the tape recorder. Pleonastic sound of loading up a gun is used to suggest danger and action or death is
going to occur. Non diegetic sound of clocks ticking further on the in the trailer as it suggests he's in race
against time and time is beating him. At the end of the trailer, non diegetic sound track of a women singing
softly behind the action going on, the pleonastic sound of smashing glass and a voice over.
Camera- Establishing shot at the beginning to make the audience aware of the setting of the film. Long shots
of characters so the audience can see their personalities by looking at the way they are dressed. Point of view
shot is used so we can see what the character is seeing and the audience feel like they are involved.
Editing- The shots are black and white when the main character is talking about his past. These colours
suggest it wasn’t a pleasant past as the connotations of black is death and danger. Fade in and fade out
transitions with an eerie noise make it tense for the audience to watch. A dissolve transition is used when the
Liam Neeson is stood observing a place, this suggests he has been there for a while.

19. Spy- thriller:
Salt trailer (2010)
In 2003 Evelyn Salt (Angelia Jolie) is tortured by North Korean
soldiers. She is soon traded for a North Korean prisoner and taken to
safety by her boss Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber).
Evelyn Salt works for the CIA. All of a sudden a Russian spy comes into
their offices and offers an important piece of information. He sais
‘’the President of Russia will be assassinated during his next visit to
New York City to attend the funeral of the recent U.S. Vice President.
The name of the assassin is Evelyn Salt’’. Salt starts to then worry
about her husbands safety as she cannot contact him. She then tries
to run away.
I chose to look at Salt as it
shows female dominance
and power because women
aren't usually seen as the
hero's in Spy thriller films. I
wanted to look at the
conventions of this type of
film because of the female
hero.

20. Characters: Hero (Evelyn Salt)- The hero is the main character in the film and is played by a women. This suggests female
dominance and also suggests that women aren't vulnerable and don’t always need a man to help them which beats the
stereotypes of women. However, Evelyn Salt is the only women but most powerful character in the film. This makes this spy
thriller film different from a lot of others because a women isn't usually seen as a hero in many of these films and it challenges
the stereotypes of women being incapable and unintelligent, when Salt works for the CIA so therefore is very intelligent.
Costume: The male characters which work for the CIA are always in dark suits even when shooting. However, when the action
starts to take place, the people involved in this are in bullet proof vests and protective black clothing. Salt is dressed in a suit at
first to show she is professional and when she runs away she dresses casually so no one sees her.
Setting/colour: New York City- tall buildings, cathedral, indoors a lot, train stations
Props: Guns, knifes, bombs- these are typical props you would see in a spy thriller as it wouldn't be action packed without
these props. Therefore this makes the film a typical spy thriller genre due to the violence created with the props and the CIA.
Lighting: Low key lighting for fighting scenes and high key lighting for flashbacks. High key is used for flashbacks as it bring back
happy memories for Salt and light has the connotations of happiness.
Sound: Calm non-diegetic bridging sound throughout the start of the trailer so the audience can hear the important
information in order to know the plot. This is typical of a lot of spy- thriller films. It then gradually becomes louder and turns
into extremely fast paced non diegetic music with explosive sounds. Non diegetic voice over monologue of the Russian spy as
he is still giving out important information for the audience however, when we see him speaking in the shot this is diegetic.
Pleonastic sounds of the knifes coming out of the shoe make the shock the audience as it was unexpected.
Camera: Close up of Salts face at the start to show she is the main character and her facial expressions show how serious she
is about the situation. Over the shoulder shots, establishing shots to show the setting of the film.
Editing: Fade-in fade -out transitions change in time with dialogue. Further into the trailer, the cuts are still fades but as they
fade, an ambient sound of shutters are used to seal the cut. The men are lay dead in the lift and a negative effect is put on
them for about 1 second to show the killer is dangerous. A depth of field shot is usually made on the character speaking in the
shot or the one that the directors what the audience to focus on the most. Towards the end of the trailer, the action becomes
much faster therefore the music and transitions become extremely faster to match the action and make it more dramatic.

21. BBFC (British Board Film Classification
Films are given an age certificate to show what age the content of the film is suitable for.
Most spy-thrillers are a 15 meaning they are only suitable for people 15 and over as they contain
violent and dangerous behaviour, drug use, threats, nudity and strong language that some people
may find offensive.
A spy thriller film wouldn’t ever be a PG as the content of the film isn't appropriate for this age
range. PG films are for younger views and contain no foul language or violence.
However, some spy thrillers are a 12A such as ‘Salt’. This is a 12A because it only contains
moderate violence and strong language.

22. Audience profile of a
Spy-Thriller film
Class: Middle class
Age: 15-40
Gender- Usually male viewers
Ethnicity- The film could be aimed at any religion, however, some spy-thrillers especially in an 18
film may contain racism and discrimination against race and religion.
Income- Young teens may earn minimum wage in a part time job but older views may earn from
£15,000 to £40,000 per annum.
Young and rubicam's needs: The audience would be Succeeder as they have the good things in
life and want complete control of them because they don’t want to loose them. However, they
may also be mainstreamers as they may follow the crowd and doesn’t like taking risks. l they may
only watch spy-thriller films because their friends like them.
Lifestyle: The audience can range from people being yuppies with high disposable income and
nice house to Dinkies with dual income and no children. Empty nesters wouldn’t really be an
audience for this genre as they are older and the content many no be suitable.
Social grading: can range from unemployed people (E) to high earning doctors (A) depending on
their interests.
The interests of a spy thriller view would be playing sports and being into the latest technology
and gadgets.

23. Why do people watch Thrillers and
spy- thrillers?
After researching the uses and gratifications theory I found out that spy thrillers are watched for :
-Entertainment
-Information on the genre
-Social purposes- friends watch them etc
Entertainment
People watch thrillers to be entertained and thrilled. Thrillers create a lot of suspense and
tension so therefore aren't relaxing. Some people become so engaged within the film that they
forget about everything in real life and they feel involved in the films story line. They also start to
feel the same emotions as some of the characters in the film.
Information purposes
Historical or social events are portrayed in a lot of spy thrillers. Different societies, religions and
ideologies in the world can be shown in thrillers as they can involve a lot of traveling. This can
educate people about different people, religions and parts of the world. Also people can be
taught about human behaviour and emotions by watching any type of thriller.
Social purposes
They are also watched for social reasons. Some people, especially teenagers like to go to the
cinema with friends. Also, they help build the basis of conversations e.g. people may talk about
the film with peers or family.

24. Audience Theories involved in
Spy- Thrillers
Social learning theory
This suggests that people learn new behaviours by copying the values and beliefs of their role
models. They learn from watching and following the examples of others. One of the main
examples of this theory is a symbolic reason. A person will carry out the behaviour shown in the
media by following the behaviour of someone in a film.
Desensitisation theory
There is usually a clear difference between good and evil in spy thriller films and if people watch
these films a lot, it could influence people to act heroically by watching a certain character or
even act evil because they are so much exposed to this and behaviour and will think of it as
normal because they're so used to seeing this in films.

25. Age popularity of Thriller films
• Young, Middle and Older ages show huge differences in popularity of genres.
• Genres such as Action- Adventure , Drama, Horror films aren't popular with Older audiences.
• The table shows that Murder (thriller) is more popular with the younger audience than the older
audience. This is probably sue to the violence and action taking place as they don’t like horror or
action adventure and these are similar to thriller.