The document outlines several conventions of thriller films and trailers that are commonly used to create suspense and engage audiences. It discusses techniques like using a protagonist and antagonist, mysteries, low lighting, diegetic sounds, and ominous close-ups of characters. Trailers aim to show scenes out of order to intrigue viewers without revealing too much of the plot. The target audience for thrillers is identified as mostly female teenagers and young adults who enjoy suspense, danger, and tension in films.

2. CONVENTIONS OF THRILLER FILMS
• One convention regards how characters/occurrences are classed in the
films. Typically, there is a protagonist (e.g. Bruce Willis and the boy in The
Sixth Sense) and an antagonist (Norman in Psycho, or the boy’s sixth sense
in The Sixth Sense (see image 1)
• Typically, the protagonist, after a bitter struggle, overcomes the antagonist.
An example would be the fact that after some work, Norman is arrested in
Psycho.
• Research also unveils a split personality or element of mystery that effects
the evil in the film. Norman can seem quite normal, but has a second
personality that makes him evil. Similarly, the boy in The Sixth Sense, is just
an average boy, but the voices inside his head make him seem mysterious.
• The protagonists and antagonists are not specialist people with extra powers
but rather everyday civilians (see image 2)
• Very often there is low key lighting to create a very tense and pressurised
atmosphere
• A protagonist’s voice will be shaky and broken up to indicate stress or
tension
Image 1 Image 2 Image 3

3. CONVENTIONS OF THRILLER FILMS (2)
• The antagonist always seems to have the upper hand over the
protagonist, which means that the protagonist must overcome tough
odds to defeat an antagonist and to survive
• The efforts and journey that this protagonist takes to survive is usually
given a high degree of mystery. There is a real sense of the
unknown, which makes the film all the more thrilling
• All the films I sampled were filmed from the perspective of the
protagonist. What this results in is a realistic sense of what the
protagonist is facing, which exaggerates the task that s/he must
undertake
• The duel between protagonist and antagonist exists psychologically
too. This adds danger and suspense to the film, making it credible as a
thriller movie

4. CONVENTIONS OF TRAILERS (FORM)
• Typically, a trailer will contain a selection of different shots taken from
different parts of a movie. This is to give potential customers a more detailed
insight into the film
• There will be credits of some kind. Psycho reveals the director
(Hitchcock), whereas Silence of the Lambs reveals the main cast members
(image 1)
• Research suggests that a trailer for a thriller film is around 2 minutes in
length
• The trailer has a structure of scenes, ordered to give a brief narrative of the
film. One departure from this convention is the trailer to Psycho, in which
Hitchcock is seen explaining the trailer
• Even though the trailer will give insight into the film, it does not ‘give the
game away’ and subsequently end in a manner that leaves the audience
wanting to see the film. Psycho ends showing the antagonist giving a rather
menacing smile, which raises suspicions, but it doesn’t tell anyone what he
has done. (image 2)
• There will be a soundtrack running in the background to the trailer, and it will
match the scene. All the trailers I watched used this convention.
Image 1 Image 2

5. USE OF TECHINCAL ELEMENTS (2)
• Low key lighting is used to create a gloomy and tense
atmosphere, because little can be seen and the location seems quite
chilling as a result (see image 1)
• Fast paced editing can make everything seem as if it is happening very
quickly. This adds a high sense of drama and suspense to the
scene, and in thriller films, can add danger
• Adding to that, the non-diegetic music can be used to match what is
happening in the scene. In other words, if little is happening, the music
may seem quiet and slow paced. When there is real danger, and/or the
film is reaching its climax, the music will be louder and much more
faster paced
• Close-up shots of a character can capture their emotions. In Psycho
(see image 2), the character seems uneasy, and this arises suspicion
that something is wrong. This can rub off on the audience, who
themselves may now seem uneasy
Image 2Image 1

6. USE OF TECHINCAL ELEMENTS (2)
• Diegetic sound adds danger and fear to the scene. Often, these sounds
are exaggerated. They seem louder and dominant over the rest of the
sound (ambient sound in the scene). In Silence of the Lambs, the sound
of the gate shutting dominates the scene (see image 1)
• Two of the trailers ended with a close-up shot of the antagonist in the
film giving a menacing or slightly uncomfortable look. This ends the
trailer on a distressing note and can prompt people to want to watch the
film (see image 2)
• The characters often wear everyday civilian clothing (see image 3). This
emphasizes that they are normal characters, affected by the events that
take place during the course of the film.
Image 1 Image 2 Image 3

7. WHO ARE MY TARGET AUDIENCE
• In terms of demographic, my target audience is marginally more female
than male (a 60-40% split)
• Age wise, they are of a mature age, the dominant age group being those
aged 10-19 (all of the people in that age group who answered were aged
17+). Therefore, I am targeting both gender’s, and predominantly
teenagers. However, I also need to target mature adults since they took
up a significant percentage of the respondents to my survey
• My target audience have a wide range of hobbies, the two most popular
being watching/playing sport, and watching movies, so I am right to
pursue a movie product
• Thriller films do not seem to be the most popular amongst my
audience, but research suggests that they like to watch films, which
shows I am not pursuing a fruitless objective

8. HOW TO APPEAL TO YOUR AUDIENCE
If I am to appeal to my target audience, then I need to include some of the
recommendations that they gave in my survey.
• One word that cropped up repeatedly was the word suspense. It tells me
that this is critical to a thriller film being successful, and failure to have
suspense could damage how effectively it appeals to my target audience
• Other regular words were tense and danger, so I need to create a
conventional thriller film that is not a radical departure from what has
been produced in the past
• I can also appeal to my target audience by getting the length of my
trailer right. My audience wants a trailer that is short (1-2 minutes long).
If I create a long trailer, it will bore them, and they will lose interest in the
message I am trying to get across

9. KEY WORDS FOR APPEALING TO MY TARGET
AUDIENCE