What Are the Conventions of a Thiller

Now we know what a Thriller film is, we can look at the conventions that define it from other movie genres.

Themes

When brainstorming, the first word that came to mind was suspense. To add 'thrill' to a thriller, suspense is a great device to capture the audiences attention and feel what the protagonist is feeling. To feel what the characters feel,help us sympathize with them and immerse yourself in the film. Suspense can be created through the mise en scene, camera angles, lighting and music.

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Most thrillers follow one key theme - character over plot. This is unlike most films where the plot is more important. Thrillers focus on the thoughts and feelings of the main character and use this a the main narration of the story. There are two forms of this:

Stream of Consciousness - Where the narration follows the protagonist's thought process.

First Person Narrative - Where it follows the protagonist's opinions and feeling.

Watching thrillers you can notice that there is one reoccurring theme, and that is a threat of death or capture. Every plot has to have some sort of problem the characters have to overcome. In films such as Shutter Island and Pan's Labyrinth, there is a the fear of death for the characters and that creates a 'thrill' for the audience as we sympathize with them.


Camera work, lighting and sound all play a part in creating a realistic and suspenseful thriller. Each need to be tailor-made for this genre.

As thrillers crosses over with many different genres the conventions will be dependent on the sub-genre.

For example crime thrillers tend to have props associated with police stations. This can be anything from handcuff to police cars. Crimes scenes are often found in crime thrillers and these entail objects such as chalk lines and markers. These plots usually are based around one crime and the protagonist who will go to all lengths to figure out 'whodunnit'.Whereas action thrillers tend to be more about violence so props such as guns and other weapons tend to be used.

Conventions

Camera - Different types of angles and shots are used for different scenes as they convey different feelings. Here are some examples of the most commonly used angles and shots in thrillers:

• Low angles are used to making the antagonist seem powerful and feared.
• High angles are used to make the victims seems small and insignificant. This makes them seem weak compared to the antagonist.
• Establishing shots are often used to show us the environment the characters are in. Derelict buildings and dark woods create a sense of fear.  By showing us the environment it sets the scene for the audience and creates suspense.
• Over the shoulder shots creates an illusion of someone approaching the character from behind. Paired with a music crescendo this can create suspense and fear.

Framing - Closes up are used in thrillers to focus on the character. It portrays emotion better as you can see the emotion in their face. Long shots are used occasionally to show where the action will be and to introduce us to the environment. 

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This picture is from "Psycho". With a close up you can see the fear in her face, but you can't see what is in front of her that is causing this fear. This builds up suspense as you simultaneously want to find out what is there, but are too scared to see. 

Sound - Suspense music is used in thrillers as it tells the story through music climaxes and decrescendos. When the music heightens, it warns the audience that something is going to happen and leaves them wondering what is to come.

This example is from the movie "28 Weeks Later" and is produced by John Murphy, Master of Suspense and action music. The beginning of the piece is quiet but almost sinister. It makes the audience cautious and could also be interpreted as the 'quiet before the storm'. When the rhythm kicks in, it is equal to a normal human heartbeat. The piece reaches a crescendo, it is almost like your heart is pumping harder as if you were scared. It is a clever way of stimulating fear and 'thrill'. The ending also has an eerie feel to it that resembles a sinister nursery rhyme that have now become synonymous with horror. The whole song takes you through and journey and accompanies thriller films well.

Sound effects are just as important as the music. There are three types of non-music sounds. Theses are diegetic, non - diegetic and dialogue. Diegetic means what is in the frame. Non-diegetic sound is often used to alert the audience of the presence of someone else.

Location - For a thriller you want something exciting. For espoinage films, exotic locations are used as they are different from the same old streets you always see. For horror thrillers, derelict, broken down locations give an atmosphere of broken, troubled and suspenseful.

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This still is taken from the movie "Cabin in the Woods". The location suits the plot of the film as it is secluded, basic and not at all safe. It is almost obvious that something bad is going to happen here, and there will be no help anywhere near - the makings of most horror movies. Most of the movies is set during the night making the set very dark and sinister adding to the suspense and thrill.

Lighting: Lighting is what can make or breeak a film. A good film will use it to its advantage and use it to convey the characters emotions and the general feel of the scene. Coloured lights are often used to add a certain tone to the scene, for example in Orson Welle's 'Touch of Evil' a black and white scheme is used. This scheme is notorious with suspense. The clear blacks and darkness create a sense of fear and blackness. There are two different types of light. You can have soft light or hard light. Hard light gives a clear outline, bringing out detail in the clip. There is a clear defination between the lights and the darks just like in black and white films. If you use a yellow colour the scene will feel happier where as if you use grey you can portray dystopian scenes where everything is monotonous. This type of light is more likely to be used in scenes of horror and action where you want the object to stand out. Soft light is more diffused and subtle. It reduced the outline and details but gives a nice texture. This type of lighting is used in warmer scenes where the atmospehere is generally more happier.

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 In this still from 'The Silence of the Lambs' it shows the general horror and psychological thriller lighting convention. This scene is rather dark giving it an unnerving feel to it. This is what the director wants to convey. Thrillers tend to play with your emotions and this shot shows that there is hidden fear in the shadows ultimately making us fear and feel the suspense.  

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 On the other hand, in this shot uses hard light to create contrast between the light and the shadows. The uses of shadows in the creases under his eyes creates a sinister feel to this character immediately tell us that he is a dark character and one to be aware of. The light on the top of his ears and head shows us that the light is directly above him like a spot light. This brings to our attention that he is the center of this film.