Thriller Conventions

By Olivia Kelly

General narrative features

Often within a thriller, the general narrative features allow the audience to follow one certain character throughout and the concept of the story line is usually seen through the eyes of them. The audience can relate to the protagonist, as they too have little knowledge on the events unfolding within the film and as these particular events begin to unfold, they also do with the audience as well. However, an enigma narrative may be used in order to present the audience with many different fragments in which there are to piece together to follow the protagonist as they uncover further steps within the narrative.

Openings Openings within a thriller can be used for a variety of reasons, for instance, the main characters role may be established, usually the bad guy therefore we may learn their role of a murderer or criminal, for example Lucky Number Slevin or Leon.The audience may learn a key aspect which will follow throughout the film such as a police investigation in Se7en, however we also learn the murderer in which they are dealing with has severe psychological issues, which can also be seen as another important aspect.Other thrillers may include one of its key facets within the opening, however at times it may seem irrelevant in the film. For example, in Leon, the main character possesses many child-like features which only later it becomes extremely important in building the audience’s understanding of the character.

Trigger events

The opening events which appear towards the beginning of a thriller are never the main event but a build up to the rest of the film, mainly used to entice the audience to follow on with the film, this can be seen in the opening of Luck Number Slevin.An air of mystery is usually portrayed within the opening and many of the key details are often kept from the audience as it focuses on a key aspect that triggers a series of events. For example, knowing someone has been murdered but not knowing who killed them, why they were killed or even how they might have been killed.

Importance of Enigma Codes

An enigma code is an interesting way of enticing the audience to follow the narrative, this is why it is one of the most commonly used narrative structures within the thriller genre. As the film progresses, they feel that are discovering new things, as well as the sense of suspense and drama is slowly being built.

Technical Features of a Thriller Opening

Long and wide shots are often used within the opening of a thriller as it depicts a seemingly normal situation, location or unusual events that may be occurring in a what seems to be a normal environment. Take for example, Leon, we learn the nature of the main character within the opening, as things seem relatively normal in a setting of a hotel suite. However, it is often that the main character may be situated within what appears as the real world such as detective working in a crime investigation in Se7en or in Black Swan, the opening scene of a long continuous shot of the main character dancing with the black-feathered evil sorcerer from Swan Lake.

Lighting

Lighting depends mainly on the nature of the film, often there are set conventions in which thrillers tend to follow. Usually with the bad guy within a thriller, dark, confined lighting is used to follow line of sight of the individual in order to follow the point of view of the protagonist. Lighting is used to highlight the actions of the protagonist in the opening to present the series of events in which are to occur. Often something is always hidden in a thriller which the audience are yet to find out, therefore a key component for this type of genre is to establish a chain of key events without revealing anything to the audience.

Shots

There are a wide range of shots which can be used in a thriller, often the type of shots used depends highly on the narrative or nature of the plot line such as a long shot may be used to show the location paired with a slow tracking shot, making the setting appear as harmless, helping build the audiences pre-beliefs of this specific genre that something bad is evidently going to happen. Close-ups and medium close-ups are usually used to show the protagonists face, such as features, particularly the eyes, and emotions – to give the audience a small idea of what may occur or even no clue whatsoever, close-ups can help express how the protagonist feels about this specific situation, often with the emphasis of the expression shown in the eyes.

Editing Long edits; panning and tracking shots are often held by the Director in order to create a sense of tension, as the audience may already know something is about to happen but they’re not sure what exactly.The audience may feel confused when short violent cuts are used, glimpses of the main event are shown but any key details are not yet valid which would clearly reveal the narrative, for example who is it holding the knife.