Thriller film convention

What is a thriller film?

What makes a movie a thriller, is mystery and suspense. Thrillers make the audience predict what is going to

happen next and also keeps them focused and nervous on their seats. A thriller takes the audience on a ‘roller coaster’ ride where tension is built up

and relief succeeds tension.

what is a Thriller?

Thriller conventionMost thrillers start off with a normal, happy beginning. However , when you get to

know the main characters things usually go wrong ; for instance if you look at figure 2 the characters looks upset. It is then when you begin to suspect and conjecture what is going on.

You might have characters that pose a threat. Also, there are lots of twists and mystery in the story and therefore this allows the audience to wonder what comes up next.

There are lots of enigma codes put in. This is when a scene is put in to make the audience think of a question such as ‘why did he do that?’ or ‘who did it?’ The thriller builds up tension using different effects. As you can see in figure 1 a character is on the phone with a mysterious expression in his face. This makes the viewers wonder Who could this be?

Also, music is important in building tension. They might use sad music which is called (non– dietetic sound) or the sound of thunder to build the suspense up slowly which is (dietetic sound). Therefore, this makes the audience scary for the character, and it makes the audience worried about what will happen to the protagonist. Figure 2

Figure 1

Thriller conventions

What are the genre signifiers?

• In this genre, there is a lot of enigma codes and mystery. For example heavy breathing, or as you can see in figure 2 a character has picked up an unexpected phone call. This call seems mysterious from the beginning. There are some sound effects that possibly can make the audience wonder. For instance, if you look at figure 1 you can see that the character seems scared by the sound of foot steps. Or for instance when a window smashes, or a character weeps for no reason. All of those effects make the audience question themselves and it makes the audience hesitate.

Figure 2

Figure 1

What are the

genre signifiers?

How do they show the setting and characters?

The way the settings are shown in a thriller films is by showing thrilling scene for example like famous places in America or London as you can in figure 2 it show the London eye. The reason why they show settings of famous places is because it is more likely to be busy. Therefore more things are likely to go wrong. Also they sometime have settings of offices as you can see in figure 1. this is because it lets the audience know that the office might be related to government or business. So This makes the setting much more tension grabbing.

The way they show the characters in thriller film is by showing how intense and how mysterious they are has you s in figure 3 and 4. Therefore it makes the audience want to know more about them.

Figure 1 Figure 2

Figure 3 Figure 4

What sort of characters do they have?

• The sort of characters in a thriller film would be characters such as protagonist this means the main character in the film. for example if you look at figure 2 the man in the grey suit is the main character. So he is the one that has to face the threat of the enemy in the film. This builds up more tension and suspense to the audience.

• However the antagonist character is the one who brings up the treat or danger to the protagonist character. for instance if you look at figure 1 . this means the protagonist character has to deal with the fear in the film. This makes the film more emotional and confusing to the audience because it will make them think and wonder what might happen next.

Figure 1

Figure 2

What sort of music/sound do they use?

• The sort of music or sound thriller films uses is sometime emotional sounds like for example a piano playing when a character is crying and upset. This makes audience drawn their tension to the scene because of the sound effect. This makes it sound more attention-grabbing and affective.

• Also this can be know as a (non– dietetic sound) this refers that the sound is played by an instrument which makes the sound effect more non-dietetic.

• However also sometime in thriller films they use mystery sounds for example a sound of thunder has you see in figuer2, or water dripping from tap has you see this in figure 3. This makes it more exciting and very tension grabbing to the audience because it makes them wonder what’s happening. However this sound effect is known has (dietetic sound) because it’s more pragmatic and real.

Figure 3

Figure 2

How do they show narrative?

• The way they show the narrative in a thriller film is by showing different scenes. For example they might show how the beginning then after there might be different parts of mystery plots of the film. Such as the beginning might be cheerful and ordinary has you can s in figure 1 after there might be scenes of mystery and crisis for example if look at figure 4.

• However in some mystery scenes they sometimes show the enemy which is the antagonist character. Therefore who tries to threat the protagonist character who will be fighting against the enemy has you see in figure 2. also the lady is worried how to fight back to the antagonist in figure 3.

• This builds up tension in the thriller film, because of the mystification and the shocking moments in the film.

Figure 1

Figure 2Figure 4 Figure 3

What is the editing like?

• The editing is like they try to create suspense or build up tensions by having sound effects or music. Therefore this is important in the film and in trailers.

• However at the beginning of the trailer it is always calm and normal. after it builds up mystery and suspense by showing all the mystery and nervous parts of the film. The reason for this is that as it create tension it makes the audience to watch it more or be more engaged with the trailer.

• However in trailers they show quick sharp clips because they don't want to bored the audience. Therefore they show short clips of the film as this will give the audience a clear idea from the film.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Those are some examples of scenes in figure 1 and 2 that can grab audience tension.

What is a subgenre?

• A subgenre is a certain category of a film for example a psychological thriller. However psychological thriller means someone who has a mental problem in their mind. This makes them emotional and this also effects their health.

Those are some example of psychological thriller films:

What is a hybrid genre?

• A hybrid genre is a mix of two or more genres: eg. Action thriller.

• Those are some examples

This is romantic

This is mystery thriller