Convention in psychological thriller

trailers

Plot/theme Romance – romance is used to show the connection between two characters , which usually ends badly

In ‘black swan’ romance is seen two times – one time with a man and second one with a woman

Jealously – jealously is mostly used to show the emotion of the character and connection with this second person

In ‘black swan’ jealously is seen many times –for example one jealously is seen in relationship and second one is seen in rivalry

Violence – mostly a lot of violence is used by unstable emotionally person, to show emotional instability and how this person can act and react to different situations

Costume/prop

Costumes – mostly character have normal, casual clothes and they doesn’t stand out in the crowd. Normal costume shows that even mentally unstable person can look normal as everyone

Mirrors – this is common prop used in psychological movies. Mirror are commonly used in psychological thriller to portray the used of reflections of a characters inner self as well as representing the ‘dark side’ of the character.

Objects which will show the mental instability of the character.

In ‘black swan’ we can see the drawing of screaming faces

Location/setting

Urban locations - they are using urban locations to provide realism. The realism the do provide however can be overly theatrical and quite stereotypical of the area or country in which the film is set

Isolated places- they are rarely used locations, but when they are used they are connected with situation. For example some have been kidnapped and they are kept somewhere in isolated place

Lighting

Low key lighting is often used in psychological thrillers to create a dark, tense atmosphere

Dark places, where artificial light are only used – creates mysterious atmosphere and fear that something wrong is going on

In ‘black swan’ we can see dark places a lot of time, they are used at the time when main character is confused what is going around her and she think that everyone and everything goes against her

Natural light – is mostly used at the beginning , when there is still stability in the emotional life of the character

In ‘black swan’ we can see natural light at the beginning of the trailer when the life of main character seen to be normal and good

CAM M

MID and CLOSE UP SHOTS - The most common shot types that are used in Psychological thriller are; the mid shot and the close up. Theses are commonly used because it helps the audience relate to the character as they are able to see the emotion and tension on their faces.

Long shot – they are also likely shot is psychological movies as they mostly shows whole body of the character and their body language, through what audience can see and read the emotions and behaviour which is not said out

POV (point of view) – is also used as it shows audience, on what character is looking and can helps to feel as main character

Sound&music

Non-diegetic score music - Music is essential to understand the mood of the characters and hint at a significant part in the film. Also there is suspense and tension. It often starts at a slow paves and the then build up to make the shots more dramatic for the audience.

Voice over - In many psychological thrillers there is use of voice over to make audience more involved. Through this they can be similar more with the story and character’s feelings.

Composition/framing

Placement – mostly main character is placed in the middle of the frame, no matter which shot is this (long shot or close up shot etc.) . This is due to show audience who is the most important character in the movie, through what they will know that they attention should focus on this person, as mostly action and scenes are connection to this person and their feeling, emotions or experience

Shallow focus or deep focus – are used to highlight what is the most important in the frame, for example character or when something is happening in the back

Editing techniques Obtrusive and Montage editing – This is used quite commonly in psychological thrillers to highlight and enhance the feelings and emotions of suspense and tension within important scenes

Quick editing is commonly used in this genre type as it create tension as the audience suspect something is wrong and become restless

Eye-line match – is used to show on what’s character is looking

Shot reverse shot – mostly used in conversations, through what audience can also notice the relationship between characters and their emotions

Match on action – this is used to show continuity and highlight and reality

Slow motion – this style of editing in thriller films builds suspense because the audience want to know what happens next in the scene but it is pro-longed by the editing

Fast pace – is used to build a tension and suspense

Flash backs and faced paced editing - These techniques can be used for several different reasons. The flashback is used to help show the past. This gives an insight into an characters past and shows an important message or helps explain why the character(s) are the way they are

Narrative structure At the beginning of the trailer we can see main character and setting. Also we can notice the lifestyle which this character has

At the beginning we can see equilibrium to show stability of character life

Later we can se disequilibrium, when something bad starts to happen