Research - Thriller

By Callum Mitchell

General conventionsBecause we're doing a Thriller/Drama I wanted to look at both sides to make sure I am covering everything so we get it right. I had already looked into general conventions in Drama's so this time I wanted to look into thriller conventions. The main foundation to a thriller film is suspense and slight fear. The point of a thriller is to thrill you as it says in the name so it needs to do whatever it can to keep you on the edge of your seat. There is often a lot of character development however usually from good to evil as events take place that changes the character. Thrillers usually show good and evil battling against each-other. This could either take place with other characters or within a character himself for example: His good side battling his evil side in a conflict or situation. Thrillers often tackle the narrative through focusing on one character and showing his trials and obstacles and try and get you to relate to the character.

Usually the storyline revolves around an enigma or the hero who is the only one who can solve the enigma. There's always bound to be some sort of violence in thrillers also because it makes it more exciting and more thrilling. They often bring real life cooperation's like the police or the army to deal with the problem that only the hero can solve. There are usually similarities between the hero and the villain and in the end the hero usually solves the enigma. The exciting part of thrillers is there is so much you can do with them and you don't have to stick to a few select storylines however you have a few guidelines that you should stay within but the rest is your oyster. I found many codes and conventions in thrillers and decided to split it up into media aspects.

CinematographyThe thriller genre is very closely related to horror but does have major differences. The point of a thriller film is to wow the audience and cinematography plays a huge part.

Close up shots and Extreme close up shots are a necessity in a thriller film because they build up suspense and emotions in the characters face. Close ups build intensity and tension. Using close ups also allow the camera to highlight certain parts of the face which may be a crucial part to storyline and it also allows you to see the delight in eyes or the fear in someone's mouth. Close ups allow you to get into the characters head and feel what they feel which is really important for the thriller genre as character development is crucial.

In most film establishing shots are used to tell the audience where about the scene is to take place so therefore in a thriller establishing shots are a must have. It’s important for thrillers because to tell the story, you need to know where the scene takes that job perfectly.

In thrillers establishing a characters position is very important to the story for example if they’re losing a battle or inferior to the other character high angle shots are used. They allow the shot to tell the part of thrillers and are always used. story about who is winning and loosing. That is why they are such an important

Opposite to this, low angle shots are also really important in the thriller genre as it shows the superior character which is important to the plot of the story. They often show obstacles the character has to get over or face. For example a low angle shot of a building as the hero has to reach a certain floor to save someone.

Point of view shots are also very important in the thriller genre because what a character sees is an important part of getting inside their head. You can hear what the character can hear so that’s one sense ticked off so seeing is also powerful. Also you can easily show fear in a characters point of view using this shot connecting the audience with the emotions of the characters.

Tilted shots are used in thrillers to create uneasiness and mayhem. This is because it isn’t the normal shot. This means that it’s not what people are used to therefore creates this effect of mayhem. In thrillers they are used along with mise en scene to set the mood of the shot and it is an easy visual way of disrupting the equilibrium through cinematography.

Special mentionI wanted to show some cinematography of the great Alfred Hitchcock, one of our earliest pioneers of modern filmmaking. I looked into some of his greatest cinematography and here’s what I found.

Alfred’s main goal was to interact with the audience so did all he could to show emotion in a shot. He did this in many ways by moving from a close up of a face to a wide shot of astonished faces. Close ups and extreme close ups were a personal favorite as he found that almost all emotion was in the face. Following characters and tracking also was a good way to show emotion. Some of Hitchcock’s films were silent as he believed that a story can be told visually. And he said: “When we tell a story in cinema, we should only resort to dialogue when it is impossible to do otherwise…”. This way Hitchcock uses a variety of different shots and lots of pans to create emotion and tell the story in a powerful way. Pan’s are one of Hitchcock’s favorites because it creates suspense and tension. So in relation to our film I feel pan’s are such an important part of creating tension and suspense. There are many other amazing things Hitchcock did but I only wanted to keep this brief and I am already getting ahead of myself and getting excited researching his work. I may come back to his work in another post but for now I’ll leave it at this.

Mise en sceneThere are 3 main parts to the mise en scene, all of which I will cover:- Lighting and colour- Settings and props- Costume, hair and makeup

Starting off with lighting. In thrillers lighting is a key part to telling the story. For example casting shadows with lighting portrays a dark mood and mysterious character. Just by adjusting the lighting of a shot can really change the whole mood of a scene. That’s why lighting is important for a thriller. Lighting itself is also important to the cinematography as it makes a shot or scene look so much better than just the average look. This is important to the look of our film especially because we want to do anything we possibly can to make our film look more professional and by changing the lighting in the shot and the colour in post production, you can really give a scene a really professional look.

Settings any film are a necessity, even more so in thrillers due to the fact that story is a major part. Setting tells you where the scene takes place therefore is important in terms of the storyline of the film. Typical thriller settings are things like: Dark alleys, haunted houses, mental asylums and mainly dark places. This is because you can have lots of suspense in these settings as it’s a bit more scary. So in terms of the setting, it often relates to the characters and sometimes is opposite. Either way, it’s important to the story telling.

Colour is also an important part of the thriller genre as we often associate it with emotions. For example if the scene takes place in a cold environment, you can use a blue tint on the scene to emphasise the coldness of the image. Colour can also be used to symbolise what is about to happen within a scene. For example a black look on the scene can often symbolise that there is going to be or has been a death. This is just a few of the minor ways colour can be used and I feel it will come in really handy when we are trying to tell the story in our film.

Props again, similar to settings are a really important way of telling the story. Typically in thrillers you have props such as: weapons used by the villains, fast cars and even cooperation's like the police or the mafia. Other than physical props, you can have things such as blood which is a key part of thrillers as there’s usually a fight scene to make suspense. The bottom line is a lot of violent props are used to build suspense and tension as they are dangerous.

Costumes are similar to props in the terms that it is what a character looks like can add again to the development of the storyline. This is because how a character is presented changes how the audience perceives them. For example if the character is in a suit and tie it gives you more information about their posh background and high class personality as appose to wearing a tracksuit and baggy t shirts. Even something as simple as an item of clothing can change how a character is looked at. For thrillers smart style clothes are important and clothes that an intellectual person would wear.

EditingTraditionally in thrillers the main way to edit the film is to create suspense and tension. This can be done in many ways through different types of procedures but the end goal is the same. You’re wanting to try and make the audience literally sit on the edge of their seats and as the name states ‘thrill’ them.

In thrillers, directors will use lots of jump cuts. This is because jump cuts tend to keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Using these kind of cuts can also speed up the film giving the director more time to focus on creating the suspense of the film.

Continuing from this, long duration edits will be used. What I mean by this is keeping a certain shot on for a long period of time. They do this to build suspense and tension and lead it up to something shocking or what I like to call a false shock. (when the shot builds up tension to shock you with something and nothing happens). Using long duration shots in the editing stage allows you to do this.

Another form of cut used is a cross cut. A cross cut is used to show two things happening at once and it constantly cuts between them. This allows the audience to focus on more than one part of the film at one point in time. It also builds suspense as you can see two events happening at once and it allows you to be more emotionally involved in the film which is the whole point of a thriller.

Continuous editing is another technique used by editors in thriller films. The reason for this is because it makes it easier for the audience to understand and follow the film. In thrillers the story line is a fundamental part. This is because they need to keep the audience thrilled and a good story can do this. Thrillers usually have complex storyline therefore it is important to do anything you possibly can to make the audience understand the film. So in comes continuous editing to make the film much more easier for the audience to understand.

SoundSound is a huge part for thrillers as it is used to create suspense and tension, usually in the music but still in other aspects.

Music in sound is used to create suspense and it is the most effective way of creating it. Orchestral music is a common one used but anything really that rises in volume or pitch can be used to build up suspense to an event that happens. Personally I feel that music in thrillers is the most important part of building tension and suspense. Music is also good for portraying the emotions of the characters and showing what they are feeling without dialogue.

As in any film dialogue is important and with the complex storylines in thrillers is even more important. In thrillers, typically long dialogue is used to explain the complex situations.

CharactersAs with any genre there are typical characters that follow typical stereotypes. Thrillers are no exception from this rule and although have different storylines still maintain stereotypes.

There is the main character, the protagonist who is always seeking to try and restore the equilibrium within the film. This guy is often referred to as the hero and the person who is always saving the day. A good example of these characters are: James Bond, Jack Bauer etc.As well as the main character you often have a ‘Bond Girl’ as I will refer to it. This is either a man or woman who catches the eye of the main character and often features a love story throughout the film between them.

You often have the helper which is a character who is always helping the main character In his challenges. You often learn to really like this character and feel like you’re his friend because he’s such a nice guy. And something dramatic happens to this character like either he dies or comes close to death but because you’re so emotionally attached to the character you are really effected by the event that happens. An example of this kind of character is: Goose from top gun. You begin to really like him and get emotionally attached to him then he dies! *RIP Goose who’s death I haven’t gotten over yet even though I watched Top Gun a good 5 years ago! :’(*

And finally you have the antagonist. The ‘enemy’ who is doing anything he possibly can to stop the hero from achieving his goal. This enemy is often motivated by some form of revenge and does not stop until he has revenge.

ConclusionIn conclusion I feel that there are many important codes and conventions of thrillers that we must stick to and if we stray too far away from this then I feel our film won’t make any sense. I think that music is such an important part of creating suspense in our film and if we don’t have this then I believe that our film wont work. One thing we mustn’t forget though is that our genre is a hybrid genre and it is a Thriller-Drama therefore can’t get too hung up and ways to do our film until we’ve researched into the Drama genre.