Thriller Genre Conventions

A Thriller is a type of film that has an exciting plot and sometimes a form of criminal activity. The aim of a thriller is to raise questions for the audience whilst at the same time adding suspense and tension through the storyline and characters. Thriller’s are usually a very popular type of movie as it is the genre of film that makes the audience feel the most involved as not all of the information is given to them and information is not usually revealed as easily as other information. Also some of the conclusions that arise in the as a result of the films plot in left up top the audiences interpretation of the character or an event that has happened within the film.  My opening sequence and film conforms to the genre of thriller, as there is an underlying idea that criminal activity takes place. But it mostly causes a lot of assumptions and questions to be raised, this is because even though the opening sequence seems to reveal a lot of information it also deceives the audience which makes them confused about the reality of the film itself.

A sub-genre is usually a storyline that co-acts with the usual storyline; this is usually used to confuse the audience. In some cases the stories can be unrelated however majority of the time the sub-genre storyline is key aspect of the thriller storyline and is perplexing for the audience as it is harder to identify how each character becomes involved with one another and this will raise more questions for the audience which helps the film to conform to thriller genre of film. The sub-genre in my opening sequence and runs throughout the film is romance, as the whole thriller is based on a couple and a jealous and psychotic ex. It seems obvious as to what may happen however this is a disguise for who the characters really are within the film whilst still sticking to the romance and thriller genres.

Editing within a thriller is key as it can help the scenes that has been shot conform to the typical conventions of thriller when put together into a film. Many editing techniques have been used. One that is used very often is zoom in’s and close up as they focus on a particular aspect of the scene which allows clues to be given for questions to be raised. Also this blocks out other information that can be going on around that particular aspect and which can leave audience in the unknown. Within my thriller opening sequence we have used close for this particular reason, also this gives an insight into what may happen within the rest of film. We also used the editing technique of putting a sepia colour effect over our opening sequence as this highlights the emotion of the character also the dark colours add to the thriller genre.

Characters within the opening sequence are vital to the conformation of the thriller opening sequence. As the roles that they are portraying is what makes the film a thriller. For example the psychotic character within my opening sequence helps to conform to the genre as the behavior she shows is of criminal activity and adds excitement to plot as well as creating suspense for the audience with her role as a psychotic, jealous ex.

The mise-en-scene in the film is the most important and location, props, character performance and dialogue all work together to meet the conventions of a thriller.  For example within my opening sequence, the location of a bedroom shows isolation and seclusion from the outside world which adds to her psychotic behavior as this is a key feature of stereotypical mentally unstable people. The props within the sequence also add to the characters personality as the use of the laptop, creates verisimilitude to the opening sequence and the character. However the use of the pictures adds to the obsession she is trying to show and raises questions for the audience as to why the character has the pictures and what is her relationship with those within the pictures. Character performance is vital as it makes the character seem as realistic as possible whilst at the same time exaggerating the psychotic and jealous features of the character, which conforms to the conventions of a thriller film. Finally dialogue is important, the lack of dialogue within the opening sequence means that less information is revealed about the character which adds suspicion to the audience which is a key feature to the thriller genre. Music is also very important as it sets a tone and atmosphere for the film and how it may continue throughout the film. The eerie sound within our opening sequence make the opening sequence conform to the thriller opening sequence and creates suspense for the audience.