Conventions of a thriller

Conventions of a thriller: Task 1

-Create suspense and tension for the audience by the use of sound, lighting and camera shots and angles.

-The hero is usually an outsider

-Usually show flashbacks which are used to give you information about why the character is in a certain situation, this makes it more personal to the viewers.

-Shadows are used to create a sense of mystery as you don’t know who the shadow belongs to, it also means that there is low lighting to create a creepy atmosphere.

-Back and white is used to make things seem creepy as it highlights shadows and dark areas.

-Create suspense with dramatic music

-Weapons (suck as knives, guns and explosives) to create suspense and mystery also to foreshadow something that might happen later in the film.

-Fake blood and signs of warning to foreshadow something bad happening

-High angle shots to make the person it is focusing on look powerless and weak as if they are being looked down on

-Close ups are used to see the reaction and detail of characters face, it also makes the audience feel claustrophobic as you are too close to someone’s face.

-Low angles make the character they are focusing on look powerful as if they are being looked up on

-Hand held shots for a sense of reality as if someone is filming them self and there is no camera crew, is can also make the filming shake if they don’t have a steady cam.

-Quick cuts create tension as they usually show a montage highlighting a series of important events.

-Fade to black gives the impression that a character is on conscious or dying, it also creates a time lapse.

-Usually set in a remote location which means that it is harder for victims to escape or get help so it makes the film tenser.

-There are two types of sound used in thrillers…

Synchronous, where the sound matches the action for example thrillers are usually creepy and tense so a synchronous sound track would sound typically creepy, this can be achieved with the use of high pitched notes or out of tune instruments which make the audience feel uneasy as they are unpleasant noises that suggest something is wrong.

Asynchronous sound means that the sound does not match the action, for example a typical creepy thriller with as happy, light hearted sound track doesn’t match up but still works in the sense that it still makes the audience feel uneasy as the music isn’t meant to be there so it creates a sense of disorientation and confuses them.