A thriller is a specific genre of film that uses suspense and tension as its main foundations. The key to a good thriller is to give its audience a sense of anticipation and uncertainty as well as having a tendency to be fast paced. Red herrings and dramatic plot twists are also used throughout adding to the thriller style.
There are many different sub genres of thrillers and our specific one would be a mix of criminal/psychological. This sub-genre looks at mainly the circumstances of a mystery or a crime itself in order to figure out what the clues are as well as involving the audience with this too. (We have the central mystery of how and why the older sister has been kidnapped and the clues provided by the brief glimpses we show of the event).This brings a more overall dramatic effect to the film during the investigation in order to know what the crime is. The psychological side of a thriller is based around the mind or the processes of the mind. The general narrative of this makes the main character exposed to dangers on a mental level rather than a physical one. (In our opening, the main character is not sleeping and we see later in the film that she is very disturbed by what happened).
The general narrative form ina novel would be from a first person narrative. This means that in film terms the story is told from the POV of one person. (This is one of the key changes we made - making the story be told from the younger sister's POV).There is generally a back story that is the main reason behind the situation the main character appears to be in as the film continues. This would deepen the psychological side of the thriller since the audience is put into the position of understanding the main character on another level. (Really our opening is the back story - most of the film deals with the girl when she has grown up and has a lot of issues because of what happened).
The key theme of a crime thriller is mostly a person seeking revenge upon someone who murdered someone they knew. (Our character wants the mystery solved and probably wantes revenge). In a stereotypical crime thriller it is mostly set in locations such as ordinary towns and cities with some scenes in an exotic setting such as a foreign city. The ‘hero’ is a normal person to whom extraordinary things happen to. (Our character is a very ordinary person, so then the audience fears it could happen to them). The ‘hero’ would have had someone close to them murdered which triggers the revenge upon the killer. They would too encounter problems which will make them face personal dilemmas forcing them to make sacrifices for others which will always be against a ticking clock. (Maybe the parents will blame this sister, maybe she can't move on with a relationship until she has resolved this). The ending would consist of the ‘hero’ confronting the murder and in most cases killing them (This might happen at the end of our film).
The key elements to a thriller would be an atmosphere at the beginning of a creeping threat which then escalates into a sudden burst of violence/crime. Withholding crucial information from the audience is also a key device that is used throughout to keep the viewers on the edge of their seats.(We don't let the audience see the kidnapper).Thrillers too present the world slightly different as they show society as a dark and corrupt place as the ‘hero’ would venture into parts of society which they wouldn’t normally. (Our heroine might have to deal with e.g. criminals to track down the kidnapper).
Characters
- Always a killer/villain
- An protagonist, often a vulnerable female
- The person who gets murdered / victim
Facial Expressions and Body Language
- Non verbal communication can portray effectively key emotions to the audience without them being directly told e.g. if a character is scared- proxemics and body language will illustrate their emotions instead of the character saying that they are scared.
Common Editing Decisions
- Tracking movements to follow characters
- Close ups to show emotions of characters
- High angle shots/Establishing shots to show a wider view of the locations and actions the scene will have
- Quick changes in significant scenes to increase the feel of shock and fear
- Sound Bridges are useful to be used as transitions into the next scene
- Sound perspective- used to create a more realistic sense of space
- Voice overs – to narrate an event told in flashback
In most thriller films the ‘mystery/crime’ is set in the opening sequence of the film which is then complicated as the film goes on and then resolved at the end, this technique is used to engaged the audience more into the film and keep them watching.
Use of mise-en-scene
 |
Dimmed lighting here with key colour use of black and greys. Back lighting here creates shadows giving the shot an eerie feel. |
 |
Mid shot/Two shot. Costume here sets the era the film is in. Car in background also sets the time era. Use of creams/yellows/oranges gives the shot an aged feel to it. |
 |
| Establishing shot shows the people in the background to see their reaction to the main characters actions as well as the location which is a plane. Use of dark colours i.e blues and blacks give an eerie feel to what could happen next. Main character is dressed in black to highlight her pale face to show more clearly her emotions. |
 |
| Use of proxemics here show the claustrophobic conditions these characters are put into. Two shot also shows the bond between both characters which is suggesting a mother like relationship to the younger character. Use of low angles connects us more into the situation as this creates a vulnerability factor towards the characters in this shot. |
No comments:
Post a Comment