History of the Thriller genre Thriller is a genre in film. Thriller genre films can be under many sub genres some of the most famous are mystery, suspense and detective thrillers. Thriller films promote intense excitement, suspense, high levels of expectancy, increased expectations, ambiguity, anxiety and tension. A thriller genre has a narrative aim to pursue a single minded goal to thrill the audience as well as tension to keep the audience on the 'edge of their seats.‘

One of the most famous directors of thrillers is Alfred Hitchcock who produced most of his best work through the 1930’s to 1950’s and these changed the publics views in thriller., some of his most early famous ones were “The Lodger” “39 Steps” and “ The Lady Vanishes” which were made through the 1930’s He once famously quoted “he wanted to give the public a good healthy shake up”

Tzetan Todorov famous theory of narratives is still used in many thriller today1.A state of equilibrium2.A disruption of equilibrium 3.A recognition of equilibrium 4.An attempt to repair the disruption5.A reinstatement of the equilebrium

Roland Emmerich ‘s “Independence day” is a great example of Todorovs narrative theory being out into modern thriller, the state of equilibrium is the small period before the aliens appear , the disruption is when the alien shot appears , the recognition is when the aliens attack, the attempt to restore equilibrium is the failed bombing s of the alien ship and then the reinstatement is when the protagonist destroys the alien mother ship

Thriller hybrids and subgenres

Sub-Genres: Listed below are some of the most common and identifiable film sub-genre categories. These are identifiable sub-classes of main film genres, with their own distinctive subjects and themes, style and iconography. Some of the most famous are 'chick' flicks, detective/mystery films, disaster films, fantasy films, film noir, films, romances, sports films, supernatural films, and thriller/suspense films. There are also film sub-genres types (and hybrid).

Thrillers are normally hybrids of other films, eg action Thriller, film noir Thrillers and comedy Thrillers. Though what all these films share is intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and tension. Spy films are also considered part of the Thriller genre, eg The Bourne Trilogy and James Bond .

Shawn of the dead is a great example of an Hybrid thriller/horror/comedy

Mise en scene

Mis en scene, French for “placing on stage” is a filming term which describes many conventions in a films; props, setting , costume, lighting and colour. The elements of Mise en scene are pointers of what the genre would be and as an audience what we would expect to see in that genre.

Props –mis en sceneProps are object used by the actors performing in a film; depending on the props used these objects can help determine the narrative, identity of character and genre. In the thriller genre props are a very important part in conveying themes, ideas and motives to the viewer.

Weapons:These objects are one of the most frequent and commonly used props in Thrillers, old and new. There obvious use are to convey violence, fear and danger, but also used to determine the personality and motives of characters.

In the film ‘Pshyo’ a knife is used to show the viewer the man wielding the knife is firstly the antagonist , but secondly he is evil as hes about to stab someone with a kitchen knife.

Setting-mis en sceneThe setting is typically where the film is set, most typical thriller are set in busy cities locations, Thriller films examples would be Batman trilogy which are all set in the fiction city of “ Gotham” which is actually filmed in Chicago. Another example is Collateral which is set in Los Angeles. Filming Thrillers in cities is effective as most people use Thriller's as escapism and filming in cities adds an extra sense of realism, but also connotes ‘no where is safe’Thrillers also can be filmed remote and quite locations and just be as effective, films like “Brick” and “the village” are successful Thrillers which are filmed in quite/remote places, they can connate seclusion where “no one can hear you scream”

Gotham city

Lighting and colour-Mis en sceneLighting and the colours in Thrillers are an effective way to subtly convey ideas and themes throughout a film, the colours in films can help show the genre of the film, e.g. in comedies the lighting and colour is very bright, colours like red, pink and yellow normally dominate, while in Thrillers, typically the lighting a colour is dark, dim and gritty to help create a mysterious and unknowingly atmosphere.

Typical comedy colours Typical colours for thriller films

Colours can also connote emotions shown through Thrillers White typically represents purity and innocenceGreen typically can represent envy Black represents evil or danger through the darkness , mostly used in thriller, batman, the watchmen suck punch.Red can represents anger, danger, blood or violence.Blue represents coldness, sadness or depression.

Costume and makeup- Mis en sceneCostume and makeup can help contribute to the narrative and themes of a Thriller, mostly they can help contribute to the development of characters. Consume can be garments, jewellery, hairstyles and other accessories.

Costume in this picture helps the viewer know what time period this thriller is set in, the thriller is ‘the women in black, viewers know this as the clothes being worn are old fashioned styled and normally linked with the Victorian era.

While the suit and hat in this picture suggests other things, firstly the hat can suggest to the reader the wearer in trying to stay undetected, which leads on to think he is important, the suit also suggests his importance .

In thriller films make up is used to create a fearful effect, for example by smudging their make up it will make women look more in need or in danger. Ripped costumes give the impression that something bad has happened, which can link with smudged makeup.

Camera Shots and Angles close upclose up is a type of camera shot. An close up normally is of a characters face, showing only eyes and mouth ect.. But also can be used to signifier an important object which could be key to the narrative. Typically close ups are used in thrillers to show the emotions of key characters , as said “eyes are the windows to the soul”

In Batman the dark knight, Christopher Nolan uses frequent close up to show, emotion and reactions from characters.

Close up is used to show the dark and sinister expression on the characters face, from this picture the viewer can obviously decipher this character is the ‘antagonists’

The “false smile” can also connate a characters personality's in this case the smile suggests psychotic, madness and instability.

Low angle & Birds eye viewThe low angle technique is used frequently in Thriller films , These increase height and give a sense of speeded motion. Low angles help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerlessness within the action of a scene. The background of a low angle shot will tend to be just sky or ceiling, the lack of detail about the setting adding to the disorientation of the viewer. The added height of the object may make it inspire fear and insecurity in the viewer, who will feel intimidated by the main actor in the shot as they will be taking up for of the screen.Mostly in Thrillers low angle is used to show the lack of power and dominance of characters.

The Birds eye view technique. Done by a camera positioned above the action by a crane and gives an overview of an scene. This shot can give the viewer an god like view of the scene as they are looking down on the action. People can then seem insignificant and part of a wider picture. In Thrillers Hitchcock was a great admirer of the Birds eye view technique and used in in many of his films.

Editing Editing can play a big part in thrillers, editing contributes to how we view the thriller, it can help make the film past paced, tense and absorb you in the action.

Continuity editing This is when multiple shots are continually put together and resemble a smooth transition. Many thriller films use continuity editing to absorb the viewer in the action, they would normally be used in action scenes, e.g. a chase scene, the viewer will most likely not notice the cuts as there so absorbed in the scene. A good example of continuity editing is in the film V for Vendetta, as in the opening scene there's a lot of information the viewer needs to take in, so by using continuity the viewer can see everything that needs to be seen to understand the start of v for vendetta

Parallel editing Also in V for vendetta parallel editing is used in the opening scene and is used to create the dramatic encounter of a girl bumping into two antagonists. The cuts quickly switch form the lower half of each characters body until they finally bump into each other, which is used to create suspense and suggests to the viewer they are going to collide which leaves the viewer wanting to know when so creates anxiety as well.

Shot Reverse Shot This editing technique is used to show the interaction between character's and its important for the viewer to see how certain characters react to each other. most thrillers would use this technique within editing as it’s a good way of showing character's talking to each other, an example is in ‘the dark knight ‘ where the joker is talking to a police men, the shots show the emotions changing on each of the characters faces, which gives the viewer more information about the charctors personality's and motives

Shot reverse shot and 180 degree rule The shot reverse shot is a film technique where one character is show looking at another character from over the shoulder. This is often used in conversation, to see reactions and to establish the relationship through the characters.

The 180° rule is a basic guideline in film making that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle.

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soundSound is a very important convention in the opening sequence of a thriller as different music themes can convey different feelings, and a can certain atmosphere depending on pitch, length ect.. Other sound elements diegetic/non diegetic can help contribute to the thriller narrative and dramatization.

Diegetic

Sound that occur in the fictional world of the film (e.g. birds singing, doors banging) Diegetic sound would be used in thrillers to create suspense and tension, e.g. hearing loud bangs screaming, creaking or banging of doors , also it would add realism to the film. Eg in the famous Jaws attack scene you can hear the sound of lots of people happy, talking and playing in the water, then seconds later there’s screaming, the splashing of water as people are panicking, the diegetic sound here is used to create the scene of a happy day out on the beach, which turns bad which is when jaws attacks. Ambient sounds are used very frequently in Thrillers are they add realism to a scene ambient sounds are the sounds which are in the background of scene, in Jaws an ambient sound is the waves crashing against the beach, seagulls screeching , and children playing these are in the Jaws attack scene to add the realism and a surrealism to the scene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smglO7eEPlo

Non diegetic

Sound which is edited in to a scene after its been created, like background music, sfx or the assentation of diegetic sound to exaggerate it more eg louder breathing, a door slamming extra loud. Non diegetic would be used in Thrillers to add drama, tension to a scene or to surprise the viewer. In the opening scene of jaws, non diegetic is used. Firstly when the girls getting pulled down, there’s sharp intakes of high pitch music, to then frantic music as she’s splashing about trying to escape. Typical sound tracks t o thrillers are normally never fast paced and full of suspense, like the sound tracks to the Bourne Trilogy and James Bond, they both have a fast paced quick tone and a variation of low and high pitch.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7acI5z9vyokIncreasing the volume of sounds is also used frequently in thrillers, classics examples are doors smashing, loud breathing, exenterated footsteps all of these are used to create suspense and creates more of an thrilling effect.