Thriller

Thriller Genre Genre is the term used to categorise films and music based on similar properties. ‘Genre’ is a French word for type or kind. There are many different genres of films such as: action, comedy, horror, sci-fi, romance and thriller. There are many things that separate genres, such as: atmosphere/mood, narratives/storyline, music, lighting, character types/roles, actors, setting, cinematography, costumes and props.

Different genres also have sub-genres, for example the sub-genres of a thriller are: crime, medical, eco/disaster, romance gone bad/stalker, serial killer, psychological, legal, spy, action. These can also be combined together to form genre hybridsThrillers also work at different levels, for example there are thrills (danger/violence) and psychological (anxieties/emotional). One of the key elements of a thriller is that it is normally a ordinary setting but with extraordinary events. Other elements of a thriller are: the disruption is often a crime, the structure is complex to build suspense, it contains twists to keep the audience guessing, the plot builds towards a climax, there is restricted narrations which creates questions and riddles that are often left unanswered. Thrillers also contain two types of characters: the protagonist; the good guy – often everyday people, could be cop/ex-cop, the protagonist will often have a flaw that will be exploited by the antagonist. There is also the antagonist; the bad guy - often convicts, criminals or serial killers – they’re often psychopaths and have their identity hidden until the end of the film.

“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.” – Alfred Hitchcock

History of thrillers The first ever thriller film was called ‘Safety Last!’, was made in 1923 and was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor. The second was Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Lodger’ which was made in 1927. The film is based on Jack the Ripper, making it the first thriller to be based on a true story.

Alfred Hitchcock is regarded as the master of thrillers due to his ability to build suspense and anticipation. Some of his most famous films are The Lodger (1927), Rear window (1954) and Psycho (1960). He also created some important ground rules for thrillers: whodunit is not that important, the leading protagonist can be a bystander who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, keep the audience guessing. Hitchcock created false clues in his plot to keep the audience guessing, he called these the ‘McGuffin’.

Character TypesVladimir Propp (1895 – 1970) was a Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed 100’s of folk tales to create a list of 8 character types that are in all films:1. Hero (seeks a prize)2. Villain (causes the disruption)3. Donor (who provides the hero with essential objects)4. Helper (someone who helps the hero)5. Princess (often the prize for the hero)6. Father of princess (rewards hero)7. Dispatcher (may set task for hero)8. False hero (someone who pretends to be hero but is

actually a villain)

Most thrillers also have two main characters: the antagonist (often convicts /criminals /stalkers /assassins /serial killers /kidnappers /terrorists), who are usually psychopathic individuals who have resources (e.g. Intelligence or wealth) and their identity is hidden throughout most the film; and the protagonist (often innocent victims, sometimes characters with dark pasts e.g. Cops/ex-cops) who is often an everyday person (or a duo) and will usually have a flaw which will be exploited by the antagonist.

Mise-en-sceneMise-en-scene is French for ‘placing on stage’; it refers to the generic conventions that appear before the camera:

•Setting / location / set design – in thrillers these are usually normal / day-to-day

•Props / decor – often depends on the subgenre. For example in a crime or an action thriller you will usually see a gun

•Costumes and makeup – in thrillers the costumes are normally quite plain or dark. For example a detective will often wear a trench coat and/or a suit.

•Figure expression / facial expression – in thrillers the protagonist normally has serious facial expressions and a confident posture. The antagonist might have smug or angry facial expressions and a confident posture. Other characters might have scared facial expressions and more of a weak posture.

•Lighting / colour – the lighting in most thriller films is quite dull and may have a slight blue / greenish tint

Iconography means that, for each genre, we expect certain aspects of the mise-en-scene to be featured. For example with thrillers you might expect to see an ordinary setting; weapons; pale makeup and dull clothes; serious or scared facial expressions; dull / blue lighting.

CinematographyThere are many different camera shots used in films, such as:

• Establishing shot: it is normally a very wide shot used at the start of each scene to introduce to the audience, the location.

• Wide shot: is a shot that shows the whole subject with some room over and under it. It can be used to show distance between characters

• Long shot: similarly to the wide shot, it shows the whole subject however it is sometimes used to show the subject and it’s surroundings. The camera is also further away than the subject

• Point of view: POV is the view from the person’s perspective. It is used to show the audience exactly what the character is seeing.

• Associated point of view: also known as ‘over the shoulder’ is when you see the perspective of either the subject or an imaginary person standing behind him.

• Mid shot: roughly waist up on the subject which fills roughly an equal part of the frame to the background.

• Medium close up: shows the subjects head and shoulders

• Close up: shows a small part of the subject e.g. Face or hand

• Extreme close up: shows an even smaller part of the subject, most commonly eyes

All these camera shots also have camera angles. For example:

• Low angle: where the camera is positioned low and facing up to give the subject more dominance / power

• High angle: where the camera is positioned high and facing down to make the subject look small / weak / vulnerable

• Arial view: where the camera is placed directly above the subject and looking down. Is often filmed via helicopter and to show the layout of somewhere

Sometimes the camera is handheld to create a shaky effect. This is used to make what’s on screen feel more real (like a documentary) or to add to the action.

There are also many camera movements. Such as:

• Panning: is when the camera turns either left or right on a tripod

• Tilting: is when the camera is tilted up or down on a tripod

• Tracking: is when the camera moves with the action, it is often done on tracks

• Dolly shot: when the camera moves in or out on a track without zooming

• Reverse tracking / dolly zoom: is similar to a dolly shot however the lens is adjusted to make the subject the same size on screen. This is often known as ‘the Hitchcock zoom’.

SoundSound in films can be boiled down to two main types, diegetic and non-diegetic.

Diegetic sound is sound from a source in the scene, e.g. Dialogue or music from a radio. Another type of diegetic sound is ambient sound. This is sound that is natural to the area, e.g. Trees rustling or waves.

Non-diegetic sound is sound that has been added in editing. For example: voiceover, film music and sound effects.

There is also pleonastic sound. This is sound that imitates / reinforces what’s happening on screen. For example the famous shower scene in psycho.

The opposite to pleonastic sound is contrapuntal sound. This is sound that contradicts what is seen on screen to create disharmony.

In order to analyse sound in film we need to look at:

• Volume

• Pace / tempo

• Pitch

• Timbre / tone

• Silence

Editing is the placing of shots together to create a seamless, continuous flow. However there are times when the director decides to make the edits more noticeable to create a mood or to break tension etc. Editing can be used to imply something in the narrative. For example a passage of time, or an end of scene.

Continuity editing is something all films use. It is when the tying of shots together is seamless and almost unnoticeable.

The 108 degree rule is a part of continuity editing. It is where you imagine an invisible line going through the subjects and you cannot film the other side of that. Otherwise it will disorientate the audience. For example in a car chase, if the car goes off on the right then the next shot it should appear on the left. Sometimes a director might break the rule deliberately to create disorientation.

A graphic match is when there is a familiar relationship between two shots to make it seem almost continuous. For example in Brick’s opening title sequence with the blue bangles.

Editing

Match on action is when a cut happens at the same time as the action. For example if someone shoots someone else, as the person fires the gun the camera will cut to the person being shot.

Eye line match is when a person reacts to something on/off screen, causing a cut which shows what they saw.

Shot reverse shot is when a character is shown looking at another character (usually off screen) and you switch to the other character looking at the first character. As they are facing different directions you presume that they are looking at each other.

Parallel editing (also known as cross cutting) is when the camera flicks between two or more scenes, each happening at the same time but in different locations.

Rule of thirds is where the frame is divided into nine imaginary sections to act as a guideline for framing the image. Important elements of the picture should go on the lines