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Thriller Research Daly Farrington
Overview of the Genre ‘The single greatest characteristic of a thriller is the obvious one. It "thrills" as one reads it. The plots are scary, the characters are at great risk and the films are constructed in a manner that makes the audience want to watch the whole of the film’. This quote shows how some people perceive the Thriller genre, however My understanding of the Thriller genre is that it creates suspense for the audience throughout the film and gets the audience guessing and questioning what happens, and that there are more to the films then it just “Thrills”. Moreover Thriller films attached with the genre stereotypically leave you on the edge of your seat as your anticipating something to happen, directors create this effect by up close shots and darkness. Thrillers also create a sense of mystery at this can be done by not revealing the main character straight away and almost just give little clues about this, this is effected when props like car mirrors and sun glasses, in the next few slides you can see thriller what typical Thriller conventions are like. http://www.thrillerpress.com/whatmakesathriller.html
Darkness The still image here is a good example of how darkness can change the atmosphere, this is because you cannot tell where the boy is and it gives the film a sense of mystery to it. If the boy was in full light and you could see his surroundings then the audience would feel he is safer, the fact he cannot see around him gives the idea he is scared and in danger. Further more, the thought of being in darkness can make people feel uneasy and scared. This is because the audience is anticipating someone to come out of the darkness and possibly scare them, as this is almost a tradition for thriller/ horror genre films. Therefore this builds tension from the audience making the film full of suspense which is the aim of thrillers. Many people associate darkness with crime and violence, and this could be there first thoughts of the boy. Stereotypically a block origin boy hiding in the darkness could suggest he is hiding from police or someone he has hurt. This leaves the audience questioning the film just as it starts, as everyone is wondering why the young boy is hiding in the dark. Bullet Boy - Saul Dibb (2004)
Eyes Eyes can show the sanity of a person, many thrillers play on the sanity of the person, for instance in ‘Shutter Island’ the twist was that he insane. In the film they do a close up on his eyes a lot to give you hints he is mad, as his eyes could dart a lot. We don’t cannot tell this in the still image of this photo as he looks more angry than insane. Close ups of eyes are very common in films of the ‘thriller’ genre because they can portray that someone is being spied on or the person is a stalker. As well as this, eyes are used to show if someone is alive or not, for example if they blink then you know they are, however if you have a still of there eyes and they don’t move then you assume they’re dead. Directors use close ups of eyes as it is the most visible way of showing someone has died other than using blood or gore. People say you can see how people are feeling through looking at there eyes and this can give you an indication to the rest of the film, for instance in this film you can see he is angry as his pupils are raised and his eyebrows are low. Donnie Brasco - Mike Newell (1997)
Hidden Identity Phone Booth- Joel Schumacher (2002) Collateral - Michael Mann (2004) A good example of this is the use of sunglasses to show someone is hiding there true identity, and this is a common way to show who the bad guy is. The fact you cannot see all there face, means you cannot tell exactly what there feeling like and this leads to a sense of mystery to the character. The two man are both in nice suits in the film, this shows they have power or seek power and this could help us know why they do the horrible things they do. In both shots the background is out of focus, in Collateral everyone is, however in Phone Booth the assistant is holding two phones behind the guy, this shows that both the men are important to the film as everyone else is out of focus or behind them.
Mirrors Drive - Nicolas Winding Refn (2011) Mirrors are used a lot in thriller opening title sequences, especially car mirrors to show a bit of the main character. This is a very mysterious shot as it doesn’t give anything away apart from a little bit of his face. The darkness of the shot leaves the audience wondering what he is about to do, building anticipation as the shot carries on of him driving, this is what all good thrillers do. The idea of the mirror shot gives the audience clues to his personality as he is very casually driving and the driving gloves could show a certain type of class which you don’t expect from criminals. Thrillers use mirrors as way of showing someone's identity but also distorting it so you don’t directly look at the main character, leaving you wondering what he fully looks like and how he is feeling.
Black and White Titles Mesmerine OTS - Jean-Francois Richet (2008) Bullet Boy - Saul Dibb (2004) In almost every Thriller film the titles are always black and white at the start of the movie. More often than not, they change in time with the music, normally a classical piece. The idea of black and white writing could show the difference between good and bad, as black is associated with death, crime and emptiness. White can represent peace, innocence and purity, the two diverse colours could show how the film has good and bad in it. I believe this because most thrillers are to do with crime and you are either good or bad, and if you are bad then you can get into trouble and if you are white (innocent) then it is fine. You notice this within some thriller films as the good person is in a bright white area and the bad person is lurking in the dark trying not to be seen as he could be doing something wrong for instance a crime. As well as this, in Bullet boy they flip the colours around making the white the background, this is could show the film is different from the normal thriller and this makes the audience question what is happening in the film right from the beginning.
Narrative Themes The Thriller genre stereotypically has a narrative of a villain and a hero, and it is there job to stop the villain succeeding, more recent thrillers take on this narrative and sometimes flip it round leaving the audience guessing what will happen next. Furthermore the narrative normally includes ordinary people which get put in situations they would never imagine, this is done so the audience can relate to the audience as it could happen to any one of them. Thrillers narrative always have a start, middle and end. The start normally introduces the start of the narrative by giving the clues with props or sounds. The middle is where the plot starts to unfold and the end is where the final twist and the climax of the film happens leaving the audience shocked. A good example of this is “Sixth Sense” where you found the man is a ghost at the end of the film. Sub-Genre’s • The Thriller genre is different from some other as it can also be part of other different smaller genres, this is called Sub-Genres or hybrid genres. A good example of this is the “Bourne” trilogy which is a mix of two genres – Action and Thriller. Sometime you put on a film and believe it is another genre but start to see conventions of a thriller in the film, directors do this to attract wider audiences, as film can appeal to two different types of audiences. As well as this you can see a mix of thriller and other genres in lots of films, the main ones include: • Physiological Thrillers e.g. Cape Fear • Action Thrillers e.g. The Bourne Trilogy • Crime Thrillers e.g. Seven • Horror Thrillers e.g. Paranormal Activity • Religious Thrillers e.g. The Da Vinci Code • Conspiracy Thrillers e.g. JFK • Disaster Thrillers e.g. 2012 • Techno Thrillers e.g. Matrix • Political Thrillers e.g. State of Play
Historical Background The first Thriller movies weren’t as hi-tech as they are today, this was due to the technology not being around to make the effects we see today. For example films started in black and white and are now high definition, with over a thousand colours, making the movie seem like real life. Furthermore the first thrillers didn’t even have a soundtrack at all, but after a while a live orchestra would play over the top of the film and this would be record. In the present, soundtracks are edited to fit directly with the change of the film and effects are used to changed the soundtrack and also they can now fade it out or use other transition effects. The Thriller Genre has been around since 1923 and was one of the first genres when film came out. The difference in film has changed massively of the years due to the technology and the ides especially from Alfred Hitchcock which has changed Thriller films completely. Gives you clues about the narrative As a modern day viewer I couldn’t imagine watching a Thriller film without the sound of guns or the effects used to show the death, for instance blood splattering or the flash the gun makes. This is only one small example of how the Thriller Genre has changed as many affects are now used to define a modern Thriller film that wasn’t captured in old fashioned films, for example the constant change of cinematography, from one shot or another giving you clues about the narrative, as before it was one long shot.
The audience over the change in film technology have had to adapt very quickly, for instance in 1895 the first moving picture in a cinema was called the “Arrival of a train at a La Ciotat” A train coming up to the camera, the audience thought it was a real life and ran out the cinema believing they were about to be run over. This shows the change in attitudes as now the audience sits there throughout a film watching things flying towards the camera and not even blinking. This shows the massive changes in how a audience reacts to the change in technology. Alfred Hitchcock was an English producer and film director who famously completely changed the rules on the Thriller Genre and the difference in films changed massively. Known as the “Master of Thriller” he created films which created anticipation and suspense using such techniques as long pauses which he used long enough to make the audience feel uncomfortable but not bored. A good example of this is from his most famous film “Physco” where after the shower killing there was a long pause on the women’s eye to signify death. His other technique which changed Thrillers was the idea of creating “red-herrins” which are parts of the plot which later become useful to the narrative, this leaves the audience guessing and therefore entertained throughout the film. These two techniques are now used to identify a modern Thriller and this connotes how much Alfred Hitchcock influenced modern day Thrillers. 000
Characters Antagonist/ protagonist The villain (antagonist) is normally perceived as very intelligent making the hero less likely to be able to outwit or escape the situation the villain has put them in. An antagonist could also be someone who is mentally ill, this is sometimes used as it creates suspense as you don’t know what the villain could do next and could also be an explanation to why they are doing something horrible. There identity is sometimes hidden at the start of the film to create suspense, also having there face hidden also tells you they’re the villain as they could be committing a crime and want no one to see them. A typical thriller hero or protagonist is courageous and tries to stop the villain (antagonist) from doing something terrible. The hero can be a man or women but are normally athletic as there is a lot of running, jumping and ducking involved. Main characters in thrillers are placed in menacing situations from which escape seems impossible, and this is where the film creates “Thrills”. Often the heroes are ordinary folk who are drawn into danger unknowingly or unwillingly, making the movie more interesting for the audience as it normally happens to them. The film normally plays on the protagonists dark past or some kind of flaw either physically or mentally that the antagonist uses against him.
Mise en Scene Different features the Mise en Scene include: Setting/ Location/ Set design Figure/ Facial Expression Costumes/ Makeup Lighting/ Colour Props The Mise en Scene is used in Thriller in lots of different ways, the attention to detail can create different emotions for the audience or help explain the narrative. For instance props, location, costumes and expressions can show the narrative of the character and if he is a protagonist or antagonist. The lighting, colour and setting can change the feeling of the audience for instance if the actor is walking in a dark place then it could show he is in danger and this leaves the audience anxious. Furthermore the Mise en Scene is used to define a typical
