A thriller is a movie genre which uses mystery and tension to create anticipation and suspense. Thriller movies are designed to keep the audience constantly alert and on edge because anything could happen. Thrillers usually contain some sort of twist in the story which is usually unexpected and changes the overall outcome of the thriller. There are numerous sub genres of thriller movies all of which are based on a different basic storyline, for example there are crime thrillers, mystery thrillers and psychological thrillers which are probably the most common type of thriller because of there popularity.
Thriller movies also use numerous different camera angles and shot types to get certain information across to the audience, for example camera angles can be used to show power or weakness within characters. Power or Weakness of characters can be shown to the audience by using different camera angles, if they wanted to portray a character as powerful they would lower the camera so that it is looking up at the character, if they canted to make a character appear weak they would raise the camera and have it looking down on the character. Although this is a basic method it is widely and frequently used because it is such an easy way of differentiating characters power.
Also a very common convention used in thriller movies is showing the emotion and reaction of a character. Showing the characters emotion is a very important part of a thriller movie because thriller movies are designed to mess with your mind. To show the audience a characters emotion they will usually use a close up or extreme close-up of the characters face. This is very effective because it allows the audience to partly understand what the character is thinking and in some situations it can create an emotional attachment. The same method of using a close-up or extreme close-up can also be used to show the reaction of a character. In a thriller it is very important to capture the characters reaction because it is one of the best ways of showing there state of mind, for example if someone is scared and they are startled they are going to have a much bigger reaction than someone who is feeling fine.
Editing is also a very large part of thriller movies because editing allows lighting, sounds, video effects, titles and clip transitions to be added. Lightings, sounds, video effects and clip transitions are very important to thriller movies because they are some of the key conventions which can be used to edit the way a thriller movie is portrayed.
Lighting is very important because it can be used to completely change the atmosphere of a scene, for example the producer/ director wanted the scene to be as creepy/ eerie as possible they would darken the scene so that the audience cannot see everything but because most people relate darkness to danger and horror etc. Sound is also very important because it can be used to build tension and drama, for example if something big is going to happen dramatic music can be added into the scene to prepare the audience for what is going to happen but to also add tension.
In most thrillers the clip transition is usually a straight cut because it is quick and straight to the point. Also if used in such a way straight cuts can be used to build tension and suspense, for example changing the camera shots quickly can create the effect that something important is going on and it can create the effect of speed, used frequently in chase scenes and fighting scenes. Different clip transitions can be used to give different effects, for example the fade to black/ white or fade from black/ white is quite popular within thriller movies because it can give the effect of time changing or location changing.
Video editing plays a massive part in creating thriller movies because it allows the footage to be edited so that it appears as the director/ products wants it to be. Also having the capability of being able to edit footage is a large advantage because it takes some of the stress of filming away, for example the lighting can be edited on a computer. Video editing also allows effects to be added over the footage, for example footage can be edited so that it meets the requirements of the director/ producer. Certain effects can be used to build up tension because it can completely transform the atmosphere of a scene, for example washout tinting sucks the colours out of the footage and makes it much more eerie and creepy.
Mise-en-scene is very important to all movie genres but it is also widely used in thriller genres. Mise-en-scene can range from anything from props, clothing, background and foreground props etc. Background and foreground props are items which are placed a scene to build up the atmosphere and make the scene appear more realistic. They are very important to thriller movies because thriller movies are all about building up the tension and atmosphere and one of the best ways of doing that is by building up an effective surrounding. Props are also very important in thriller movies because different props can be used to create different types of tension and action, for example a weapon creates drama and tension because the audience knows what the prop is capable of but they don’t know how the character is going to use it. Clothing is also a very important part of thriller movies because it allows the audience to differentiate and learn about a character purely through what he is wearing, for example if a character is wearing a jacket, shirt and tie the audience will know that the character is well organised and has probably been to work or somewhere important.
What key elements does a thriller opening need?
All thriller openings need to be able to grab their audience’s attention from the start. To do this they will usually uncover a large part of the story straight away to keep the audience on edge, for example in the movie ‘Memento’ the first scene is actually how the movie ends. They do this because then the audience wants to watch on because they want to know what happened previously which lead to ending. Although this is a good convention it is still not enough to keep the audience fully engrossed in the movie, to do that they need to use methods such as camera angles/ shots, lighting, sound, editing, mise-en-scene, narration ect to build up a good atmosphere so that the audience wants to watch on. Most of the techniques which I have just listed are covered above in detail and below I have mentioned how we used the techniques in our own thriller opening. Below is a list of key elements which are needed to create an effective thriller opening...
- A thriller movie opening should capture the audience’s attention and imagination, to do this usually something important or interesting will happen early on in the film.
- The opening scene to a thriller should be very atmospheric, this grabs the audiences attention but it also gives the audience an insight into what sort of movie it is going to turn out to be, for example if it is a horror thriller then the opening scene may be dark and dingy with scary sound in the background to prepare the audience for what is going to happen.
- It is also very common for the main characters to be introduced early on in a thriller movie. This technique is used because it allows the story to start early on and it gives the audience time to learn about the character and how they feel/ react.
What conventions have we used in our thriller
We decided to make a crime thriller because they are slightly easier to create compared to mystery and psychological thrillers which can be quite hard to create because of the effects needed. Crime thrillers are much easier to create because there are much more situations which can be incorporated and locations/ props are much easier to organise and incorporate into the thriller. Also because it was easier to set out and organise it allowed us more time to make the thriller opening as realistic as possible. To make it as realistic as possible we tried to write our script so it was as professional as possible and it all made sense. When we were filming we also repeated scenes over and over until we were happy with the outcome and it was as realistic as it could be.
In our thriller we used a number of different camera angles because we wanted to show the scenes from as much angles as possible and keep the audience engaged and interested which is much harder to do if the same camera angles are repeated over and over; we tried to use camera angles which portrayed the hostage as weak and vulnerable and angles which portrayed the interrogator as if he was in control. To do this we used angles which either looked up at the interrogator from the hostage’s perspective or angles which looked down at the hostage from the interrogators perspective. We also used camera shots which allowed the viewer to see the expressions on the hostages face as he was being questioned; this allows the viewer to get an insight into how the hostage is feeling and what he is going through there mind, it also allows them to get emotionally attached to the character and understand what they are feeling inside. Also other common camera shots we used included both the hostage and the interrogator in the scene; this allows the viewer to see both the hostages and interrogators actions and reaction. For example the last scene shows the interrogator pointing a gun at the hostages head; we can see the interrogator looking down at the hostage as if he was in power and the hostage looking up at the interrogator as if he was weak and in his mercy.
When we were editing our footage we either used fade to black/ white or straight cuts between clips. For the clips which included images, photos or credits we used the fade to black/ white effect because it gives the effect that the scene is either in the past or future. The straight cuts between the footage are basic but effective, its quick and it gives the effect of drama because of camera’s changing between each other quickly. This type of editing is very common within conventional thrillers because they also usually use an effect of some kind when trying to portray the past or future and they usually use straight cuts between camera shots. Also when we edited out footage we made it black and white because the scenes were not as dark as we were hoping and the black and white gives the effect of a dark/ eerie location which is difficult to create with coloured footage. Also we made the credits/ documentation black and white to match the rest of the footage, we also altered the darkness, exposure and brightness of the clips, the clips which show the hostage and the interrogator are pure black and white but the title’s and the documentation clips have had the exposure, colour and brightness altered to give an unusual effect of black and white. This gave us the atmospheric feeling we were looking for because it prepares the audience for what is coming.
Also the sound which we included in the thriller opening is very eerie and mysterious; we decided to use this type of music because it builds up suspense because the music hints to something important happening in the near future. The music is also quite ‘sad’ and ‘depressing’ which adds to the overall atmosphere because it sets the scene as dark, unpleasant, troublesome etc and the viewers know something bad is going to happen soon. . Music is very important because it is one of the elements which is used to build up the tension in a scene, music alone can change the atmosphere of a scene because it can be used to set the mood and express the feeling of the characters in the scene, this is why it is so important.
The clothing we use in the scene varies differently between the two different characters. The hostage is wearing casual clothing which indicates that he was up to every day business until we was abducted. The interrogator on the other hand is wearing very formal clothing which indicates that he is organised/ prepared. This distinction between characters is important because it allows the audience to differentiate the characters apart as well as getting an insight into what they are like.
When creating our crime thriller we decided that our location would be isolated and secluded because that builds tension and anticipation. We also decided that the location has to be reasonably small and dark so it creates the effect of claustrophobia and mystery. In the end we decided to film our thriller opening in a shed. The reason why we decided to film our thriller opening in a shed is because sheds are common places and they could be anywhere, you will only ever see the inside of the shed in the opening so you will not have a clue what is outside the shed. This creates tension because the audience will not have a clue where the scene is being filmed. A shed can also be a creepy location if the lighting and mise-en scene is carefully decided.
The main props we used in the scene was the gun and the document which is held by the interrogator and shown to the hostage. The document is used to keep the story going because the interrogator is trying to get more information out of the hostage. The gun on the other hand is very dramatic and it builds tension because without warning the interrogator pulls out a gun and aims it towards the hostages head. This builds tension because the audience knows what the gun is capable and they may begin to feel sorry for the hostage because is cannot get away and he may just be about to be killed.
The only other mise-en scene we included in the scene was a few tools in the corner of the shed and hung on the wall. This symbolises that the shed is an everyday location but the tools in the shed could also be used in a way they normally wouldn’t, they could be used for violence, torture etc. The only other piece of mise-en scene which was in the scene was sheets covering the windows to the shed. This prevented the hostage and audience from being able to see out of the shed as well as people seeing into the shed. The covers add tension and isolation to the scene because it completely cuts off the outside world to the hostage and the audience.
The thriller Se7en influenced our opening greatly, although it is not a crime thriller opening it still uses the same sort of lighting, se7en used dark mysterious lighting which is usually produced from some kind of artificial light, our light source was a lamp located in the corner of the shed facing towards the hostage, it gave out a very similar light effect as the lighting used in se7en. We also used similar sound effect to create tension and grab the audience from the start. For example the credits at the beginning of Se7en are created using props such as notes/ books etc. We used a very similar effect for our opening credits, we used newspaper cuttings to create our names, and we then edited the photos and messed with the lighting to give them a much more effective finish. We also gained inspiration from crime thrillers such as ‘Layer Cake’ and ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ because they use similar locations and mise-en scene as out thriller. For example they use isolated locations which are mysterious, they also use mise-en scene such as weapons.
I believe that our thriller opening uses most of the conventional methods and effects which most thriller movies follow. We have built up the tension early on so that we can catch the audience’s attention and keep them interested. To grab the audience’s attention we have used conventions such as lighting and sounds to build up a creepy, scary atmosphere which close resembles the atmosphere from popular thriller movies such as se7en. Also thought-out the opening we tried to capture the characters emotions and reactions so that the audience can feel what they are feeling and feel an emotion attachment to the character, this techniques is very common to thriller movies because thriller movies are designed to get into the audiences mind and make them feel what the characters are feeling. We also edited the thriller very similar to the editing techniques of famous thriller movies such as se7en and Memento.
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