What Is A Thriller Film? - Miss Georgiou

What is a thriller film?

Throughout thriller films various codes and conventions are employed to help portray the story line of the film and to create a great impact on the viewers. Low key lighting which is used to create shadows and isolated settings are both included to evoke a mysterious feel upon the viewer and to enhance their experience while watching the film. Fast cuts and face pace editing is used to create chaos and panic within the film where as slow pace editing is used to extend the scene and to drag out the audiences suspense and anticipation. Different shots are used to show different angles of a scene. Close up shots are used to portray a characters emotions to the audience or to show the significance of a particular object. High angle and low angle shots are used to exploit the supremacy of a particular character which helps the viewers to pinpoint the protagonist and the antagonist. A general theme for thrillers is that males are the antagonists as they are seen as the stronger gender whereas females are usually the victims as they are more innocent and vulnerable. The sounds in a thriller are there to create added effect upon the audience. Natural sounds are employed so that the viewers feel as though they are in the scene which increases their suspense levels, this also happens when silence is used as the viewers are left anticipating the outcome. The main target audience for a thriller film is people aged 15 and over and is generalised to the male population more than the females.

At the beginning of the opening of Saw low key lighting is used when the man is in the bath. This means the audience are not introduced to the character or the setting immediately which leaves them curious as to what is happening and where it is happening. Once the camera zooms out the audience are provided with a shot of the surroundings but are left feeling on edge as they are unaware of the location. The low key lighting also creates an eerie and mysterious atmosphere which is increased by the fact the man also doesn't know where he is. In result this leaves the audience anticipating for the lights to go on and for the location to be revealed.

Also at the beginning of the scene natural sounds are used when the audience hear the water in the bath. This makes the experience for the audience more realistic as they feel as though they are also in the same situation as the man. This means their suspense levels are increased and they are anticipating for the next sequence of events to begin so that they are returned to their comfort zone. Along with the natural sounds, non-diegetic sounds of an ambient soundtrack are edited on top, creating an eerie atmosphere and the audience begin to panic as they feel as though they are in danger and with the realistic atmosphere become frightened and await the reassurance that they are safe.

Close up shots are employed once the men realise there is a dead body in the room. There is a close up shot of the dead mans head then cassette player and then finally the gun, both that he is holding. These shots are combined by fast straight cuts and are used to portray to the viewers the significance of each item. The fast pace editing of the three shots causes the audience to panic and feel cautious as to what their significance is. They therefore anticipate the following sequence of events and are shocked at what they have been presented with.

The position of the dead man laying in the middle of the room means the audience are unaware of his identity. All they are presented with is a body that is covered in blood and that is holding a cassette player and gun. This therefore intrigues the viewers as they are curious as to who the person is and why he has those certain items. It also allows the audience to feel more involved in the film and have a more hands on role as they are left guessing the reasons that he is there.

The opening sequence of the film helps to define the genre because of the specific codes and conventions used. This allows the audience to know exactly what they are watching. I can use the Saw film to help me plan my own thriller film as I can use some of the codes and conventions employed and produce ideas from the narrative.

In the opening scene of The Woman In Black there are three female children who are playing with their toys. They are dressed in old fashioned, lightly coloured dresses which gives the audience the impression that they are angelic. The children are told what to do by the woman and therefore have no authority, so they are represented as the innocent victims who have a lower level of power than the woman. This makes the audience feel uncomfortable as the children are the victims which they see as immoral and therefore the whole experience unfortunately feels realistic to them. This then increases their anticipation and provides them with a great shock as the children then jump out the window. The antagonist is dressed in all black which creates a mysterious atmosphere upon the viewers. They become curious to find out who the woman is as they believe she is dangerous. In this scene the woman is also higher up than the children who were playing on the floor, which clarifies her higher state of power. The audience therefore feel disgusted at the fact that someone of that level of maturity has committed something so dissolute. This is conventional to a thriller film as innocent females are usually the victims and the antagonists identity is not yet revealed at this point of a film.

The scene begins with the children playing with their toys and having a tea party which seems completely normal to the audience until the children look directly at the camera in sync. This builds the viewers suspense as they are curious as to what the children are looking at and why. The audience are then presented with the children looking towards the window and they then stand up and progress towards it, dropping and braking their toys on the way. This shocks the audience as they are aware of how important toys are to children and in result leaves them thinking what could be leading them astray. The children then open the window which further distresses the viewer as it is an unlikely action for a young child to do. At this point the viewers are on the edge of their seats anticipating the outcome of the scene. The children then jump out the window and the audience hear a scream from their distraught mother. The audience respond by feeling shocked and confused as to what just happened and are left guessing. Viewers who have children would feel more effected and therefore the experience will feel almost too realistic for them. The death of the children is not conventional to a thriller film as the viewers do not get a glimpse of their bodies.

The non-diegetic sound of the soundtrack edited on top gets louder and more dramatic as the scene progresses. It builds up to the children jumping out the window and allows the audience to progress with them. This makes the audience feel more and more uncomfortable and the tension builds within them. The diegetic sound of the screaming shocks the audience and makes the whole experience become more realistic. They wonder why the children jumped and are astonished at the final outcome, which is the deaths. The kuleshov effect is employed when the children look at the woman, then at the window, and are possessed almost as if they are like their dolls, as they have become the woman's puppets. This makes the audience feel even more uncomfortable as they come to terms with the fact the children are possessed. The use of the effect also frightens the audience as they become emotionally distressed because of the children involved. The editing of the scene means that the children are able to see the woman when the audience can not. This leaves the audience feeling curious and nervous as to who or what is there and why they are possessing the children. The editing is conventional to a thriller film as the audience are left in the dark and do not know as much as the characters in the film.

Shock, suspense and surprise is employed throughout the opening of The Woman In Black. In the scene the children's behaviour drastically changes as they go from playing to being led astray. The audience find this unusual and therefore their suspense levels increase as they are left wondering what is yet to come. As the children progress towards the window they drop and crush their toys. This is extremely unusual as children build bonds with their toys and therefore would not intentionally brake them. This therefore surprises the viewer as they are left guessing the reasons for their actions. The music incorporated into the scene creates suspense within the viewer. The music also begins to increase in volume and as a result builds the tension. The audience are familiar with the use of music and therefore are left anticipating the shock of the scene as they are aware something will soon happen. Once the children reach the window they open it and in sync, jump out. This immediately shocks the viewer and they respond by feeling anxious and scared as to whether the children are dead and why this occurrence happened.

As the scene begins a shallow focus shot is employed of the tea set. This shot is used to grip the audiences attention to this particular object and therefore portrays its significance within the scene. The audience feel comforted as it is a shot of a children's toy and therefore do not expect the next events to occur. When the children look towards the woman a long shot is used. This allows the audience to see the children's surroundings and become familiar with the location. The room is a children's nursery and as a result the audience do not expect anything drastic to happen. The medium shot included of the children's upper body as they walk towards the window allows the audience to see their blank facial expressions. The viewers in result understand how they are now possessed and witness how they, in sync, jump out of the window.

The research I have conducted to create this post has allowed me to now be fully aware of all the components necessary to produce a thriller film. This will therefore mean that I now have the knowledge to produce my own quality thriller opening when it comes to the point when I have to. I know to include conventional components such as sound and character representation to enhance the experience the audience will be a part of when viewing my thriller opening.