Thriller films usually use suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements. This gives the viewer a high level of anticipation and uncertainty.  Camera movement Tracking and Pan shots is what’s commonly used in the beginning of thriller films, particularly a certain group of people who we should be interested in as the audience. There is also usually non diegetic sound playing in the background which adds to the tension and also could create a sound bridge when jumping from one scene to the other.

During a thriller film the protagonist faces death, his and/or her or somebody else's for example in ‘Skyfall’ James Bond is faced with death when he is shot during a fight on top of a train. Another common convention is that the force of the antagonistic must initially be cleverer or stronger than the protagonist therefore building suspense and uncertainty about whether or not the protagonist will succeed in the end.

Mise en scene is a French phrase meaning the arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted. A good example of this would be in ‘Sky fall’ in the intro scene where Bond is chasing the men who stole a hard drive from the laptop Bond was looking for. In this scene they are driving through an Arabic market. The Arabic market is made more realistic by the use of well-placed extras, food on stalls and old buildings. All of these add to the realism being created along with the police and crashes.

The Editing for Thrillers conventionally use a lot of jump cuts. This is used a lot because the film is very fast moving so there are multiple things all happening at once. The jump cuts allow the audience to see all the different events that are happening and let them make assumptions as to what is going to happen next with the events and the characters. The cutting rate always seems to speed up as a climax in the story is reached and then slows down towards the end or when the story becomes more settled.

In Thrillers they typically use a lot of non-diegetic sound which helps create a certain atmosphere. For example in Sky Fall when Bond is chasing the villain non-diegetic is added to convince the audience that Bond is in Arabia and not on a film set.

Thriller conventions         Notes:

 

Camera work

Typical shots     

Mid shots - reactions   emotions

Close ups - involvement, concealment, claustrophobic

 

Compositions 

Exclusion of objects to create tension

Camera movement and angles - low and high angle shots, power, authority, empathy and 1^st person.

 

Editing

Typical transitions    dissolves, link events     fades to black or white to show flash backs  

Quick cuts create tension.

 

How editing is used to show structure and narrative:

Use of flash backs and duel narrative.

Non chronological builds tension.

 

Thriller convention, people’s roles in the making of the movie

I dent, lion roaring, the film company.

Introduce key characters and tension should build and create an atmosphere.

A snippet of the plot

 
Create an unsettling feeling

 

Sound

Non diegetic sound is used to create tension and atmosphere.   

Music, radio, not often complete songs, ambient style.

Better to avoid dialogue so use a voice over.

 

Mise en scene.

Props hint the plot, knives and guns connote danger.

Setting, realism often isolated places

Male is usually in charge and the killer is usually male.

Woman are usually distressed and need saving from the male.

Lighting, use of light and dark builds atmosphere, either really dark or really bright lights.

 

Typical storyline.

Ideas about revenge, justice and crime, (start with a criminal act and the film will be about figuring it out.

Flash back or flash forward.

Things don’t follow in a logical sequence, connotes something disturbing.

 

Sub genres.

Techno , crime, super natural, film noir, psychological, medical, religious, action, spy, mystery, political, Si-fi, disaster, romance, eco.