Task 1; Conventions of a Thriller

Protagonist

Thriller Conventation

Antagonist

Black & white shots

Low-key lighting

Quick cuts

Shadows

Creepy sounds

Based at night

Suspense

Tension music

Protagonist

The protagonist in thrillers are more likely going to be women
The protagonist will stay alive despite threats of death

Creepy Sounds

Sounds like;

screams
creaky doors
footsteps

Silence may also be used to create tenseness.

Black and white shots

Film noir a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace.

Shadows

Shadows create mystery
Shadow is the shadow of the antagonist (threat) normally

Antagonist

The antagonist in thriller is more likley to be male
The antagonists identity may remain a mystery untill the end

Suspense

Suspense is something used in almost all thriller films and can be made by different sounds, fast face music and silence.

Quick Cuts

Quick cuts are used to convey a lot of information very quickly, or to imply either energy or chaos.

Low-Key Lighting

Low-key lighting creates a mystery as in thrillers sometimes the dark is what to fear therefore the light source is farily importance for the protagonist.

Music

Music in thriller normally indicates that something is going to happen (Fast pace music in particular is used in thrillers to create tension and alert of a sudden jump scare and/or disclose the antagonist)

THRILLER CASE STUDIES

Psycho

Psycho is a 1960 American psychological slasher film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock.

Although Psycho has been listed as a thriller film, this movie is part of the slasher sub-genre which is a mixture of thriller and horror and the reason for that is because of the codes and conventions it follows.

Psycho follows the codes and conventions of a thriller film however in a thriller normally the main protagonist is likely to stay alive however in Psychos famous shower scene the main protagonist Marion Crane is killed and that is what makes this film a slasher.

Despite the convention that puts the movie into the horror genre, the overall movie follows the codes and conventions of a thriller. The first code and convention that fits into the thriller genre is that usually the protagonist female and made clear from the beginning of the movie - in Psycho this is Marion Crane.

In contrary, the antagonist is usually male and his identity isn't revealed near the movie - in Psycho this is Norman Bates. There are many reasons the protagonist is female and the antagonist is male and it is all down to traditional representation of gender. For example, men are seen as strong and powerful whereas women are weak and easy to manipulate and prey on. This is seen when Norman Bates uses a 'sad story' to bond closely to Marion Crane before murdering her.

Another code and convention is the location of the hotel in Psycho. The isolated building leaves viewers scared for the protagonists life as Marion is stranded in the middle of nowhere. The whole situation also leaves the viewers of Psycho insecure as Norman and Marion's friendship wasn't genuine as Norman wanted to commit foul play.

What Lies Beneath

What Lies Beneath is a 2000 psychological thriller film directed by Robert Zemeckis.

What Lies Beneath has been listed as a thriller film, it has sub genre of being a psychological thriller. The reasons for being listed in the genre is because of the

codes and conventions it follows.

For example, the first conventions is the roles of the protagonist and antagonist. In thrillers, females are known to be the protagonist and males take the role of the antagonist. In What Lies Beneath the protagonist is female which means the film follows the traditional representation of gender as females are represented as weak individuals who cannot fend for themselves in flight or fight situations, the representation of women allow the male antagonist to be represented as manipulative but a strong character. In What Lies Beneath there is infact another character who could be first seen as an antagonist and that is the ghost of Madison. This character haunts and possesses Claire the protagonist but actually is helping Claire to un-bury the truth bout her and her death.

The second convention is the psychological aspect of the film. A psychological thriller is a thriller story which emphasizes the psychology of its characters and their unstable emotional states. In What Lies Beneath the thriller aspect is the haunting of the main character Claire and her mission to find out the truth. Normally in psychological films something messes with the characters head and in What Lies Beneath, it is the ghost of Madison - a student of her husband Norman. The suspicion of death emerge when Claire thinks her neighbor has been murdered by her husband and that is when Madison begins to haunt her and leaves her clues and puzzles to explore. Superstition is common in psychological movies as it is a conversational topic on whether there really is life after death or if ghosts are just an illusion of the mind also superstition leave viewers feeling on edge in there homes and leave thoughts of ghosts making the viewer more vulnerable of scaring themselves .

The Pelicans Brief

The Pelican Brief is a 1993 conspiracy thriller film directed by Alan J. Pakula. The film is based on the novel of the same name by John Grisham.

The Pelican Brief has been listed as a thriller film, it has sub genre of being a conspiracy thriller. The film may also be a sub-genre in spy or political as the main protagonist has information she shouldn't.

The reasons for being listed in the genre is because of the codes and conventions it follows. First convention is the protagonists in conspiracy (spy/political) thriller films, normally they are female and in The Pelican Brief the protagonist is female. The reason the protagonist is female is because of traditional representations of women being weak and defenseless however Julia Roberts character Darby Shaw tries crush the tradition as her female character is smart but on the run from multiple antagonists who try to assassinate her for silence - this is the next convention.

In this genre it isn't uncommon that the antagonist remains a mystery until the end and in The Pelican Brief, there are seemly multiple mystery antagonists that try to murder Darcy Shaw. The reason for this is for the 'whodunit' narrative which creates tension and distrust for not only the protagonist but the audience too.

The last convention for the this conspiracy/spy/political thriller is the chase sequence. These scenes are often seen is the genre of spy/action films to create tension and worry of no safety however as this film veers towards multiple sub genres the use of the chase scene reinforces the fear for the protagonist as she unintentionally wanders into dangerous grounds.

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Seven

Seven is a 1995 American crime thriller movie directed by David Fincher and is one of the thriller films that can be considered the closest to being a horror movie as it features a serial killer.

Seven has been listed as a thriller film and it has a sub genre of being a crime thriller. The reasons for being listed in the genre is because of the codes and conventions it follows. The first convention is that it isn't unusual in crime based films is that there are two protagonists. In Seven Morgan Freemans character William Somerset is partnered with Brad Pitts character David Mills and together they both offer skills and abilities to solve cases. The reason for this is that it allows the audience to see the teamwork thrive and for the characters to understand themselves and each other.

The next convention is that normally in thrillers the protagonists don't die and more than likely the protagonist is female however in Seven the protagonists are both male and aren't in direct danger as the mystery killer was killing people who have committed any of the 7 deadly sins.