Research:What is a thriller?

What are genres and why is it important to know this?

 Genres are different forms of films they are groups that any film could fall into depending on the narrative of the film, and the emotional objective. genres are important because you want to know the concept of the film your watching. Also you want to gain an understanding from the directors perspective from the genre they have chosen.

What is a thriller

A thriller is a type of genre that uses tension and suspense to give the audience a lot of anticipation. a thriller always gives a sudden rush of emotions,excitement and exhilaration.

The UNBORN is an example of a horror-thriller this picture is used to appeal to the audience by.....

•the dark cold,pale,misty lighting to show that the theme of the film will be mysterious and overwhelming.

•the protagonist is wearing white which is a pure colour to show she's the victim in the situation and that she is the main character.

•the antagonists facial are hard to make out which gives the audience uncertainty and makes them uncomfortable.

Sub-genres of thrillers

sub-genres are stems of a classic or mainstream genre. They are two genres merged together but mostly showing the classical genre that it comes under. For example thriller is a mainstream genre and a sub genre of a thriller would be an mystery-thriller, action-thriller or a psychological-thriller.

For example a action-thriller 

A psychological thriller 

Common themes of a thriller-
death
religon
kidnapp
stalking
obsession
revenge
 

codes and conventions of a thriller are the common features that are used in thrillers to appeal to the audience and are typically of a thriller film.
 

Cinematography -Thrillers have a wide range of movement, size and camera angles. When a person in a thriller is running the camera is usually in a point of view shot, giving a feeling of being with that person.Also if in a thriller the protagonist is terrified a close up shot would be used to show the emotion. Or at the beginning of the film if the location of where the thriller is based wants to be shown a wide shot is used.

Mise on scene

Lighting- low key lighting is used in thrillers to show when danger is approaching or the feelings of the protagonist. It also creates a feeling of not knowing what's hidding in the dark.

Setting-most settings are in the woods or locked up somewhere away from civilisation. This makes the audience sympathize with the protagonist because if they were in that situation they wouldn't  find help to escape the antagonist.

Costume- the protagonist wears innocent and quiet colours such as white, blue or yellow to present them as vulnerable and helpless. On the other hand  the antagonist would wear colours such as red or black because the colour signify evil, death and bad activity.

Iconography -There are some thrillers such as scream were the antagonist will wear a mask, this keeps the audience engaged into finding out who it may be. Also before a deserter strikes in a film there is a piece of iconography that is show before, there is a build up of anticipation from the moment the audience see it. For example in a thriller a knife could be show but a few seconds later it could be missing. It makes you question where it could have gone and who is going to use it.   

Sound editing-sound is used in thrillers to create tension and to show movement getting bigger.Most of the sounds used would be a creaking door, screams, blowing wind, footsteps and heavy breathing.

Who is the general audience for thrillers?

15 is the age that most thrillers can be show to. Teenagers are at an age where they need something exciting to keep them entertained. Thrillers gives a lot of adrenaline and most teenagers will appreciate that. Also there are some characters in thrillers that teenagers can relate to and it makes them more interested.

Audience response to thrillers.

There are a lot of different responses depending on the age group of people. For instance the majority of teenagers enjoy thrillers because they can handle the adrenaline. Whereas the elderly would find thrillers rather disturbing and uncomfortable to watch because certain scenes could be Heart wrenching.

Conclusion how has it helped my understanding of thrillers and the coursework requirement?

My research has helped my understanding of thrillers because now I know different types of sub-genres from thrillers and how the codes and conventions are used in them. This has given me knowledge for when I create my own thriller using similar camera angles and sounds for different purposes of the film. I have also developed an understanding of the structure of thrillers and what should happen at what stage in the Film creating suspense and fast paced action.