Thriller

1. Thriller • Dillllllon Bartelds

2. The thriller genre- overview • These are films that create emotions for the viewers, such as excitement, fear for the character, and high anticipation at certain times during the film. • The basic structure of a thriller/suspense film would be: • The central character often is an ordinary person- thrown into the plot. • He then is put into situations by the villain, that create these ‘cliff hangers’ for the viewer. • Thriller is a broad genre that has different sub-genres, such as. • Action/adventure thrillers • Si-fi thrillers • Crime thrillers • Western thrillers • Psychological thrillers • Film-noir thrillers • And even romance- comedy thrillers

3. History of the thriller genre • One of the earliest thrillers was ‘Safety Last’ shot in 1923, by Harold Lloyd. This was a daredevil stunt on the side of a sky scraper. Even though this was not an actual film, it is classed as a thriller because it created nerve-wrecking tension. • Then later on this genre became very popular in the 1930’s, with titles such as, ‘Murder in the Zoo’, ‘M’, ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. hyde’ and ‘The Bat Whisperer’. This genre started becoming more and more popular over time. • No list of thriller films is complete without a Alfred Hitchcock film. He was the master of suspense thrillers.

4. Hitchcock • Sir Alfred Hitchcock is Britain's best director and will probably always will be. He wasn’t only the ‘master of suspense’ but had created his own techniques for suspense that are still used by directors to this day. • In the 1940’s he experimented by making romantic • Comedies (Mr. & Mrs. Smith)(1941) to dark disturbing • Noir films (Shadow of Doubt) (1943), to courtroom • Dramas (The Paradine Case) (1947). • But he is most famous for his thriller films. His first one • was ‘The Lodger’ and made in 1926, when he was only 27. • This is a Classic, and started making Hitchcock’s work • apparent to the public.

5. An ordered List of popular thriller films, from 1926 to 1972. Found and sourced from TimeToast.

6. Thriller Hybrids and Subgenres • Action Thriller • Take any other thriller subgenre, give it’s defining elements a back seat, and focus on the action, and you have an action-thriller. This is more common in movies than novels because of the visual appeal of explosions and violence. • Conspiracy Thriller • In this subgenre the protagonist must confront a large, powerful organization whose threat only he sees. Usually he must do so alone. • Crime Thriller • This subgenre focuses on crime, and is usually from the criminal’s point of view. Physical action and eluding the police take the place of gathering evidence and trying to discover the criminal. • Disaster Thriller • In this subgenre a (usually) natural disaster is taking place, and the antagonist is either trying to stop the disaster, the extent of the disaster, or just save themselves before time runs out and the disaster has run its course. • Eco-Thriller • In this subgenre the protagonist must stop a threat to the environment (man-made or natural) that will have consequences for society if left unchecked. The damage could be local, but nation or even world-wide stakes are more dramatic. ;)

7. Forensic Thriller • In this subgenre the protagonist(s) are forensic scientists whose involvement in an unsolved crime threatens their lives. • Legal Thriller • This subgenre takes place in and around the courtroom. Usually the protagonist is a lawyer who has found their case threatening death for either them or their client. • Medical Thriller • This subgenre involves something usually used for medical purposes becoming a deadly weapon. Often it is a virus that is leaking out to the public. The protagonist or antagonist or both are doctors. • Mystery Thriller • This is a subgenre of both mysteries and thrillers. It differs from a regular mystery by being much more fast-paced, with the protagonist on the run and the threat of another crime serving as the “ticking clock.” • Political Thriller • In this subgenre political relations or the whole government is at stake, and the protagonist is employed by the government to stop the decline. The protagonist may have been low-level before having attracted attention. • Psychological Thriller • A personal favorite. In this subgenre a lot of the conflict is mental, rather than physical. The protagonist has become involved in a dangerous situation which literally threatens their sanity. They must use mental prowess to overcome their opponent, whether the battle is inside their own head or it a battle of wits. • Religious Thriller • This subgenre uses the history and myths of religion. Usually a religious artifact or historical secret is discovered, and different people and groups vie for control.

8. Narrative Themes and conversation • Narrative is defined as “a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship occurring over time”. • In a thriller the narrative is very restricted so a lot of the information is hidden to the audience. This is what makes suspense because any chain of event can happen to disadvantage the ‘hero’. • A director also plays with the audience as they will reveal some information and then create confusion when the plot twists and this limited information is no longer relevant in anyway.

9. Thriller character profile • Vladimir Propp’s seven character theory related to almost every film. • The hero: usually male, his task is to restore the narrative equilibrium. He does this by embarking upon a quest, although his is the centre of the villain attention. • The villain: creates the narrative disruption. • The donor: gives the hero an object, information or advise to help resolve the narrative. • The helper: aids the hero in restoring the narrative. • The princess: the character often most threatened by the villain. They have to be saved at one point; creating a climax. • The dispatcher: sends the hero on their task. • The false hero: Appears to be good but is revealed to be bad.

10. Mise-en-scene • This is the arrangement of everything on set, i.e. actors, lighting, décor, costumes and props. It is called this because it translates to ‘placing on stage’ in French. • Set design refers to how the décor is set. Comprising mainly of furniture, props and the set its self. • Lighting is an element in a film that promotes emotions. There are two types, low-key and high-key. • High-key lighting is often set for romantics, musicals and comedies. This is where there is an even lighting pattern, and there very minimal dark areas in screen. • Low-key lighting is often used in horror and thrillers movies. This is where there is both dark and bright areas on screen.

11. Costumes are to promote the character and set their job or role. Costumes are also used well in films to show someone's hierarchy and there status. They can also set the scene as in ‘Se7en’ we notice that the main characters are police investigators of some sort, because of their suits and overall posture.

12. Technical aspects • Camera Shots- These angles are typical for the thriller genre, because they promote the intensity of actions. • Bird eye/high angle. These angles look down on a character making him/her look vulnerable and powerless. • Close ups are used to show the actors • emotions and to capture detail in important • scenes. • Tracking/panning shots. This is a good • way to set the scene. They are also used to • show the actions and the speed of a • character, i.e. high speed car chases.

13. 13 • Tilted angle. Tilt shots add a lot of dramatic tension. They can also be used in a first person view to show what the victim is seeing. • Extreme long-shot. These shots are great to set the scene. If a town is deserted, long shots can create the feeling of loneliness. • Low angle. makes the villain seem intimidating as if they’re looking down upon you. • POV shot. This is where the shot is taken from the point of view from the character. These are very popular because it makes the audience emotionally attached to the character. For instance a if a gun was pointed directly at you this creates fear. • Over the shoulder. This is one of the best shots for tension, as we see whats happening in the same time as the actor, but we also see the actors emotions. • Zoom. This makes us apparent to small details that could be of value later on in the film.

14. 14 Editing • The beginning of a movie will often start with a non-diagetic song. Once the movie title has screened, this song fades out and the diagetic sound dominates the audio. This is done so that the audience gets a feel for the setting before the plot comes in. • Relevant text, such as the names for actors and the director will be creatively placed on screen in areas that will not take our view of the actions, but are still easily readable. They are often edited parallel to props- to make it pleasing for the eye. • When editing you need to make sure the clips flow. So that the actions from one carry on in the next- without jumping. For instance if a clip ends with the actors left foot forward , the start of the next will be with their left foot forward aswell. • There isn’t much to do with editing, as most of the complex effects were done when filming with mise-en-scene.

15. 15 • Sound- • What thriller films often do is have high tension scenes silent; with no audio. With so much going on, the silence will make it even more exiting. • The non-diagetic sound will be synced to the actions, so that it creates little climaxes, when the song builds up. • When there is no narration the non-diagetic music will get louder to get the audience more interested in the action rather than the audio.

16. Target Audience and EXPECTATIONS • A thriller target audience would be over 16, depending on the certificate, because they often contain adult themes and violence. • Generally thrillers are complicated and they will not appeal to the young ages because they are hard to understand. • The expectations of a thriller would be to excite the audience and keep them on the edge of their chairs, but then also have a good plot. Making the feel involved in the film.