What are thrillers?

• Thrillers: A genre of film that uses excitement, suspense and tension as the main elements. Thrillers usually contain a mixture of mystery and violence within it's story line
• Music: In thrillers you are able to expect music which builds up tension and increases suspense within the main scenes. The music is often just instrumental so that you are concentrating solely on the movie it’s self rather than the well known song you know playing in the background. The music is more often than not repetitive this is used throughout the film with different peaces of music being played at different times. This is a story indicator as to when a particular scene is happy, violent, mysterious etc. Different speeds of music will be used for different scenes. Music will be fast in a more intense scene such as a chase and the music will then slow down and become more ominous in a scarier scene which contains violence.  The different characters such as the ‘good’ and ‘evil’ may also have different music so you can differentiate between them when they come into view. 
• The Characters: Thrillers usually have one main protagonist and one main antagonist this is too allow the audience to clearly differentiate between the good and the bad in the film. The main antagonists usually has the persona of a psychopath and often leads the protagonist into danger. 
• Setting and Storyline: The settings for thrillers are often urban cities such as New York where the story line often follows an almost hide and seek chase of the characters through the busy streets. Often there is also many ’bad guys’ living within the city which the ordinary citizens don’t know about.  The settings can also be set in rural areas where the story line includes characters that are hiding or where a mysterious murder has taken place.There is usually a mysterious murder or disaster at the start of the film which is set as the plot throughout the film. The film usually includes a car chase which is considered an iconic convention of a thriller which entails both sides chasing one another in order to retain something which is theirs or too get something they want; cash, jewellery, paper work etc. 
• Camera Work: The camera work and speed changes depending on the story line. The introduction of a thriller is often shot slowly and in either much detail or as little detail as possible both creating tension and suspense for what is too come. The Camera speed is often fast during the film this helps put the audience in the film as they feel they are having to keep up with the character. Long distance shots are often used and panning of the surrounding area to create tension and atmosphere as it has the audience looking out for the ‘bad guys’ and trying to spot things in the area just like the character is. There are often close ups too of certain objects such as a weapon, a car or a certain person - this is usually done when that object or person is a vital part to the story and something or someone to look out for later on in the film or to create suspense from the outset. 
• The Colour: The usual colours in a thriller are ‘cold’ colours, this is done to create a cold an unwelcoming atmosphere which allows the audience to feel the way in which the character would feel. Certain colours such as grey are used in an urban area to match the busy background of sky scrapers. Colours such as red and black are used to make the audience aware of the danger and darkness ahead in the film. 

Sound

Sound:
Direct sound: Sounds which are made on the set and are kept within the film for effects of realism.

Studio sound: Sound recorded in the studio to improve the quality and also to remove unwanted sounds that may have been picked up in the filming.

Music: The music within a scene helps the scene pick up a certain pace or allows the audience to understand the emotions within the scene. A slow song may show strong upsetting emotions whereas a fast piece of music is more likely to show a happy excited time.

Silence: This can also be used to have the same effect as music by creating a tense atmosphere but also the silence can cause an un-nerving scene leaving the audience clueless of what is to come next.

Sound perspective: The impression of distance in sound usually created through the use of selective sound.

Sound bridge: Adding to continuity through a scene with music linking the events within a scene together.
Commentary: Usually a voice of one the characters saying something which is unheard by other characters only giving the audience direction of the events happening.

Sound effects: Any sound that is not narration or music.

Dubbed dialogue: Post-recording the voice-track in the studio, the actors matching their words to the on-screen lip movements.

Parallel sound: Sound which match the actions or pace on screen. 

Camera Codes - Distance, Angles and Movement.

Camera; there are different types of camera shots which are used in order to give different meanings and create different effects depending on what the audience are able to see through the shot.

• ELU: Extreme long shot - this kind of shot will be used to show the surroundings usually at the start of a film so the audience understand the setting on the film. 

ECU: Extreme close ups -  This shot shows something in extreme detail for exam you can have an extreme close up of an eye so that the only thing the audience are able to see in that shot is that one things.

LS: Long shot - this show also the whole body for head to feet to be shown with some of the background visible. 

MS: Mid shot - this usually shows from the lower torso up to the top of the head of a person on screen.

CU: Close up - this shot like an extreme close up shows one things however usually will focus on something like a face or an object instead of one small object in extreme detail.

Camera Angles are also used to give effect to the audience

Eye Level: This shot is straight at the eye level of both the audience and character. 

Point of view: This angle shows an event happening for the characters point of view to the audience.Bird’s-eye view: This angle shows events happening straight above.
High Angle: This angle shows the insignificance of certain characters as they are viewed being looked down on.
Low Angle: This angle looks up from a low angle increasing the height of a certain character and allows them to appear superior to the audience. 

Camera Movement
Zoom: This is when an object or a person in magnified for effect in order to show a certain feature or to emphasize a point. 

Pan: A pan is usually used along side an extreme long shot this use of movement allows the audience along with the shot to see a certain scene of a greater scale and give the audience an understanding of the setting.
Tilt: When the Camera is moved up and down to show height of something usually increasing the power or feelings of a character.
Tracking: Tracking is used to follow an object. During tracking the camera itself is moved along. This sort of movement is often used in a scene which needs to show the speed or movement of a certain character or object. 

Editing

Editing: 

Cutting rate: Frequent cuts may be used as deliberate interruptions to shock, surprise or emphasize.

Cross-cut: A cut from one line of action to another.
Buffer shot: A bridging shot - taken with separate cameras - are two different shots which show the continuity of movement.
Superimpositions: Images placed directly on top of each other usually to show a visual metaphor. 

Split screen: The division of the screen into parts which can show the viewer several images at the same time. This can be used in order to show different view points and show the excitement or terror of characters. 

Stock shot: Footage already available and used for another purpose than the one for which it was originally filmed.

Cutaway/cutaway shot (CA):  Usually used to show the passing of time.

Cut: Sudden change of shot from one character or location to another 
Jump cut: Switch from one scene to another usually used to great a more dramatic and significant effect.
Fade: A fade the picture slowly appears from or disappears to a blank screen.

Wipe: The effect of an image being wiped in order to change scene.

Genre:

Genre is a set of conventions that are recognizable to the audience usually through iconography familiar narrative, mise-en-scene, actors, and style of representation.  Genre is not static but constantly renegotiated between industy and audience; a combination of familiar reassurance and new twists. A creative strategy used by film producers to ensure audience identification with a film. Genre is an important way of working through important myths and fears by repetition, variation and resolution.


Genre also offers comforting reassurance in an uncomfortable world. Threats within a film are vanquished, outlaws become civilized, gangsters are punished. 

Genre functions like a language; there are a set of rules and a vocabulary with which to organize meaning. 

Audiences become accustomed to a certain genre and therefore look for there favorite genre of film when choosing what film to watch. However there are arguments and debates of the existence of genre. 


Genre is often hybridized so genre is easily misinterpreted. Hybridization means when two genres come together to create a new genre for example romantic comedy. 


There are also sub genres to main genres for example horror : slasher, psychological horror, gothic horror. 

Altman's argument:

Altmans argues that the relationship between the two links to how we can understand genre evolution and hybridization. Genre begins with the semantics and over a period of time evolve into genre after a variety of themes, issues, and plots have been explored. Thus it can take a while, what limits this is the shifting social ideologies that can affect themes, issues and ideas. 

Traditional theorists:

Schatez and Wright look at genre in a compartmentalized way, thus with no overlapping with specific ways of identifying the genre. Hybridization can be argued there is only a set of semeiotics no syntax. films influence each other. 

Analysing genre allows me to understand what target audience I should be aiming and the way in which genres can be changed and the different types of genre there are and the different sorts of genre that my group will be able to choose between when deciding which thriller hybrid or sub genre to choose for our film. Different theorists opinions on genre also allows me to understand the ways in which genre can be manipulated and the ways in which is can be changed.

By understanding these facts about genre will mean that whilst creating our opening we will be able to apply some of these things and understand that we are able to cross between genres through hybridisation and also by  sub-genres. When creating our film we can also consider the arguments between Altman's argument and traditional theorists.