What are the common techniques and conventions?

 

The Thriller genre is unique in the way it is made. It has its own unique score made especially for the movie the level of lighting is varying to demonstrate the effects of something that has happened or someone who is in the film. The thriller is also unique in the way that it creates suspense and its use of enigma’s and mystery are what makes this genre one of the most watched worldwide.

The score of a thriller film is what makes it memorable because in a way it is synchronised with the movements of the people in the film, for instance in James Bond the score starts as the person gets beaten up and this dramatic score carries the scene through and helps the audience understand that this is a dramatic and important moment in the movie.

The level of lighting is extremely important because it varies in places and people. It is used in all the thrillers do determine whether a character is an antagonist or protagonist or whether the place is mysteriously evil or just another ordinary building.

In the thriller genre low level lighting is often used to show the antagonist characters as seen in Psycho where the man who stabs the woman in the shower seen is covered up and you can’t see his face.

The one rule a thriller can not avoid is the rule of creating suspense. It is the most vital technique that attracts audiences to this genre of film. It would not be a thriller without the suspense, for instance in 28 days later, the suspense caused when the man walks up the stairs whilst calling out to see if anyone is alive really keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The use of suspense is also helped with the use of enigma and mystery as to who the person is? Who killed him? Why did he kill him? What’s the object he was carrying in his hand?

The use of enigma is important because it keeps the audience interested, the movie with a lot of enigma was the copycat this movie kept the audience wandering as to who the killer was and how would he kill next or which famous murderer will he imitate next and how is he doing this.

A technique that was used and that created suspense was the technique of getting the audience to think that the wrong man was the killer as in psycho where the audience thinks the mother is the killer but actually it’s the man dressing up as his mother. In this sense Sir Alfred Hitchcock had many techniques that kept the suspense going throughout the movie and adding a shocking reality check to the audience each time.