research into conventions of the thriller genre - Miss Miller

Conventions of the thriller genre

Conventions of a specific genre are very important as they are aspects of a film you would expect to see when watching a film. These help set the mood, setting and feeling of the scene as they help create suspense and keep the audience on their feet. The main conventions of a thriller film are: low key lighting, point of view shot, close ups, female blond victim, chase scenes, killers hidden identity, scary diagetic/non diagetic music and handheld shots. The iconography used in films is also very important such as knifes, guns and weapons. These all help to create a suspense filled thriller film that keeps the audience wondering whats going to happen next.

Low key lighting is used throughout the clip, you can see this right from the beginning until the end with flashes of light occasionally. This helps build suspense for the audience as there is the fear of the unknown as they can't see clearly what is happening which adds an element of danger. This is conventional to a thriller as danger is associated with the dark and therefore brings the feeling of danger into the scene. This helps build a relationship with the characters as the audience will be able to imagine themselves in the same situation and therefore feel more involved in whats happening, at this point there will be a lot of close up shots showing the characters emotions. This will also make the audience feel more involved with whats happening and build a relationship with the characters as they will be guided to feel the same emotions.

There are a lot of jump cuts used and jerky unsteady camera shots used during the clip, they're mostly used at the beginning and then occasionally throughout. This creates a feeling of uncertainty for the audience as the clips change a lot, also they don't have a clear view of what is happening so it keeps them prepared to be shocked as they don't know what they'll see next or happen next. This is conventional to a thriller as it impresses the audience by keeping them on the edge of their seat in suspense and terror, it also creates suspense and tension as it is clear something bad is going to happen as the character would be running away from danger shown by the unsteady shots. This will create a relationship with the audience as they would be able to relate to what they are doing in the scene as the audience would feel like the characters are venerable and therefore care for what they are doing.

Non diagetic horror sounds are present throughout the clip, this adds emphasis to what is happening by the disturbing noises corresponding with the clip. If there was no non diagetic sound in this scene, it would be very boring and un-gripping for the audience to watch as it would make whats happening not very scary at all. This is conventional to a thriller as the sound builds up the suspense as the repetitive noises make it sound like something is going to shock you.


In my own thriller clip i will make sure that i take into consideration all of the conventions associated with thriller films as i want my audience to enjoy the film as much as possible and not be bored. I will include a lot of non diagetic sound as i think it is a key element of grabbing the audiences attention and to keep the suspense high. I will make sure i use the appropriate conventions where i want it to have a specific effect on the audience.