In class I made a simple list of as many different codes and conventions commonly found in thrillers as I could. I decided that all or most thriller films include the following:
- The 'transformed city' model in which a seemingly safe environment turns dangerous
- The 'romantic hero' model where the main character seems to be a perfectly normal person with no supernatural abilities
- The 'question and answer' model where the audience is made to ask questions about things that they see, questions that may or may not be answered later in the film
- Concealment where things are hidden from the viewer to create tension, confuse them, and keep them questioning thing
- Partial vision where something is not completely shown to the viewer to keep them guessing and to create a sense of suspense
- The 'mazes and labyrinths' model where the viewer is led around mazes by the film where things are constantly changing and turning to keep the viewer interested and to make it seem more tense
- Opening sequences that end with disequilibrium to make them seem more tense and to allow the actual film to build up slowly after an intense opening
- Protraction to create tension and keep the viewer interested
- Tracking shots to follow characters or objects and make the viewer feel like they are part of the action
- Non-diegetic sounds to create tension and make the film seem realistic
- Point of view shots to make the viewer feel like part of the action and to show how certain characters behave
- Establishing shots to set the scene and allow the viewer to relate to what they see on screen
- Common use of close ups to create tension and overwhelm and scare the viewer
- Tension built through sound to add a sense of realism and stimulate the viewer's senses and make them more wary
- Quick cuts to create tension and give the film a fast pace
- Linear narrative to allow the viewer to understand the story easily
- Limited dialogue in the opening, to allow the scene and story to be set through the use of intense camera work and music, etc
- Super imposed graphics so there is no stop in the action while credits and titles are displayed on screen
- Sound effects used to heighten tension and make the thriller seem more realistic
- Dim/dark lighting to make the viewer concentrate harder and make the atmosphere scarier and tenser
- Extreme close ups to overwhelm the audience and put focus and emphasis on things
- Diegetic sound limited to sound effects with main focus on non-diegetic sound for tension
- Slow zooming to bring a slow and tense focus on things
- High angle shots to show more of the action and make the viewer feel superior to whatever is on screen
- Match of actions to add tension
- Mise en Scéne that heightens tension by putting emphasis on significant things and never showing too much on screen at one time
- Dissolving shots to add a disturbing edge and unnerve the viewer
- Unknown locations to keep the audience asking questions and make the atmosphere seem more tense
- Long takes to build tension and make the audience concentrate harder
- Low camera angles to make on-screen characters/objects seem superior to the viewer and intimidate the audience
- Limited number of characters in the opening sequence to keep it simple and set the scene and story without confusing the viewer too much early on
- Graphics do not retract from on-screen action to keep emphasis that the on-screen action is the most important thing to be watching
- Use of non-diegetic sound usually has no vocals as this could be a distraction from the footage and vocals can be instead provided by the actors
- Eyeline matches to make the viewer feel like they are part of the action
- A vunerable character is usually shown to allow the viewer to relate to them and put themselves in their position, making them more afraid and wary of what is happening to the character
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