Media Studies: Thriller Research By Liam Mcmillen

The Thriller Genre – An Overview The thriller genre is a genre of film that relies on elements of tension, suspense and excitement. It does this through it's narrative, typical characters, mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound.

The History of Thriller Alfred Hitchcock was once of the first to bring thriller films to mainstream audience. His reasons to make them was because he wanted “To give the public good healthy mental shake up” Hitchcock was the main director for thrillers in the 1920's-1950's. His first thriller film was The Lodger. Many consider Hitchcock to be the main person behind the thriller genre and the reason they are like they are today. Hitchcock believed that it wasn't important 'whodunnit' it was more important how it was done. It wasn't until the 1950's though, that Hitchcock made his most important thrillers. Films such as Strangers on a Train (1951), Rear Window (1954) and Vertigo (1958) were some of his best thrillers, because they contained a lot of what made a Hitchcock film great. There is a classic McGuffin (A McGuffin is a plot arc or a prop that is made out to be something important, but then turns out to be nothing to do with the narrative). For example, in Strangers on a Train there is a briefcase that is heavily focused on throughout the film, but then turns out to be a red herring and it had nothing to do with the plot. Also, Hitchcock brought us the 'Hitchcock Zoom' in Vertigo. A Hitchcock Zoom is an effect that is used to make the audience feel uncomfortable. This was ground breaking at the time and has changed the Thriller genre forever.

Sub-genres and Hybrids of Thrillers Action Thriller: The Bourne Identity or the James Bond films. Crime Thriller: Films such as Reservoir Dogs and Inception. Reservoir Dogs is a good example because it's about a heist gone wrong, but includes a very good, trademark thriller restricted narrative. Medical Thriller: Coma is a very good example of this. Psychological Thriller: The Sixth Sense. Dead people are at the heart of everything in it. Eco/Disaster Thriller: The Day After Tomorrow. Romance Gone Bad Thriller: Fatal Attraction. A guy has an affair with a woman at work. The woman thinks it's serious, so the guy drops her, but she doesn't like that...

Narrative Themes and Conventions 1)Crime is often at the core of everything in the narrative of thrillers. For example, in Collateral the man is a hit man and goes every in a taxi taking people out. 2)The structures are often anachronic, or backwards like Memento and Pulp Fiction and they are complex. They are complex because they never give you any kind information. They try to keep everything from you. They contain false leads, clues and resolutions to these at the end of the film. 3)The narrative will have many twist and turns. This will be done to build up the tension and suspense until the climax at the end. A great example of this Inception, because you're never sure if they are in real life or a dream sequence. 4)The plot keeps going and going slowly building up until the big bang at the end. The Sixth Sense is a good example of a big bang at the end. 5)The narrative is restricted. You need to really work for the information in the film and every little bit is important.

Typical Characters in the Thriller genre A typical thriller hero is usually someone who is often just an ordinary person, living his ordinary life. They usually have a reason for what they're doing, like Bruce Willis helping the child out because he failed his other child in the past. The hero will usually have a flaw, which will stop him from being able to solve the crime, so will often have a partner who brings out the best in him. Just like in Se7en with Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt's character is a hothead and a new style of cop, while Morgan Freeman's character is old school, but they both bring the best out in each other. Then you'd have the villain. He's often be broken, very wrong in the head. A very scary and threatening character. They like to be in control and often are until the end. They are usually quite sadistic and obsessive, which is a scary combination. The thriller often has a hidden identity, you never really know who they are. Also, they are very intelligent and hard to beat. Vladimir Propp had a theory about the characters. He stated that there were 7 main characters in fairytales, although it can now relate to films too. These characters were; 1) The villain (struggles against the hero) 2) The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object) 3) The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest) 4) The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative) 5) Her father (usually dies during or before the film/book) 6) The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off) 7)The hero or victim/seeker hero, reacts to the donor, weds the princess

Mise-En-Scene In Thrillers Setting – The setting is usually a big city. This is because it's somewhere every day that people live or are at least very familiar with. They do this because it's very ordinary and makes what is going to happen even scarier because it could happen to you. For example, Collateral is set in Los Angeles. A very famous and big city. Props – The props used are often iconic. You're bound to see a detective in the classic coat. Like Morgan Freeman's character in Se7en. He is the classic detective and exactly what springs to mind from a detective. This is called iconography. Other props you would see in thrillers would be guns or any kind of weapon because it is heavily linked with crime. Costume and Make-up – A villain is usually synonymous with scars. Any sort of deformity is quite synonymous with a villain. James Bond is a good example of this. The costume of the villain would be simple, often dark colours. Costume and make-up is often used for historical context, for example a futuristic setting would have space suits. Sometimes a costume is used to help you focus on a particular character. Everyday people, which Thriller heroes usually are, will wear ordinary clothes to reflect that they are everyday people. Figure Expression – These are used to show emotions of the characters. In thriller there is often excitement, scared and tension. Lighting/ Colour – You'll often find lots of reds and blacks, that represent death and blood. The lighting will be low key lighting, including lots of shadowy environments and lots of night times scenes to represent and go with the narrative of the film. Directors often desaturate the screen as well and with blue and yellow tints.

Cinematography in Thrillers Low angle shot: Thrillers usually use this during the movie when the villain is in control and they want to make him look powerful. High angle shot: These are usually used to make the hero and civilians look weak and vulnerable because of the villains power. Extreme close ups and close ups: This is used in Thrillers to see raw emotion on the characters face. It could be on the heroes worried or scared face, or the villains evil and sadistic look. These are used so the audience can feel the tension that the characters do. Tracking shots: Tracking shots are used for the actions scenes in Thrillers. They use these because the audience feel like they're part of the action and can go along with the action. Point of View Shot: This is used so you can see exactly what the protagonist or antagonist are seeing. The director does this because it puts the audience inside the movies and you start to feel what the characters are feeling or guilt when you're looking through the eyes of the antagonist. Unconventional angles like crooked angles: They do this because it makes you feel nervous and uncomfortable and it goes along with the odd narrative. Many Thrillers often don't use an establishing shot, because they don't want the audience to know where they are because it adds to the mystery.

Editing in Thriller films 180 Degree Rule: This is not just used in Thriller films and is a rule in film making. This is where two people are in a room and you can only film from one side. This is because, otherwise it would look like they would have swapped sides. However, sometimes it is broken. This is done to make the audience feel uncomfortable. Graphic Contrast: This is where two shots that don't flow well with each other are put together to create an impact. It can be done to make the audience feel strange or to highlight that particular shot. Graphic Match: This is the opposite of graphic contrast. This is where two shots that go well together are edited together to make the it flow continuously and effortlessly. Match on Action: This is where an action scene is filmed with loads of different shots, but because the shots go together, it isn't noticeable and flows nicely. Eye Line Match: A character is looking at something and then the audience get to see what they're looking at. Shot Reverse Shot: A character is looking at another character and then you see the character they were looking at looking back.

Sound Techniques Used in Thriller Films Diegetic sound: Diegetic sound is any natural sound that is in the movies world. This could include things such as dialogue, traffic noises or the weather. Non-Diegetic Sound: Non-Diegetic sound is the opposite. It is any sound that is edited in after like soundtrack, a narrator or sound effects. A good example of this is Morgan Freeman's narration in The Shawshank Redemption. Ambient Sound: Ambient Sound is diegetic sound that happens around the character like birdsong and trees rustling. Pleonastic Sound: This is sound that reinforces what you're seeing on screen. For example, the shower scene in Psycho. The music we're hearing is very sharp, just like the stabbing sound. Contrapuntal Sound: Contrapuntal sound is the opposite of pleonastic. The music we're hearing contradicts what we're seeing on screen. A good example of this is in Resevoir Dogs when he is cutting his ear off while 'Stuck in the Middle With You' is playing.

Sounds you might here in Thriller films Diegetic Sounds As most thrillers are set in a big city, most of the sounds you will be hearing will be car engines, traffic and car horns. There is usually bad weather used in thriller films too, so the sound of rain falling down or harsh winds will be heard too. For example in Se7en it is almost always raining. Non-Diegetic Sounds A lot of thrillers enhance the sounds of things like gunshots to give them a bigger impact on the audience. Many thrillers use narration to get across character development, like Fight Club, Goodfellas and The Shawshank Redemption. Some thrillers have a theme tune that helps you identify the film as soon as you hear the music, like James Bond and The Bourne films.

Donnie Darko Opening Title Sequence Analysis of Sound In the opening sequence for Donnie Darko, Donnie is laying on the floor and as the camera is getting closer to him the music gets eerie. I think this is done to give you the impression that Donnie may be dead. When he gets up you can hear birds singing in the background. I think this is done to show that it's morning and to give it a relaxed atmosphere. You can also hear him laugh, which shows that this perhaps isn't strange to him and that he may be used to it.