How I Plan to Use and Abuse the Codes and Conventions of the Thriller Genre

How I Plan to Use and Abuse the Codes and Conventions of the Thriller Genre

Within my thriller opening sequence, I intend to employ a number of different codes and conventions which I have noticed whilst researching different thriller openings such as Seven and Kill Bill. 

Technical Construction

I plan to use a number of quick cut shots in effort to create suspense and increase the pace during the opening scene. This editing technique will compel the audience to feel uneasy as they are disorientated and therefore not sure what is happening because of the frantic pace. This shot type is often used in the most thrilling parts of films. I plan to use shots from the perspective of both the killer and his victims, allowing audience to view the scene from a variety of perspectives and angles, which will once again cause them to feel uncomfortable as they are forced further into the scene. By using this shot type I can create a sense of moral ambiguity due to the fact that the audience will find it hard to distinguish whose perspective they are witnessing the events from. Furthermore, this will emphasise the brutality of the murder.

Another code and convention of the thriller genre which I noticed when analysing different openings was the use of low lighting. I will use low lighting in my thriller as darkness carries connotations of danger and death. Henceforth, I am hinting to my audience that something vicious is to happen early on in the thriller. I believe the use of this convention will be effective in scenes shot indoors as the audience will feel enclosed within the space. This in turn will work so as to make them feel a sense of anxiety as it is consequently not apparent what surrounds the characters, creating a further enigma. 

Camera Shots

I noticed that throughout the infamous thriller Psycho, extreme close ups are employed to great effect by Hitchcock. I plan to use this technique in order to make my audience feel dangerously close to the killer's victims. These extreme close ups will be similar in nature to those shots which Hitchcock uses throughout Psycho, creating a sense of claustrophobia and an awkwardness at being uncomfortably close to the action. By using this shot type I will be able to clearly present the emotions of characters, such as fear, and demonstrate that the character is in a dangerous situation. This camera shot also creates a relationship between the characters and the audience which, as stated above, the audience will find uncomfortable and will therefore wish to “back away” from the events on screen so as to distance themselves from the film.

Sound

Orchestral music is widely used in cinema, especially thrillers, for a number of different reasons. Orchestral music can be used so as to indicate to the audience a shift in the film’s tone - i.e. that something bad is going to happen to the protagonist, in this case signifying a threat to that character. I also plan to utilise the diegetic sound of footsteps within the third scene. By only using this diegetic sound, it will allow me to create a tense atmosphere due to the silence that will naturally occur when the killer stops walking, thusforth creating suspense - a convention of the thriller genre. 

Throughout most of the first scene, the song Tame by Pixies will be played. I have chosen to utilise Tame because, not only do I feel that I will not have enough time to create my own score for this part of the film, but I feel it would be hard to compose a piece of music that carries similar connotations of extreme aggression. Tame will be very effective in my thriller as it uses a number of techniques which are commonly found in music used in the thriller genre. I intend for the music to begin quietly, with an FM-like effect placed over it so as to indicate the fact that the music in emanating from somewhere within the scene. The fact the music will be quiet will work in direct juxtaposition to the foleys due to the fact that they will hold a much higher volume, thusforth becoming more prominent within the scene and therefore will have a surrealism surrounding them. The lyrics of Tame are initially whispered in a seductive manner which will cause uncomfortableness with the audience as they will appear to be resemblant of the sinister whisperings going on within the antagonist’s mind. As we follow the antagonist closer to his destination, the volume of the music will increase slightly, creating suspense in the lead up to chorus of the song. As the pace of the film increases and the killers behaviour becomes increasingly violent and aggressive, so does the diegetic music used. The volume of the music will further increase as the camera shots change and the audience will see the events unfold through the eyes of the killer. This will in turn place the audience inside of the killer’s heard and they will gain an understanding of how the killer perceives the situation. This will make the audience feel apprehensive and discomfited as they have gone from merely a witness of the crime to being part of the murder.

Mise en Scene

When analysing different thriller openings, I found that Se7en's use of mise en scene was very effective as the dark, dingy city in which it is located highlights and reflects the danger that the characters are in. I plan to emulate this use of mise en scene through using a dark hotel-like room and an uninviting alleyway. By using these locations, I am able to create a transit liminal location whereby the audience will feel isolated and disorientated as they will not know where they are in the film. A further advantage of using a liminal location is that the audience may find it similar to a location near them and will therefore feel more involved with the film. Here this plays with the suspension of disbelief as I will be relying on the audience’s shared understanding that this is only a film as opposed t a recreation of reality. 

Another way that I will use the codes and conventions of thriller through mise-en-scene is through the costumes I will use. My antagonist will be dressed in a suit with slicked back hair connoting that he is wealthy and not just some lowlife looking for money. By using this costume, the audience will first assume that the character is trustworthy and innocent however the narrative of the story - through the sound and editing - will then reveal to the audience that this is not the character they first imagined. This is supported by the shot types as the antagonist will be viewed from behind suggesting that he is being closely followed and that he is infact in danger, whereas in actual fact he is the danger. Propositions will also support this at the beginning of the opening, with the killer wearing headphones - which the audience will be able to quietly hear - suggesting that the killer cannot hear anything around him and thusforth places him in what appears to be a very vulnerable position. 

Character and Narrative

I feel I am also playing with the codes and conventions of modern day thrillers as I plan to introduce the antagonist of the thriller during the opening sequence. It is typical of thrillers for the antagonist to uncovered towards the end of the film however I plan to introduce the villain instantly, in a manner similar to se7en whereby we are introduced to the faceless antagonist within the opening credits. I have chosen to do this so as to give my audience a strong impression of the films plot line and the story which it will follow. In my thriller opening, the first victim of the killer will be a blonde woman who will not try and defend herself against the antagonist and is accordingly savagely murdered. By using this typical feature of a thriller, I am showing the audience that I understand their expectations of the film to conform to the codes and conventions of the thriller genre. This creates a post-modern juxtaposition between the first two characters as the antagonist will be presented as completely different to what the audience will be expecting whereas the woman will be presented just as the audience would expect in a thriller.