Introduction to Thrillers

What is a Thriller?

A Thriller is a type of genre that can be crossed with other genres for example you can have a romantic Thriller or a Comedy Thriller. A Thriller will usually involve crime or some type of scandal that needs to be solved by one hero. A thriller can start from different places. It can start from the end of the film and jump to different positions of time. For example it can show to end and then say 5 hours earlier and slowly unfold the events of what really happened and how it happened. A thriller usually will have things in the film that will create anticipation and suspense. They can be: Red herrings, cliffhangers and plot twists. They are all techniques of making a good thriller. They will usually be one main villain and one main hero.

Examples?

Recent thrillers can involve things like: The A-Team, Black swan, Devil, edge of darkness, killers, legion, the town, unstoppable, unthinkable. Some older titles of thrillers could be: The bat, The bells, spies, blackmail, Freaks, Number 17, Rome express and The Thin Man. Some of these films date back from 1940 and up to 2010.

What is a cliff hanger?

A cliff hanger is something that builds up a lot of suspense and then will stop at a point of high suspense. It could be that a tragedy happens for example we find out what happens to someone but then it stops there so we don't find out what effect that it has on the main character. Things that can be used to create a cliff hanger is something like: " To be continued" or "The end?" they can all create suspense for us to want to know what happened to the person.

What is a red herring?

A red herring is something that suggests something else but then takes a turn and something else will happen. For example there might have been a murder and we find the wallet of someone called Mr.Smith so we instantly think it is him that is the killer, but what we don't know is that it could have been planted by the real killer, so later on we find out who the real killer is what is also known as a red herring.

What is a plot twist?

This could be suggesting something is going to be happening and we get hinted at it. This can also be known as foreshadowing. Then we see the foreshadowed vent be taken into place and that would be known as a plot twist. Or it could also be known as something be changed for a certain reason. So something might happen but then it could be messed up what would cause it to go in the other direction what can also be known as a plot twist.


Some Thrillers are:

What makes a good thriller?

A thriller usually shows the prevention of a crime before it actually is committed. Or a thriller can also start from the end and works its way to the start. If it does start from the end it will usually slowly unfold giving more and more details about what actually has happened.

To make a good thriller you need to have a good story for the thriller if it has a weak story then no one will be interested and will end up turning off half way through.

Another point that you need for a good thriller is to have some type of underdog or have a twist in the film what will leave the audience questioning what will happen next. 

Another thing that is needed in a thriller is to be able to give a range of theory’s so if someone may think something is obvious that needs to be changed so it’s not obvious and something could have a major twist. 

Another thing that may help a good thriller is to show how people change throughout the film. For example maybe the main character is normal and happy until something happens. Then he becomes very wary and careful also he may become paranoid towards anything. 

Don’t let the pace of the film slow down it needs to stay interesting and very fast paced. If it is not people will become disinterested. 

Never tell the audience what is going to happen because there would be no mystery. You can show them what may happen and give small hints until the big ending.

It can also help if you make your audience learn something in the end of the film. If you do this they may come away thinking they are better off for watching it.

It is also good if you cross the genre thriller with another genre like mystery, romance and comedy this can sometimes make the film more interesting.

A lot of lighting effects are used in thrillers they are used so the director can create different moods in the scene for example if the director wants to create a spooky or eraey mood they will use dark lighting. This is so you cant see what is around you.

If lighting is used in a thriller this usually means that it is being linked with a different genre like: Thriller/Horror. An example of this could be possibly be kill bill because in a lot of scenes they use gore.

Genre and narrative and Cinematography

In films there are many different types of genres. Different ones are used for different stories. For example if something is funny you would call it a comedy.

A list of different genres are: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Mystery, Political, Romance and Science Fiction. These are just a handful of many different genres.

Sometimes different genres can cross. For example you are able to get a lot of romantic comedies. This can be for many reasons. For example if you want to appeal to a bigger audience of people.

Narrative.

A narrative can be when different events are somehow connected and therefore placed together. This can be used in a mystery to place clues together.

Most of the films today have narrative this is to place mystery or suspense in the film. This will make it seem like the film has different techniques in it.

Narrative can also be defined as the person being able to tell a well structured story. This is one of the most important factors in a film this is because if there is no story to tell in the film no one will stay interested.

Cinematography

This is a variety of camera angles used in films. These involve.

Long Shot

Medium Shot

Close Up










Extreme Close Up










Point of View











Low angle

High angle

Coursework Brief

In my Coursework I will regularly be updating my blog with information on what we are doing with different recordings.

I will also be posting about locations shot lists and general planning documents for our final recording what is our thriller.

Welcome

Welcome to my media blog.

I will be updating this with the progress of our work and posts about certain things :D