Ideas for our trailer

Conventions of a Thriller film

Titling:

Most of the films that I have come across have had their credits placed over a black screen with non-diegetic music playing in the background to set the scene. It is common for some film trailers to start with a short clip of the film before showing the credits. Examples of this include: Kill Bill Vol 1 and The Terminator. Another typical convention of the titles is that usually the main actors/actresses’ names, directors’ names, and the most important production companies are made apparent in the credits.

Camera movement:

Tracking and Pan shots are most commonly used in Thriller films, to help generate interest and create mystery. An example of this is in The Dark Knight (the bank heist scene) where the camera tracks the group of people. The shots will usually consist more of close ups and extreme long shots to establish location and to show the raw emotions of the characters.

Camera angles:

Heavily used in thriller films is low-level framing and occasional high angles. Also the use of tilted shots can be effective as they help to add to the disorientation and confusion of a scene. 

Mise-en scene:

The general location for the shooting of thriller movies tends to differ due to the film, therefore meaning that there is a range of different locations used in thrillers. Most tend to be in remote locations and involve the households and the road. Lighting is a key aspect used in various ways in different films to create animosity. Thrillers tend to have very low light in dark locations to minimise how much the audience can see. It is also used as a lot of thrillers involve scenes at night.

Editing:

Jump cuts and cross cutting are commonly used throughout thriller films as they help to display when multiple things are happening that we are unaware of and the cuts help to fill us in. They allow the audience to make assumptions on what the story or characters will be like.

Sound:

All films that I have analysed have had non-diegetic music playing in the background and creating a sound bridge to create a certain atmosphere. These tend to be from voice-overs which help to tell the story. A lot of the time silence and blank points are used to help to create suspense. This works very well to build up tension and tends to be a strong convention for thriller films.