Forms and Conventions of a Thriller

Before our planning we looked at a few films in class, and a couple at home. This helped us to identify with the genre and see what made a thriller so successful. We began to look closely at the conventions so that we could use them to make our thriller.

Here are some conventions we identified;

• Thriller events happen on a grand scale - for example instead of one murder there would be serial or mass murders.
• Jeopardy and violence are standard plot elements
• Often explore the psychological reasons of the villain
• Fast paced - quick edits
• Cliff hangers
• Red herrings
• Many different camera angles used to create a fast paced sequence
• Strong soundtrack to build tension and suspense
• Lighting used to create shadows and darkness
• Audience fully understand the main characters personality and motives
• Audience is manipulated by the twists and turns of the plot

When looking to create the opening to our thriller we decided to use some of these conventions to influence us. This would make a successfully thriller that the audience would enjoy to watch.