Conventions of Thrillers

Before I could start filming I looked into different types of thrillers and found the different conventions.

Narrative
The narrative to a thriller normally involves some sort of crime or some sort of adventure. The aim of the narrative is to simply thrill.

Characters
In thrillers there is normally a protagonist and a villain. The protagonist is trying to achieve a certain goal whilst the villain is either in the way or is trying to prevent that goal being achieved.

Settings
Thrillers are normally set in big vacant areas such as a forest or the countryside. The exact opposite can also be found in thrillers as they can be set in built up urban areas. So there is no real limit to the setting of a thriller.

Themes
The themes found in thrillers normally reflect the issues of the time. That could be issues with crime, politics, war, immigration, terrorism and injustice. For instance, it could be argued that the thriller, Bourne Identity, tackles issues to do with corruption within the government.

I looked into iconic successful thriller movie. Here are my notes from various thrillers:

Psycho
first shot – establishing shot
Scene with the money – No dialogue is used; everything is told through camera shots.
Another shot in car – the audience hears what is happening at the places she’s left behind.
String music used throughout
They introduced loads of possible suspect serial killers

Silence of the lambs
First shot – we see a girl running through the woods
Slow paced
Ambience music is used

The Shining
First shot – establishing shot
No music is used
Slow paced
Normal situation

Scream
First shot – establishing shot
Killer is revealed