Before constructing my thriller sequence, I studied many thriller films. While watching these thriller films I noted the codes and conventions they contained. I watched films like ‘The Village’ (picture 2), Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ & ‘Rear window’ and others. I ensured that I viewed such contrasting constructions of thriller films to gain a viewpoint on how to mirror the codes and conventions these films used to my advantage when creating my own thriller sequence. However, I did also challenge the forms and conventions used in these thriller films in my attempt to make the best video possible and also to fit in with my sequence.
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One of the first things I noticed about all the ominous moments in the films, before the terrifying jolt, was the lack of non-diagetic sound. When editing my thriller sequence I mirrored this common convention throughout the clip. Film makers use this convention to create feelings of anticipation and fear so the viewer is expecting a jolt or a bang For example in the shower scene of 'Psycho' the only sound that can be heard in the sound of the shower running before the jolt of the shower curtain being pulled back. The effect on the audience is a bigger shock when the bang actually happens as the lack of sounds before a shock exaggerates the sound created by the bang. I used this convention when using the flashbacks in my thriller(picture 3). I used this convention because I wanted to create an atmosphere in my clip where every jolt would come as a shock to the audience. The effect would be that the viewers would be in a constant state of anticipation to produce the perfect thriller atmosphere.
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Another convention that was often used was the constant use of long shots of the protagonist. When filming my sequence I adapted this convention to it. When film makers create their films they use long shots on the protagonist to create tension and anticipation. As the protagonist is in a long shot, this makes them look vulnerable as they appear to be small on the screen compared to their environment this is shown in picture 5. This is a common theme in thrillers as protagonists are normally a victim of their environment. This is shown in films like 'The Village' where the main protagonists seem trapped by their surroundings. I attempted to mirror this effect by making my environment big and vast so that the protagonist would look small. The vastness of the setting is shown in picture 4. To ensure I got the same effect as in 'The Village' I too chose a wood. The effect on the audience is to make them predict something bigger than the small protagonist harming or shocking them which causes the audience to experience sympathy for the protagonist and more shock when the antagonist harms or shocks them. I used this convention to introduce my protagonist and by using long shots, this informs the audience that he is also a victim due to his vulnerability.
Conversely, there were some aspects of my thriller that didn’t mirror other real media products by not making the genre a ‘hybrid thriller’ and keeping it as a singular genre. A hybrid genre is a genre that is multiple genres, for example you can get comedy thrillers or horror thrillers. However with my thriller sequence, I kept it to a solo genre. I did this to make sure that no aspects of other genres would interfere with the effect of the final product by one of the sub genre’s being to overpowering. For example with a comedy thriller (like Duplicity) you run the risk of the end product being funnier than tense and in fact the humour might take away the tension completely. I did not want to run this risk so I kept the genre of the sequence pure and direct so that the audience would know what they were getting.
In my thriller sequence I challenged the normal convention of having a female protagonist by choosing to have a male protagonist. Instead of following the typical conventions of having a female protagonist who appears vulnerable and threatened by a male antagonist. For example, in Scream(1996) females are represented in different ways. The main protagonist, 'Sidney', (Neve Campbell) is a strong, independent female with almost masculine qualities with short dark hair and sharp features. Whereas, Casey (Drew Barrymore) is represented as a weaker female who has a friendly, innocent manner, lacks intelligence and appears more vulnerable with her soft looks and blonde hair. Both are threatened by a masked male antagonist. My protagonist challenges this convention as he is male. you can see this by picture 6. I decided to chose a male as my main protagonist because films that have male protagonists in like Se7en and Taken are building up to a conflict between the male protagonist and the male antagonist. My male protagonist is not presented as much of a threat in my opening sequence. He has light hair as opposed to dark hair, he is clutching on to his bag and does not appear confident. This use of mise-en-scene makes my character appear weak so that he is still vulnerable to danger.
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