Thriller Conventions

Some of the basic ingredients of a successful thriller include:

  

Good background Story:

A common ingredient in thrillers include the main character falling victim to someone else's scheme and getting stuck in the moment of dread. This fits the genre of thriller as the audience will be intrigued in the story and therefore be forced to watch on.

Todorov’s narrative theory - Saw, as an exemplar

Equilibrium – normal people having normal lives however they have been convicted for doing something bad or illegal and now being kidnapped

Disruption They then get kidnapped and face death with the master if they don’t play the death game they will die themselves

Restoration  They will need to cut of one of their body parts in order for them to be free if not they will die so it is a lose/lose situation

Different types of shots can be effective:

They allow the audience inside the head of the characters which builds an insane amount of tension and mystery, which will again intrigue the audience like for example if someone is getting chased in a location the camera will change a lot to keep the audience entertained and on their toes, because if it is the same angle it will get boring for the audience

Giving audience clear understanding of the protagonist:

At the beginning of the film the audience usually know who the protagonist is scared of and who he/she is trying to avoid or run from, this gives the audience a vague understanding of what is going on when more is revealed they are able to relate it to the back story instead of them to keep guessing who the good and bad guy is through out the film they will know straight away to stop them from guessing.

Making protagonist scared is effective:

In the majority of thriller films the character is never happy he/she is always filled with grief, sadness and uncertainty this usually reflects upon the audience and the audience will begin to feel suspense and sadness which reinforces the thriller genre this will make the audience feel their pain and what they are going through, kind of like putting the audience in their shoes

Editing:

Editing in all films is vital, no matter how good the footage is editing is what brings all the clips together, and thriller films are no exception. In thriller films editing is important because it allows the editor to add transitions between different shots. Transitions are useful because it can escalate a situation and it can also de-escalate a situation, A video editor can use the timing and pace of clips to build anticipation and grow suspense making it more entertaining for audience,

Lighting

The lighting in a thriller movie is one of the most of the most important because if the film goes darker in an instant the audience and viewers know what is coming and when the lighting increases then they know nothing might pop out or that the scene will be a talking scene however that is not always the case, some films increase the lighting and make it day time and sometimes horror does happen and if the lighting goes darker shows that there is mystery behind it