Conventions of a Thriller

After looking at the 3 films to research thrillers I have discovered that there is several main conventions used to define a film in the 'Thriller' genre:

• There is usually a murder, kidnap or something similar to that. This keeps the viewing wanting to find out how the murder happened or why someone was kidnapped ect. This is one of the main themes of 'Hostage' is a family kidnapping.

• A narative which points the viewer into a different direction to that the story is going. Also it includes clues which keep the audience questioning what they are being shown and to try and let them work out what the end result of the story will be.

• Events happening to ordinary people which may help audiences relate to the situation such as Lucky Number Slevin, which shows 'Slevin' being blackmailed to perform killings for something he has not done. However the story brings up surprises later on which is in classic thriller style.
  

However the real challenge of a title sequence is to get a viewer immersed into the film as quickly as possible, especially thrillers which leave viewers asking questions from the word go. Researching the thrillers I have will help transfer ideas from them to put into the production I am making.

As there is many sub-genres of Thrillers, not all thrillers have the exact same conventions, however thrillers can be easily identifiable whether it is an action thriller or a psycological thriller as both perform the same take of keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat.

Research of Thrillers - Hostage

Hostage

The basic plot of the film is A failed police negotiator turned small town cop, must save the lives of a family held hostage, which draws him into a much more dangerous situation.

I have analysed the first 1.24 mins of the title sequence of the clip below:


The first item which appears during the title sequence is text of the names of the film company's who made it - Miramax films and Stratus Film Company. The font appears to be in 3D, with a red base and a yellow shadow which makes it stand out from the black background. The same effect is used for the production company who appears next - Cheyenne Enterprises Production. As the third bit of text comes up you see a birds eye view of a city slowly fading in until the camera is directly above it. Whilst this is being shown, there is non-diegetic music playing which is quite menacing and may make the audience associate it with war because this type of music, with the drum beat has been featured in films involving ancient war. The background then fades out to black then soon after so does the text.

As it fades in from black you see a wall and a city skyline behind it. This looks animated which may distort the audiences view of the film as it will break conventions to mix animation and real life. On the wall is the directors name. This gives a good indication of which order to put people in. There are 3 colours which are used in this shot, which are red, black and a musky white. Red connotates blood, anger, war, hate, horror, and death, and the use of this colour in the opening sequence suggests that the film may involve the examples given that are associated with it. The black may suggest that the film will be quite dark and also makes the red stand out more. The musky white is mainly used for the director's name to make it stand out from the black background. This shot cuts in to a shot which is panning downwards to reveal the lead actor in the film - Bruce Willis. His name is in bloack capitals and stands out from the background.




The camera once again cuts, to what looks like a bird eye view of the city we saw in one of the first shots in the title sequence but this time is is zooming out from the street. As it is doing this you see the Hostage logo spinning slowly into view - the same colour scheme has been kept throughout the title sequence. The font for the hostage logo is in block capitals and each letter is "jagged" and could be interpreted as to being some sort of weapon for example on the "E" there could be three guns, this suggests that there will be violence in the film. Also ontop and below the writing there are two lines, this gives a sense of being trapped, just like a hostage would be. The font also looks 3D again due to there being a white shadow on it which makes it stand out more. Also whilst the title of the film is in view there are non-diegetic sounds of police sirens which suggests that this may be a crime thriller and we may be following the police whilst they solve some sort of mystery. This shot then dissolves into a shot where the camera pans downwards/backwards, spinning slowly, towards the ground still with the view of the sky. As this is happening a building comes into view which has another Actors name on it. The next cut is made to look like there is continuity between the shots how there is a very quick change to a vertical shot of a power cable pole, which then moves to a horizontal position so you can read the name. This title sequence is very different to any other I have looked at, as it has no acting in it. It is just all done as an animation which leaves you asking questions about further plot details. For example later on in the title sequence there is a shot of a bridge which has been taped off by police. Also there is shots of allies which make you feel suspicious.

Also unlike the other thrillers I have looked at, It gives you no real background to the film such as what caused the problem (I Am Legend) or the deaths of a character (Lucky Number Slevin). This film looks more like a Action thriller which is one of the many sub genre's of Thrillers. Such as Lucky number Slevin which is a Psycological Thriller.

Research of Thrillers - I Am Legend

I Am Legend

The Basic Plot of I Am Legend is as follows - Years after a plague which was designed to cure cancer mutates and kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.

As the start of this opening scene, there is a voiceover which sounds two commentators from a football game. While this is on in the background there is the various companies logos appears such as Village Roadshow Pictures, Weed Road Pictures, Overbrook Entertainment, and Warner Brothers.

After this has been shown the camera cuts to a medium shot of the television, it looks like the shot has been filmed from the point of view of someone watching it. As you listen you relise they are discussing about curing cancer and this sets up the plot for the rest of the film. The title sequence for I Am Legend has very similar conventions to other thrillers I have looked at however it is much shorter and very quickly make you aware that this 'cure' is going to be the problem of the film. After this the shot cuts to black for several seconds then a establishing shot of a deralicked city appears stating it is three years after the scene before. This makes you realise the cure for cancer has destroyed the city.

Research of Thrillers - Lucky Number Slevin

Lucky Number Sleven

The basic Plot of the film is a case of mistaken identity which lands Sleven into the middle of a war between two of the citys biggest gang bosses. Slevin is under constant surveillance by relentless Detective Brikowski as well as the infamous assassin Goodkat and finds himself having to hatch his own ingenious plot to get them before they get him.

I have analysed up to 1.55 mins of the following clip as this is around how long the brief suggests our Thriller opening should be.




The Opening Title consists of animation at the start which looks like paper with a torch shining on it. This makes the audience focus on the centre of the screen, creates an element of mystery and along with the numbers dissolving into words it suggests that the film may have some dodgy dealings involving money and possibly gambling aswell. Fade to black, to a medium shot of a white telephone in what looks like a hotel room. The wallpaper and the bed covers both have circles on them, which follows on from the circle of light which the audience will have just seen this could suggest that something may happen over and over again. It is also quite distorting for the viewer to look at. Fade out to black then fades in from black to what looks like a trackihg shot of an elevator which makes you feel slightly uneasy as the shots will make you feel like your not sure what's going on. This shot then dissolves slowly into a long shot of a man in a suit walking in a underground car park, the camera pans to the right and then pans to follow the man however we don't see his face properly, the main point of focus is the book/file in which he is carrying. The suit connatates a businessman who may be quite important however the angle the camera is at suggests that what he is carrying may be more important than he is. While this is happening, the actors and actresses names are appearing the the same style as the production companies on the peice of paper with the torch. It looks like numbers are quickly increasing and decreasing in value and then dissolving into letters to form each name. This supports the idea that there may be gambling or dodgy dealings with money.

The shot cuts to a shot of the camera panning upwards as if it was in the lift (as seen earlier) it suggests also that it could be a point of view shot which could be seen as creepy to the audience. The shot then cuts to inside of the car, where you can see the man in a suit going to open his car door. You then hear a silenced gun fire two shots and the window crack. This is the only time throughout the entire title sequence where the music stops. The non-diegetic music which is playing is very quiet and slow but make you expect that there is going to be more action to come. After this the shot cuts to the lift where you see a man holding the gun which you assume shot the man in the suit disapearing up.

As the camera starts to slowly pan round the car numbers reappear on the right side of the screen but this time change to one of the actresses name which is 'Lucy Lui'. The camera then stops on the man who has just been shot which becomes a medium shot. Then from the left of the screen you see a man in a trech coat, who you assume is the same man who has just killed him, pick up the book/file he was carrying an then walk off as the camera zooms onto the dead body.



Finally this fades into the paper we saw at the start to display the title 'Lucky Number Slevin' with the flashlight effect again, it also shows the numbers more clearly and it looks like there are coffee cup stains on the peice of paper which suggests that it could be office paper work and the numbers look like they are being added up and suggests further about the dodgy dealings that may take place in the film.