Summer Work

Key Conventions of a Thriller

The point of a thriller movie is keep tension between the film and the audience from start to finish; there are many key conventions to the thriller genre. The setting of a thriller is usually dependent upon the sub-genre. However, usually a thriller is set in a busy scene such as a city; a reason to this could be that large city buildings instigate power and authority. There is a large use of quick-cut shots to cater for the more fast paced sequences in the film and there is a variety of shot types from close ups (CU), to extreme long shots (ELS). The characters of the film also play a vital role to the composition of the film, as in a conventional thriller the main protagonist will convey certain weaknesses that the antagonist will exploit and the narrative will build upon the idea. Not only has this but the producers also created tension through the antagonist’s action, for example before the antagonist kills someone with their gun the viewer will be questioning if the antagonist will survive the action sequence.

Thrillers rely heavily upon sounds in the story, non-diegetic sounds like music to build up tension in a scene or if an action sequence is about to take place. There is also a use of diegetic sounds (man-made sounds), which are more for intimate encounters in the thriller. Mise-en-scene is used to the advantage of the producer to add more mystery to the thriller; guns and clothing are all to give identity to the characters and to create a danger about them.

Key Conventions of a Thriller - ‘Phone Booth’

‘Phone Booth’ is a thriller that is based entirely on one man being targeted by a sniper in a phone booth in the middle of New York. Instantly the producers use Extreme Long Shots to encapsulate the attention of people surrounding the phone booth, and also close-ups and mid-shots to show the expression of the main protagonists face as he’s tormented by the main antagonist. The opening of the film shows the viewer the faults that the antagonist will exploit in the protagonist and the film foreshadows what will take place. The effect we see with the main antagonist is that we don’t see his face until briefly at the end of the film, there is mystery as to who the antagonist is as we only hear his sinister voice. We also here the diegetic sounds of the busy streets of New York, and also the cocking of the antagonists rifle to create a sudden danger. There are non-diegetic sounds in the form of music when the plot takes a twist.

The editing of the film consists of many quick-cuts when the antagonist creates a new obstacle for the protagonist. Because of the typically busy setting that is being shown the screen is sometimes split to show different perspectives around the phone booth. Because there is so little in terms of progression through different sceneries in the film the producers use mise-en-scene to create the tense atmosphere and to allow for evolution in the plot moving forward. The only part of the antagonist we are allowed to see I the film Is down their sniper sights, which adds tension because it means they have total control of the situation and like the protagonist the audience is supposed to feel helpless.

1. This opening Extreme long shot is used to show the greatness in size of the city and to give some scope for what is to come later. The camera then zooms in to the next shot too put emphasis on the technological age we live in to show how most people in the city are using mobile phones. The producer is also showing the amount of windows around for the antagonist to use as their vantage point. The music is a mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds as the music begins and then is merged in with many phone conversations over the sound of a group of street performers singing the song. However though it does set the scene for the rest of the film it does not give too much away in terms of a build in tension and is purely focussed on showing the vastness of the city.

2. The next sequences of shots have fast cut editing with camera panning across a busy street. This shows the viewer how busy the environment is. There are also close ups of people faces and the sound hones in on the conversation that they are having like in the still. There is a narrator over the top of this sequence before it cuts and opens with the main protagonist. The lighting is that of a usual day throughout to emphasise the unexpected nature of the situation.

3. This is an over the shoulder shot. The protagonist is being shown as a manipulative individual as he lies to a customer to make money. This is a fault that is exposed by the antagonist. He is positioned in this shot as higher up than the club owner; this portrays a larger amount of power. The camera focuses on the two characters faces and puts emphasis on the customer’s expression to show how the protagonist gets his own way. Before this we here that he is a publicist and the clothes he wears are an indication that he has a ‘larger than life’ attitude, and is maybe a lot less professional than he first appears?

4. This close up Is focussed on his face as the protagonist ridicules his prank caller, though it is clear he doesn’t know what is about to happen. The phone booth is the centre of all the action in the film, and the cameras also tilt above his head to give the impression that he is less powerful than he thinks. The surrounding people are left out of the framing for the initial conversation between the two characters because they are yet to be involved in the action. In this still his head and the phone are being focussed on because they are in the golden mean.

5. This shot is one of many in the film that divides perspective in the framing. One camera focuses on the police, who are used in thrillers to either increase the tension (like in this film) because now there are more dangers for the protagonist, or to work with the protagonist and capture the antagonist. The camera is tilted up towards the protagonist to put emphasis on his facial expression as the antagonist has just killed a man and the threat has become far more real. The viewer can also see the blood trickling down from his ear which has been shot. His hair is no longer slicked back and he looks far scruffier in appearance as he becomes more fearful.