Thriller conventions ( with thanks, to Longroadmedia who posted this
originally on their blog.)
Obviously, many thrillers
these days are hybrids ie. they draw from more than 1 set of conventions.
However, it is still possible to create a list of thriller conventions. Consider
the list below in your analysis and technical construction of a
thriller:
Thriller Generic
Characteristics
The narrative
centres around a crime eg. a theft or a murder.
The
protagonist is fallible and has an 'Achilles heel' that is exploited by
the antagonist.
The title of the thriller may relate to
this weakness eg Vertigo and Insomnia.
The protagonist will be
seen 'in peril' in one or more scenes before the
resolution.
The antagonist ensnares the protagonist in
an increasingly complex web, until the protagonist feels isolated and
helpless.
The narrative presents ordinary situations in which
extraordinary things happen.
Micro elements
combine in a build up of suspense. ( Micro means film elements like camerawork,
sound, narrative, genre, mise-en-scene, lighting, costumes, actors and facial
expressions, etc.)
Themes of identity are common:
mistaken identity, doubling/doppelgangers, amnesia.
Themes of
seeing, reflection and mirroring. Manipulation of perspectives, visual
McGuffins, and optical illusions are common.
The audience of a
thriller is placed in the ambiguous position of voyeur. Voyeurism can
also be a theme and the objectification of female characters is common
especially in earlier thrillers.
A series of/ one important
enigma(s) are/is set up in the opening sequence of the film, is further
complicated during the first part of the film and only resolved at the very end.
Follow us.
Showing posts with label thriller genre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thriller genre. Show all posts
07/12/2012
18/11/2012
Independent study/ Home learning
Please make sure you catch up with everything and evaluate / assess your videos on Genre.
You also need to make use of the PPTs on Genre, particularly on Thriller Subgenres.
Complete lesson notes, upload to blog.
Continue your research on Thriller Conventions and add to your notes.
Watch Thrillers, at least the openings, making use of The Art of The Title website. Start screen-grabbing interesting ideas / camerawork etc.
You need to start thinking about your project...
PS: Reminder - Add labels to your post and a Labels List gadget.
Redraft and improve your work as you go.
You also need to make use of the PPTs on Genre, particularly on Thriller Subgenres.
Complete lesson notes, upload to blog.
Continue your research on Thriller Conventions and add to your notes.
Watch Thrillers, at least the openings, making use of The Art of The Title website. Start screen-grabbing interesting ideas / camerawork etc.
You need to start thinking about your project...
PS: Reminder - Add labels to your post and a Labels List gadget.
Redraft and improve your work as you go.
09/11/2012
Coursework Research: Genre and Genre Theory (independent study - due in week starting 12.11.12)
Here is a selection of useful PPTs to help you with this key media concept.
Read them to consolidate your understanding, including the different ways in which Thriller sub-genres are categorised.
Make sure you start with the first two - focus on Charles Derry's way to categorise thrillers.
By the end, you should have an excellent grasp of thriller subgenres and their generic conventions.
Read them to consolidate your understanding, including the different ways in which Thriller sub-genres are categorised.
Make sure you start with the first two - focus on Charles Derry's way to categorise thrillers.
By the end, you should have an excellent grasp of thriller subgenres and their generic conventions.
Genre theory from HeworthMedia
Genre Theory from MissMoore866
25/10/2012
THRILLER MOODBOARD (independent study)
DESIGN A MOODBOARD TO ILLUSTRATE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE GENERIC CONVENTIONS.
Please remember that we are not talking about horror!
You might want to illustrate different thriller sub-genres or focus on one specific sub-genre, eg. psychological thrillers or "man-on-the-run" thrillers...
Here is one (not terribly good one) I made earlier...
16/11/2011
Home Learning/ private study due in 22 or 23.11 - for week beginning 7.2.11
- Research Thriller sub-genres and different ways of categorising them. Focus on 2 or 3 sub-genres and illustrate with film extracts, film posters, and screen grabs from films.
- Read the sheet on Thriller Conventions very carefully and start finding examples to illustrate the different conventions highlighted. This should be on-going from now on.
- Now the groups have been agreed, each group is a now a production company - it needs a name and a logo. Come up with a name and designs for your logo. Look at existing examples of Film production companies as part of your research to get some inspiration.
ALL THE ABOVE COUNT DIRECTLY TOWARDS THE RESEARCH PART OF YOUR COURSEWORK. Look at the mark scheme for clarification (in your guidance packs).
LABEL YOUR POSTS CLEARLY WITH: THRILLER GENRE RESEARCH
- Finally, your documentaries on genre should be exported by the beginning of next week so that the other class can watch and evaluate them.
This means that the edit must be fine-tuned and exported by the end of Monday 21.11.11.
I'll upload them to YouTube so that you can embed them into your blogs.
- Read the sheet on Thriller Conventions very carefully and start finding examples to illustrate the different conventions highlighted. This should be on-going from now on.
- Now the groups have been agreed, each group is a now a production company - it needs a name and a logo. Come up with a name and designs for your logo. Look at existing examples of Film production companies as part of your research to get some inspiration.
ALL THE ABOVE COUNT DIRECTLY TOWARDS THE RESEARCH PART OF YOUR COURSEWORK. Look at the mark scheme for clarification (in your guidance packs).
LABEL YOUR POSTS CLEARLY WITH: THRILLER GENRE RESEARCH
- Finally, your documentaries on genre should be exported by the beginning of next week so that the other class can watch and evaluate them.
This means that the edit must be fine-tuned and exported by the end of Monday 21.11.11.
I'll upload them to YouTube so that you can embed them into your blogs.
06/07/2010
List of recommended thrillers
Wecome to the Thriller Project blog!
To get you started, here is a list of recommended films you really ought to see in order to get a firmer grasp of the Thriller genre.
Of course you cannot see them all but you'll be expected to have seen at least 8 by the end of the first half-term, then keep watching throughout the coursework unit.
Arrange viewings between yourselves and keep a record of you what you've seen. Discuss what makes these films good thrillers or at least iconic ones. You should develop a better understanding of thriller conventions and sub-genres, and of course get much inspiration for your own project.
Some of these films can be borrowed from the Department. Some of the films from the list are 18-certificates so you will need to have that discussion with your parents / guardians; you also need to consider your own feelings.
1. Heat
2. Se7en
3. The Silence of the Lambs
4. LA Confidential
5. The Departed
6. Reservoir Dogs
7. Chinatown
8. North by Northwest
9. The Conversation
10. The 39 steps
11. Psycho
12. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
13. Charade
14. Strangers on a Train
15. The Third Man
16. Memento
17. Enemy of the State
18. The Servant
19. The Night of the Hunter
20. Rear Window
21. Rosemary’s Baby
22. The Others
23. Blue Velvet
24. The Ipcress File / Get Carter
25. The Fugitive
26. The Shining
27. The Killing
28. Blood Simple
29. The Usual Suspects
30. Cape Fear
31. No Country for Old Men
32. Double Indemnity
33. The Manchurian Candidate
34. Les Diaboliques (Clouzot)
35. The French Connection
36. Rebecca
37. Le Samourai (Melville)
38. City Of God
39. Delicatessen
40. Three Days of the Condor
41. After hours
42. Rebecca
43. Minority Report
44. What Lies Beneath
45. Copycat
46. The Bourne Identity
47. The Machinist
48. Fatal Attraction
49. Fargo
50. Schindler’s List (not a thriller but a masterclass in directing)
To get you started, here is a list of recommended films you really ought to see in order to get a firmer grasp of the Thriller genre.
Of course you cannot see them all but you'll be expected to have seen at least 8 by the end of the first half-term, then keep watching throughout the coursework unit.
Arrange viewings between yourselves and keep a record of you what you've seen. Discuss what makes these films good thrillers or at least iconic ones. You should develop a better understanding of thriller conventions and sub-genres, and of course get much inspiration for your own project.
Some of these films can be borrowed from the Department. Some of the films from the list are 18-certificates so you will need to have that discussion with your parents / guardians; you also need to consider your own feelings.
1. Heat
2. Se7en
3. The Silence of the Lambs
4. LA Confidential
5. The Departed
6. Reservoir Dogs
7. Chinatown
8. North by Northwest
9. The Conversation
10. The 39 steps
11. Psycho
12. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
13. Charade
14. Strangers on a Train
15. The Third Man
16. Memento
17. Enemy of the State
18. The Servant
19. The Night of the Hunter
20. Rear Window
21. Rosemary’s Baby
22. The Others
23. Blue Velvet
24. The Ipcress File / Get Carter
25. The Fugitive
26. The Shining
27. The Killing
28. Blood Simple
29. The Usual Suspects
30. Cape Fear
31. No Country for Old Men
32. Double Indemnity
33. The Manchurian Candidate
34. Les Diaboliques (Clouzot)
35. The French Connection
36. Rebecca
37. Le Samourai (Melville)
38. City Of God
39. Delicatessen
40. Three Days of the Condor
41. After hours
42. Rebecca
43. Minority Report
44. What Lies Beneath
45. Copycat
46. The Bourne Identity
47. The Machinist
48. Fatal Attraction
49. Fargo
50. Schindler’s List (not a thriller but a masterclass in directing)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)