Codes and convention research and what is a thriller

 Typical codes and conventions of a thriller include: 

Action- fight scenes, fast camera movement, running, quick cuts, lots of edits, tense music. Suspense- tense build up music, scene building up to a crisis, Darkness, uncertainty, little dialogue. Iconography- costume, props such as police cars assuming a crime and violence, guns linking with violence, empty buildings or places indicating something will happen there creating suspense. Tension in certain scenes- little dialogue, audience not knowing what will happen. This will create a tense action filled typical thriller film mainly appealing to middle-class men from ages 15-24.

Conventions of a thriller:

• low key lighting
• quick cuts
• shadows 
• tension music
• changes in angle of shots
• diegetic sound of breathing
• black and white shots
• montage of shots
• protagonist is in the mercy of the antagonist

Cinematography of a thriller:

• There will be a lot of close-ups and extreme close-ups of the protagonists character, this is often to show their emotions, also it can be used to focus on props to aid the narrative.
• The shots of the antagonistic character will be cut quickly and will aim to hide their identity, for example: a shot of the back of them, a local shop, silhouette, or shadow of the character.
• There will also be shots of the antagonist over the protagonist to show the dominance of the antagonist.
  

  
  

Editing of a thriller:

The director will include lots of jump cuts because there will be things happening that the audience is unaware of but is essential for the film to make sense. Crosscutting is a key point editing as it is used to build suspense which is essential for a thriller. This editing is used to help the audience understand the film better.

Sound in a thriller:

Music is essential in any film to understand the mood of the characters and hints at a significant part in the film. In a thriller it adds suspense and tension. It will often start at a slow pace and then build up to make the shots more dramatic for the audience. 

Mise en scene:

• Acting
• Make up and hair styles
• Composition 
• Costumes – antagonist will be in dark clothes if you see them protagonist will be ordinary everyday close
• The location is important for the film because it helps the audience establish the theme
• Lighting is often lowkey

What is a thriller 

A thriller usually consists of a battle between the protagonist character and the antagonist, when there is a distribution in the equilibrium. Then the story shows a chain of bad events building tension and suspense for the climax. The aim of the protagonist is to restore justice, while the antagonist seeks to destroy it.

Themes of a thriller: the storyline will be designed so the audience will think that it can happen to them, this will make them feel scared.

Characters:

• The character is often a brave male who seeks to restore the equilibrium 
• The antagonist will have a hidden identity that the audience will uncover as the film goes on. Often the antagonist goes our for revenge from a past event.

Difference between horror and thriller: A reason why they are different is that thrillers are dominantly psychological films whereas horrors mostly contain blood and gore with careless acts of violence. Another is that is the promo covers, a thriller normally consists of a black background to show an undetermined storyline or meaning whereas a horror will have a lot of red to show the blood and gore in the movie. Here is 2 examples: Sixth sense(thriller), Nightmare on Elm Street(horror).