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Thriller Genre Ella Bunce
Definition of Genre Genre is the term used to describe a type of literary of film work. The word ‘genre’ means kind or sort in French and is usually defined by aspects of narrative, setting, characters, props, lighting, camerawork, editing, lighting, themes, costume and makeup. A lot of the time films fits into multiple genres or sub genres.
Thriller Genre (Sub-Genre: Crime and Psychological Thriller) The genre we have chosen (thriller) does not have a narrow definition like some genres do, such as the typical conventions of slasher films. However it is a sub-genre so it has a more specific style than just thriller and can be identified by elements usually found in thrillers. Such as in location or the twists and mystery common in thriller narrative, heroes and villains (most often criminals) and themes of terrorism, pursuit, conspiracies, crime, danger, apocalypse, political or spy thrillers. Psychological thrillers often include elements from the mystery and melodrama genres. Sometimes this thriller sub-genre will come close to wide ranging horror genre. Other thriller sub-genres are: Conspiracy, crime, apocalypse/disaster, legal, medical, mystery, political, religious and supernatural thrillers.
Characters Characters in thrillers normally have dark pasts, people involved in twisted relationships, criminals etc. The Hero: Normally has to thwart the plans of his enemy (normally a criminal) or sometimes uncover a crime that has already happened. In a mystery/thriller the murderer's identity is not normally discovered until the end of the film but in some thrillers the identity of the villain is known all along. Heroes in thriller are usually accustomed to danger, for example a police officer or detective. The Villain: Could be a stalker, assassin, psychotic or a terrorist. The Victim: Is normally innocent.
Narrative Conventions The most common narrative conventions of thrillers are twists building up to a climax, creating of tension and suspense, confrontations and the climax is normally when the hero defeats the villain, saving his own life and often the lives of other characters. Setting The most common settings in thrillers are ordinary suburban or urban areas or in places typically associated with safety such as schools. However in some thrillers the setting is more exotic.
Props/Make-up There aren't many iconic props or make-up associated with thriller however given that they are usually focused around crime things like guns and knives are often found in them. Lighting The lighting in thrillers is often dark and gloomy in order to set up the mood of the film and create an air of mystery.
Camerawork and Editing Common camerawork in thrillers is handheld, shaky and fast camera movements that are used to increase tension and mystery. Camera movements like that can also have the effect of placing you on the edge of you seat by making you uncomfortable of disoriented. Other techniques that can be used to do this are close-ups and extreme close-ups. A lot of thrillers use fast paced editing to increase tension, fast editing can also be used to disorientate the viewer. Sound/Music There isn't any type of music typically associated with thrillers as they can be either fast paced, slow paced, a mix of thriller and horror or other sub-genres. This means that there are many types of music that can be used in a thriller.
Audience Expectations When an audience goes to see a thriller film they expect to be kept on the edge of their seats, always wondering what will come next, kept in suspense and sometimes they expect to be frightened or initially confused. Target Audience Most commonly thrillers tend to be rated 15 or 18 although some are rated 12. the rating we decided on for our film will be 15 because we thought that some of the themes of murder and serial killers would be too mature for a younger audience, particularly the confusing format of a mystery/psychological thriller would be to difficult for a younger audience to understand and they would probably be frightened by it.
Se7en Opening Analysis The main setting for the opening of Se7en is the characters apartment, the setting is not discernable from the title sequence section of the opening. This is the point of the editing and shot types used in the title sequence because it creates a sense of mystery and sets the tone for the film by withholding information from the audience while presenting hints to the plot. The apartment you see is very dull and extremely drained of colour. This also sets the tone for the film and connotes that the character feels drained, maybe because of his environment. The entire opening sequence is also drained of colour, dark and full of shadows, this connotes that it is not so much suggesting that the character is depressed and drained but it is actually the whole city. Dark, dull tones are also typical of mystery thrillers as they increase tension so they are often set at night. The harsh lighting in the title sequence suggests the harshness of the character/killer.
The editing of the title sequence is not particularly fast but some parts of it are. This is to give small, fleeting frightening images that further increase the mystery, by giving the audience tiny bits of information but holding much more back. The key images of the title sequence is meant to give hints about the killer, much like parts of the start of the opening did with other characters. Probably the most important image is the showing of him cutting the tips of his fingers of so that he would have no fingerprints. The other images i.e. the photos, camera film and book and meant to show his neat, meticulous and flawlessly careful character and connote how patient his was in committing the murders. The music is also used to connote the disturbed, unstable mind of the killer, by using no clear sounds put together in a sort of random composition. The hints and ideas in the opening sequence of Se7en are relevant and clear in the film, such as the villain cutting of his fingertips so that he would have no fingerprints, and the music and colouring and lighting set the tone for the whole film. The tone being one of extremely negative, dark and twisted emotions and actions and a perverted sense of justice.
Memento Opening Analysis The settingis an old, dark, rundown, abandoned building. This is typical of the thriller genre as they are often set in urban, dark places. It also contributes to the representation of the characters as it places both of them (the victim and Leonard the shooter) in a negative light and because abandoned buildings are normally places in films where crimes are committed or planned. This creates meaning because it connotes that they were there for a reason and suggest that the murder was planned.The lighting in this sequence is very dark and lots of shadows are created in the room and cast on the characters. This connotes that they are in a dark negative place emotionally. Although there are some bright shafts of light shining in through a window or doorway although its blocked out. This could connote that the characters could be deliberately blocking out positive influences, that they have deliberately chosen a negative criminal path in life, or that someone else is blocking positive influences. Leonard’s clothes are smart and expensive looking, suggesting that he has money or possibly power.
His face has some scratches on it which connotes that he has been in a struggle, and aside from his clothes he look slightly ragged. He also has tears on his face which connote an emotional struggle with what he has done or that this is an extremely significant moment for him. You can’t clearly see what the dead man is wearing but it looks to be very casual which suggests that he doesn’t have as much money as Leonard and has a very different lifeLeonard (the shooter) looks like he’s extremely upset; he has tears running down his face and his facial expression suggests a numbness in his character and connotes that he has been through a lot emotionally which has made him this way. The man he shot (Lenny) shouts angrily just before he is killed, this connotes frustration and anger, he also seems desperate, like he has failed at something or is innocent.One of the props used in this sequence are the picture which is focused on for quite a while this connotes that it will be significant in the rest of the film (it is shown to be one on the ways in which Leonard helps himself remember what he has learned). Other props used are the gun, bullet, glasses and his camera. The gun and bullet are typical of thrillers as they connote violence, crime and death. There is also a lot of blood in this scene which connotes the same thing.
The non-diegetic sound in this sequence is a very slow, sad sounding soundtrack; it sounds like it could be violin playing. The diegetic sound includes the sound of the pictures being flapped, the sound of the camera taking the picture, the sound of the gun being dropped, the rolling/dropping of the bullet, dripping and glasses dropping. The only voice/speech in this scene is the shouting of the character just before he is shot. A sound effect would be the gun firing (diegetic) as that was probably added in editing. There are large areas of no diegetic sound but there is almost always the music playing, it starts to fade out towards the end. What his inspired me about Memento and Se7en is the using of tiny details in the opening that hint at the rest of the film and become so important later or but you have no idea how until its made clear to the audience, so they always keep you guessing about what else was important. I also think that the openings were very successful at setting the tones for the films and in the case of Memento putting you in the characters shoes and showing you how they feel through editing (the backwards narrative of the film).
Ideas for my own opening sequence From looking at other thrillers and researching the different types of thrillers, particularly our chosen sub-genre of thriller I think that some of the techniques I have observed and learned about could be very useful in our opening sequence. For example: I think that using tiny hints in the form of distorted/quick flashbacks and only letting the audience know what the detective (our hero) knows will increase the mystery. I also think that when we show our title we should cut to black briefly to show them so that the viewer is not distracted from the scene. This would also allow the tittles to be more detailed and meaningful than if they were placed on top of the shot.
Bibliography of Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre) http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/149473 http://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html http://www.findmeanauthor.com/thriller_fiction_genre.htm http://www.allmovie.com/explore/genre/thriller-942
