Conventions of a Thriller Opening and Music Video

Thriller Conventions

•A build up to the action
•Creation of fear / apprehension / anticipation / unsettling feeling / confusion / doubt over a character
•Dark, shadowy atmosphere (use of light and dark images)
•Establishing mood and atmosphere throughout the film
•Delay in showing the face of a significant character, or the action of an important event by first showing the hand of the character for instance or a reaction of someone watching the event
•Creation of suspense using soundtrack music –eerie innocent music?
•Morally ambiguous central character – film noir (Seven)
•Murder encouraging a suspecting audience
•Realistic settings to create a sense of ‘the unusual’ occurring within a normal setting
•Flashbacks
•Hero(ine) in situation of threat or struggle
•Red Herrings (Hitchcock movies)
•Twists and unexpected turns (The Usual Suspects)
•Making and keeping the audience tense and on the edge of our seats.

•The thriller relies on an intricate plot in order to create fear and apprehension in the viewer.
•The hero(ine) of the thriller is seen in situations of threat/peril before the film's narrative is resolved.
•The female characters in a thriller are often objectified through a series of gazes.
•The thriller narrative contains a build up of suspense
•The thriller is often located within an ordinary situation where extraordinary things happen.
•The killer ensnares the victim in a set of intricate moves.
•The thriller narrative is usually centred on a crime (usually a murder).
•The hero(ine) of a thriller is fallible.
•The audience are often positioned as voyeurs.
•The thriller often includes themes of identity (mistaken identity / loss).
•There is often a theme of mirroring involved in a thriller.
•Labyrinths and mazes are often motifs; they may be actual or psychological.

Music Video Conventions

. The video will either be one of the following types or will be a hybrid of:
•- performance
•- narrative (lyrics)
•- a concept or idea
2.There will be some reference to the ‘notion of looking.’
3.There will be a relationship between music and visuals.
4.There will be close-ups of the artist and/or star image motifs.
5.There will be intertextual references within the video
6.The video will contain clear genre characteristics