Genre Research – Thriller

Thriller

Thriller is a genre of film that "primary feature is that it induces strong feelings of excitement, anxiety, tension, suspense, fear, and other similar emotions in its readers or viewers—in other words, media that thrills the audience". A lot of the elements in thriller movies revolve around the Claps. 

CLAPS- Costume Lighting Actors Props Setting

CLAMPS

• Costumes in thrillers can range in color due to the range of plots that fall under the genre, I typically associate thrillers with suits and deeper/ darker colors. Some common colors would be red, black, grey, and dark blue.
• Lighting in thrillers is one of the main conventions because lighting allows the audience to feel suspense and tension throughout the movie. Movies like split use dim, minimal lighting to engage the audience and keep them on their toes at all times.
• Acting in thrillers is super important when it comes to dialogue it's not as critical but when we talk about emotion, you have to be able to read the actor's emotions whether they're scared, sad, or happy. Elements like lighting and music build suspense the role an actor plays is to relate with the audience so expression is crucial.
• Props in thrillers sometimes have an important back story. Props like guns can have an important reason for being used or involved. Also things like knives, a dripping water tap, and blood are heavily used. Especially blood, most thrillers usually involve death, and typically when someones being murdered, blood is everywhere.
• The setting is pretty basic in thrillers, the suburbs, houses, rural areas, even basements. The protagonist is usually having to deal with an issue or find a way out of it so like an escape, solve a mystery, or finish a mission.

CAMS- Camera Angle Movement Sound

CAMS 

• Common angles in thrillers can be birds eye, close up shots usually on the actor's face or important props, extreme long shots, low angle shots, point of view, and over the shoulder.
• Common camera movement tracking shots, panning shots, dutch, handheld, rack focus, and zoom.
• Common sound is typically dark and eerie. Music starts off at a slow pace and speeds up at certain times to build suspense reaching the climax of the situation or film as a whole. Sound bridges are constantly used along with the non-diegetic sound.