Thriller Conventions- Danny

One convention that is used in many thrillers is that of a binary opposition these are two similar things but which are opposite in meaning. One binary opposite would be a protagonist against an antagonist (good guy against bad guy). One example of this would be the conflict between Batman and Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, this is stereo typically shown by the Antagonist having the upper hand at the start of the film, but then as the film goes on the Protagonist starts to find the antagonists Achilles heel or weakness and then in the end scuppers their plan or ends their wrong doing. Another binary opposite would be that of law enforcement v’s crime as shown in The Dark Knight Rises and in another film that we studied Se7en. This is use in the film Se7en by, detectives have to find out whom and why someone is committing all the murders.

Another Convention that is used in thrillers is that of Editing. Editing is normally key for thrillers because it sets the mood for the thriller it can add to intensity with the use of a fast cutting rate or can get your mind thinking with cross cutting to show you two things that are going on at the same time. Also lighting is very important in editing because this adds to the mood of the scene for example in the chase scene in the opening of The Da Vinci code everything was dark in the gallery this added to the mystery of the scene and made viewers be on the edge of their seats.

Mise en scene is another convention which is very important. The costume/make up in which each character wears can add to the effect and persona in which they give off to the audience, for example the priest in The Da Vinci Code he wears a traditional and old fashioned monks uniform which gives the across the effect that he is not a normal character as that is not the normal costume of somebody from modern times. To add to this his pale white skin and white hair with scars covering him shows he’s some sort of an extremist. Also props are very important in a thriller because they can tell you things about a person for example in the opening to seven there is a chess board laid out on the table what this shows in this scene is that this character is very lonely, so lonely that he is playing chess on his own.

Location is a convention in which is important to a thriller. Where in which something is going on is key to the storyline and plot of a thriller. In the film One Hour Photo the location of the man’s work helps him to stalk a family, it aids him in getting everything he needs to find out things like what they look like and where they live for example. Location is also important because some locations may be able to hide things from the audience due to lighting or proximity of actors this can add to the mystery of a scene.