I am going to be looking at the typical conventions of thriller films from the clip 'the smiling family' from the film insidious. This film shows a number of typical conventions such as lighting, music and editing.
The clip starts with low lighting which immediately sets a tense eerie atmosphere as the dark represents the danger and unknown. There is non diegetic sound of whistling from a source with the audience are unknown of. The fact the source is unknown creates fear amongst the viewers and as it gets louder builds the suspense.
As the man ventures further into the room there are a number of close ups which show the faces of the strange dolls. There is no sound for this part of the clip and this makes it seem as though something is going to jump out at us. This helps build the suspense and keep the audience on edge.
The doll then blinks causing us to jump. As the doll jumps the music comes in and slowly builds. The whistling starts again and the source is revealed as one of the dolls. This is unexpected as the audience are repeatedly shown that the dolls are lifeless. The whistling noise is an example of contrapuntal sound and
An over the shoulder shot is used when the man returns to look at the dolls who have changed positions. As one of the dolls move the timing of shots decreases and there are numerous shots of him backing away from the scene. This shows us he is trying to escape them and the music which starts simultaneously also adds to the fear the audience are feeling. The music also increases the panic as the audience by this point would be urging the man to run. The quickening pace of the music creates empathy for the character as the audience will be wanting the man to escape
There is then a close up of the mans face which gives the audience an idea of the fear the man is feeling. Silence is used to again build the suspense before the family of dolls jump out at the man. The use of silence is conventional to a thriller and successfully builds the suspense by making the audience feel like something is about to happen.
You have shown a basic understanding of some of the conventions of the thriller genre. You have used temrinology correctly but need to elaborate on your points.
ReplyDeleteTo improve your post you need to:
1) Include a definition of conventions in the introduction
2) You need to elaborate on your points further and make sure you focus on one convention at a time rather than analysing them all together.
3) Explain why the audience reacts a certain way because of conventions
4) Explain how audience builds a relationship with the characters
5) Explain the purpose of each convention in depth