Thriller Subgenres

Thriller Subgenres:

• Action - Give its defining elements a back seat, and focus on the action and you have an action thriller, is more commonly found in films then novels due to the visual appeal of explosions and violence.
• Crime - Usually from the criminals point of view and majority of the appeal coming from the cunning of the criminal eluding the police as well as the physical action, and the police gathering evidence trying to find the criminals.
• mystery - Usually much more fast paced then a regular mystery with the protagonist on the run for something or from something.
• spy - This subgenere focuses on the high adventure of field agents and is usually set on the back drop of some war or to prevent one from occurring. 
• political - In this subgenere political relations or the whole government is at stake
• psychological - Most of the conflict is mental rather then physical and the protagonist has become in a dangerous situation which literally threatens their sanity.
• conspiracy - The protagonist must over come some sort of power by himself, which threat he can only see. 
• (many more subgenera)

Examples:


Now you see me 2- crime, mystery, action

Jason Bourne - action, spy

The conjuring - horror, supernatural

The nice guys - crime, mystery, conspiracy, comedy





Money Monster - crime, political

The Barthes Code

The Hermeneutic code:
This is the part(s) of the story that is unanswered (like enigmas) they don't have to be at the beginning of the story, however thrillers tend to use them towards the end so they are quickly revealed. Some times there will be a snare which is information that can sent the audience down the wrong path as well as equivocation which mixes the truth with the snare.

example:

- When corrupt judge lex enters the mega block (housing blocks) and murders a civilian ready to testify to the crimes that he had witnessed prior to his entrance, as well as the state of the city, why are there so many slums?, what happened to normal police? these elements come under the hermeneutic code as it creates mystery and confuses the audience for a period of the film.


- A snare was used within sherlock Holmes as most of the film made you think that Lord black wood had some sort of magical powers when in actuality it was just science (revealed to audience at the end by sherlock)





- Although it wasn't clear until the end, a snare was used wihin fight club as Brad Pit's character was only in Edward Norton's head as a sort of alterego however was presented as two different characters for the majority of the film.







The Proairetic code :
Actions suggesting further reaction, also known as the action code, e.g. an argument waiting for the resolution/ answer. the aim of this is to create suspense as the audience expects a reaction.

example:



-As Harry goes to get water for Dumbledore in harry otter and the half blood prince it creates tension as the audience waits in silence for the reaction.

Thriller Conventions

Many thrillers today that are successful are due to subtle elements that go unnoticed to most people however when executed properly it leave the audience constantly on the edge of their seats and in constant suspense.


low key lighting:
Low key lighting is important to the thriller genre as it creates mystery and makes the audience wait in anticipation as the possibilities of the black void behind what the camera is focusing on is endless which grips the audience making them watch as the plot revealed.

enigma/mystery:
Enigma/Mystery is a key element as it makes the audience create their own questions for things that haven't been answered yet in the story as well create their own theories about what is actually
happening.



Suspense:
Suspense is an element that is mainly focused on in thrillers and is used to grip the audience and add to the mystery factor, keeps them attentive as well as leave the audience wondering what will happen next .





Slow/realistic build up:
The build up in a film is important as if the plot is released slowly it adds to the tension of the film making the audience crave more.




isolated setting:
An area that is isolate increases the mystery factor part of the film as it makes the audience wonder what they would do if it were them in an desolate area far from anyone else as they create their own scenarios in their head.

Action:
Action isn't something that is compulsory for a thriller however it can be used to make scenes more exciting and used to create a sudden event that can catch the attention of the audience even more.

welcome

Hi, my name is Jayden and this is my AS media blog. On this blog i will be going through what makes a good thriller opening and how to create one. It will consist of a logo, title, music and will last two to five minutes long and i will take you through each step of my planning to the finished piece.