AS Evaluation- Question 1

When planning for my opening scene, I looked into the conventions of the thriller genre. I did this in order to have more of an understanding of what to include in my  own thriller, to make sure that I could produce a sequence that can be as successful as it could be. By researching into the conventions of the thriller genre, it gave me a wide look into what I could include in my sequence to make it run smoothly and to see what would work well within my narrative.

One of the main, and generic, conventions which ran through most of the thriller films in which I had analysed was the use of a female victim. This was noticed in Paranormal Activity, Drag Me To Hell, Physco and The Human Centipede, these films were all sucsseful in their portrayal of a female victim. Because of this, I believed that a female victim would be most suitable for my narrative. Also, with use of the female victim within each film, they related back to their intended audience, because of this, it increased the fear and tension within them making the audience feel vulnerable. Another generic convention of this genre is low key lighting. Within all thriller films I had watched, each film contained usage of low key lighting. Films included, Incidious, Sinister and Saw. The low key lighting that was included in each film built the tension vastly as the lighting manipulated the audience into feeling fearful and somewhat vulnerable. With the effect that the low key lighting had on these films, I incorporated it into my sequence in order to increase the eerie feel. The last generic convention within the thriller genre is iconography. The use of iconography within thriller films allows for the audience to have more understanding of what is happening and what potentially may happen. Iconography is used within every thriller film in order to to engage the audience and to ultimately make them fearful towards the scenes happening in front of them. I noticed iconography in The Shining, The Human Centipede, Sinister and Saw. Each of these films use different iconography within them, but, yet, all still portray fear and suspense. 

Within my thriller sequence I followed the generic conventions and applied them in to my sequence. The main character in my sequence was a teenage girl in whom is home alone at night time. I thought carefully about how my group and I wanted the girl to look and what she should wear. My group and I decided to dress her in pyjamas in order to make her look vulnerable and an easy target, however, clothing didn't play a huge role in the portrayal of vulnerability as the stereotypical view on teenage girls is seen to oblivious to what is happening around them and vacant. This view of teenage girls is proved correct within my thriller as when the lights cut off, she looks around in shock as she is unaware someone is in her house. Ultimately, I used a teenage girl as I thought it would create tension and build the fear factor. 

The next convention that was included in my sequence was the use of low key lighting. The sequence was set in a night setting in order to create a mysterious and tension building atmosphere. In order to follow the convention of low key lighting, we had to film late at night, I wanted to create an eerie atmosphere which would make the audience feel uncomfortable in which I believe my sequence creates. 


Another convention included within the sequence was iconography, the iconography that we used was a knife. The present the knife to the audience, to allow them to know there was a weapon within the scene, we scrapped the knife along the kitchen work top which made a sound that would repeat and play on the audiences mind. We used a knife within the sequence as my group and I believed it was the weapon that was most conventional to the thriller genre. Using the knife, we were able to create a fearful atmosphere and make the audience feel on edge as to what the knife may be used for.



Setting is another generic convention used within my opening scene. Within many thriller films that I had analysed used a house as the main setting, so, we decided we would make the setting in a house also. The house setting within my thriller and other thrillers gives the film a sense of reality. It leads the audience to sit on edge and make them believe that what is occurring within the sequence could happen to themselves. The household setting makes the sequence also more mysterious, making the audience wonder how the killer got into the house and what may happen next. Also, as the girl is home alone, we know that she has no one to help her if something happens, this therefore increases the fear within the sequence

Another convention that is noticeable within my clip is the use of minimal dialogue. During the chase scene, there is minimal dialogue and the only words heard is the girl shouting 'George' in panicked voice. The use of minimal dialogue allows for the fast pace of the chase to build. The 
 audience are led to focus fully on what is going on within the scene, not being distracted by anything. My group and I believed minimal dialogue would be effective within scene as it portrays the fear to build and allows the audience to build a relationship with the main character. 

The last convention is the use of the clothing the characters are wearing. Clothing helps in the representation of the characters and it allows for the audience to understand more about the characters. We dressed the girl in pyjamas as we believed it portrayed a sense of innocence and vulnerability. The killer is dressed in baggy clothes in which are able to hide his identity. The use of the clothing in which they are wearing allows for representations to be made clearly. The girl is represented to be vulnerable and innocent and the killer is represented as mysterious and scary, this is achieved through the use of clothing.


I believe that my opening sequence defines the thriller genre. The elements that were used within my sequence, make it clear of the thriller genre. Firstly, the low key lighting gives the audience an indication that there is something suspicious going on, creating a mysterious feel. Within the sequence there is also use of handheld and close- up shots. These shots give the audience a clear view of the victims emotions and panic. By adding these to my thriller, this leads for the audience to feel emotion towards her and are also aware of what the girl is feeling herself. These shots are very definitive of the thriller genre as what the girl is feeling reflects onto the audience. There is also very limited dialogue within the sequence, again, this defines the thriller genre as the use of no speech makes the sequence fast pace and we are just able to concentrate on what we re being shown.
When looking at my thriller sequence, it can be compared to many thriller films. The first in which it can be compared to is The Shining. Within The Shining there is use of iconography, low key lighting, and a chase scene, all in which is seen in my sequence. Although, the iconography is different from my sequence to The Shining's, it still portrays the same fearful effect. The chase scene from The Shining is fast pace with many different camera angles in which is reflective of my sequence. The Shining also uses long shots and handheld movements in which our clip sequence uses, in order to pick up the pace of what is happening. With use of the long shots in my sequence, we are able to have a clear view of the victims surroundings.