What is a thriller film? (Georgiou)

1. Define and explain what the codes and conventions are?

• POV- In the opening scene of saw when he is unconsious under water in the bath
• Isolated location - The film frozen is set in the mountains miles away from anywhere.
• Low key lighting - The film pact used low key lighting to create shadows and seem more mysterious
• Hidden identity - The film scream the killer wears a mask to hide their identity. 
• Iconography - The film used iconography items to trap the victims and kill them for example the reverse bear trap.
• Atmospheric music - The film wrong turn uses atmospheric music whilst walking through the forest.
• Disturbing titles - Shutter island is and example of a distubing title.
• Plot- chase scene, murder scene, torture scene -  The scene in saw where the killer tortures the victims until they either die or manage to beat the game and excape. One example would be when the man is chained up to the toilet and he has to survive by sawing his foot off.
• Enigma - Film like Saw or Scream always have and enigma because the audience never know if the victim will survive or not.
• Hand held - Paranormal activity is an example of  filmed which is made by a hand held camera. This is effective becuase it makes it seem more realistic as a documentary instead of another scary film.
• Fast and slow editing - The film wrong turn uses fast and slow editing. For example when they are chasing in the woods they have used fast editing to emphasis its a chase and builds tension.
• Clothing of characters and the connotations - In the opening scene of saw, both characters are wearing white t-shirts. The connotations of white is innocence showing that the characters are the victims.

Saw clip

• How does the opening sequence help to define the genre?

The opening sequence to the film 'Saw' defines the genre of the thriller by the use of codes and conventions. The setting of the film is based in an abandoned bathroom. This is conventional because it is an isolated location which creates an engima. This makes the audience suspicious and it builds suspense from the unknown.

The film has used Low key lighting which cast shadows of the tiles on the walls. The shadows helps hide the identity of both characters in the room so the audience can only hear there voices. This is effective because it hides the facial expressions of the victims building suspense. This is convetional to the thriller genre.

When the lights turn back on, both of the the typical victims are shown shocking the audience. You can see they are dresses in worn out, diry clothes. They are both wearing white T-shirts which connote there innocence and highlights to the audience that they are the victims in the situation.

Both victims are chained up to pipes that run along the walls. They victim has to saw off his foot to free himself otherwise he will remain trapped. The iconography items are effective because it engages the audience and uses the shock, suprise, and suspense which builds up the tension. Finally  the film has included non diegetic sound which helps build tension. This is shown in the scene where he is in the bath unconcious. The use of all the codes and conventions help define the film as a thriller.

• How can you use the thriller film to help you plan your own thriller film?

The thriller film will help me plan my own thriller film because i can incorperate the code and conventions that have been used to make my thriller film effective. An example of this would be the use of sound to build up tension and the iconography items to contribute to the suspense. I will also use a number of different camera shots and mise-en-scene to make it seem more realistic. The film gave me ideas of scenes and typical victim characters that would be benefical to use and what type of clothes and make-up that needs to be used.

• Write a thriller analysis of the opening to the woman in black



In the opening scene to the women in white, straight away the camera is zoomed in only showing the hands and iconography items of what appears to be a little girl playing with tea pots. This is effective because the hidden identity of the characters help build suspense and leaves the audience wondering whether the character is a victim or a killer. This is conventional because the hidden identity hides the facial expressions of the children leaving the audience in the dark to whether they are scared, happy, sad etc.

The settings is based in a children's bedroom with high key lighting. This is effective because it misleads the audience to think that nothing bad is going to happen because you can see the settings around them and its clear to see there facial expressions. The effect of the children playing with there dolls connotes that they are innocent which make it more unexpected when the three girls to jump out of the window  and kill themselves.

The iconography items used in the scene was tea pots and china dolls. All three girls stand up in unison building anticipation and when one of the children drop one of the tea pots resulting it to smash on the floor, it makes the audience anxious. By the facial expressions of the girl the audience is able to see that the girls are happily playing however when they walk towards the window and crush all the iconography item the audience expect something bad to happen. This is conventional because you can see the victims in the situation are being controlled by a paranormal force.

Non-Diegetic sound has been played in the opening scene of the film when the girls are playing with their dolls. The sound started of slow and quiet of high pitch chimes when the girl were playing however the pace began to increase and the sound became more violent. When the girls were about to jump out of the window all you could hear was harsh chimes of church bells. This is symbolic to a death or a funeral making. This is conventional because the non-diegetic sound gradually built anticipation and made the audience anxious when the were about to commit suicide.

Each of the characters are positioned in the centre of the screen. This is effective because it draws the audiences eyes to focus on them highlighting that they are important parts of the scene. This technique was used when the three girls are walking to the window. This allows the audience to see their facial expression highlighting that they appear to be possessed. This is conventional because the innocent victim is being forced to commit suicide shocking the audience.