- Action Thriller
- Mis En Scene
- Dim lighting to put the audience on edge
- Mostly in small spaces or open terrain, plays on claustrophobic spaces or large "kill zones"
- Key characters rarely in the same room together - elusivity and "the chase"
- Editing
- Lots of cuts - shows the pace of the scenes
- cuts to characters - shows emotion and immerses the audience
- explosions & overtop effects - draws attention
- Sound
- Human, lots of footsteps and breathing, often employ the use of heartbeat sounds and ear ringing. Stereotypical scream sound (Wilhelm Scream)
- Environmental, birds chirping, streams(water), wind and vehicle noises (tire screech and helicopter roters)
- Action, Thuds, unrealistic gun noise when raising gun. Pinging noises of shell casings.
- Cinematography
- High Angle Shots - Needed to set the scene in new action sequences
- Corridor Shots - Used in fight scenes to give a clear view of action
- Close Ups - Mostly used to show frustration or in scenes where characters found out something bad. Also used to show a dying persons face. Particularly useful when it is unclear if someone dies (foreshadows comebacks)
- Psychological Thriller
- Mis En Scene
- Minimal setting puts emphasis on the character
- Lots of Blue and White light - very in your face & unatural
- Takes place in small rooms or in a repetetive environment
- Editing
- Cuts are done to focus on character movement - match on action (if you can call it action)
- Long drawn out scenes - most editing done is lighting or post production effects
- Sound
- High pitched noises & creakes - unnerves the audience
- Whispers to enforce deterioration of psyche
- Foot steps - more eeriness
- Cinematography
- Door shots with feet underneath
- Facial closeups - actor looks away from camera(staring into nothing), continues the degredation of characters mind
- Pan shots of setting - shows the characters isolation
- Supernatural Thriller
- Mis En Scene
- Jumbled settings - shows the non-sensicality of the situation
- Extreme darkness - light will only be on the characters in many situations
- Mostly in secluded areas - farms etc.
- Films like "Lights Out" show that setting is trumped by lighting
- Editing
- Lots of cuts to killers pov - shows the helplessness of the characters
- Likes to cut to third person shots of Protagonist - we can see the error of their actions more cleary
- Lots of lighting and post production
- Filters - sepia tinge etc
- Sound
- Scraping and cracking - Symbolises presence of the Antagonist
- Echo's, immersed in the protagonists confusion + creepy
- Wind Whistling, bushes rustling - atmospheric sounds
- Cinematography
- Set Shots - camera is still and actions moves across the screen, this makes it seem like they are being watched
- Low angles & Wormholes - adds lots of confusing scenes to disrupt equilibrium
- Handheld - immerses the audience even further, handheld is very useful as it draws attention towards the middle of the screen. Due to the HUD around the screen the audience are less likely to notice disturbances around the friges of the scene. Therefore making it easier to add in jump scares etc.
- Crime Thriller
- Mis En Scene
- sets show organised messes - crime scenes will often be messy but evidence and such will be clear to see. Very obvious actions from characters
- LOVE to use alley ways and hallways - alley ways and hallways are the bread and butter of a Crime Thriller, they are the perfect place to commit a crime (insert dumpster here) and are easily used in get-away scenes.
- Editing
- Cuts closer and further away from character - shows the changing situations and provides body to characters quick thinking
- Mostly lighting and such - in period films they also have to put in skylines and big picture settings.
- Sound
- Footsteps dominate the soundtrack - without footsteps a crime thriller would be very lacking in immersion, the pace and volume of footsteps dictate the atmosphere and foreshadow action in scenes
- Atmospheric Sounds are very important - they signify whether a situation is under control or not, when the atmosphere is quiet the situation is normally fine, however when they start adding in wind and other such noises something will usually take a turn for the worst.
- Cinematography
- High Angle POV shots - this immerses the audience in the initial surveillence of scenes, it also allows the audience to see things coming which brings them satisfaction when the character eventually acts on this.
- Set Shots - often used when arriving to a new scene, this is particularly useful when vehicles are involved. "No country for old men" & "The Zodiac" are two films that enjoy using Set Shots when involving vehicles.
- Spy/Espionage/Political
- Mis En Scene
- Very Orgasnised Set Design - These films are supposed to show a sophisticated take on life and sets often reflect this.
- Disorganised Set Design - when a set is disorganised it is either showing something bad has happened or to demonstrate the disatrous consequences that could befall should the Protagonist fail
- Editing
- Lots of over the shoulder shots and tracking shots, this is due to the large amount of dialogue found in this genre. Because plot and script are so important editing is done so that the audience is always up close with the action
- Explosions that cut to a facial closeup - done to show that the Protagonist is unphased by the situation at hand
- Sound
- Mellow sounds, often lots of nature - once again reinforces the calm and collected manner of the Spy, however can also be seen as the calm before the storm
- Theme Tune - James Bond eat your heart out, the Spy Genre's key stone selling point, no movie is complete without it. They are often orchestral pieces, which (you guessed it!) show sophistication
- Cinematography
- 180 degree line is EVERYTHING, this once again is done because there is so much dialogue
- Lots of wide angle shots, this is done to allow for over the top action sequences involving cars, boats and flying things! They are also used to show setting, eg "Casino Royal" shows the grandeur of the event.
- Film Noir
Here is a short film demonstrating our understanding of Thriller sub-genres specifically Film Noir
