Second Poster Media Coursework

Media Coursework - Promotional Material for a film.

How can a Thriller be defined?

How can a thriller be defined?

A thriller is a genre of movie that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements, the cover up of important information and fight/chase scenes are common methods in all of the thriller sub genres.

Examples of thrillers:

Disturbia

Crank

Lakeview Terrace

The fast and the furious

Underworld

Seven

Shutter Island

What are the conventions of thrillers?

The plot of a thriller generally

• builds towards a climax
• leaves people on the ‘edge of their seats’
• Uses a cliff-hanger
• Uses car chases and fight scenes
• Common methods in psychological thrillers include mind games, stalking and death-traps/confinement and crime thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge and kidnappings.
• False paths and resolutions.

Camera angles help give a thriller its genre, as different camera angles create different senses of body language and emotions, so this is a key convention.

Editing is also another key factor; an example of this is quick cutting.

Sound is the final key element in a thriller movie, an example of this is setting a certain theme of music throughout a movie and this influences peoples view towards the film and creates a certain mood depending on the moment.