What's a thriller? Being that it is still Spooky Season, I feel that thrillers are the perfect genre to research and talk about on a deeper level.
Thrillers are the one of the most popular genres for a reason. Although feeling scared and confused may not seem so appealing, these movies find a way to leave their audience wanting more. This genre's target audience are those 18+ due to them being more capable of understanding the disturbing content better than those of younger age groups. They also are described as thrill seekers, making these movies and shows perfect for them.
Some of a thrillers content: A thriller consists of various sub genres including action thrillers, crime thrillers, and my personal favorite, psychological thrillers. This genre of film is characterized by the mood and emotion that is reflected from the screen on to the audience. More specifically, feelings of suspense, excitement, anxiety, fear, anticipation, confusion, and so much more. The incorporation of these emotions is extremely important as it leaves people on the edge of their seats. This creates a sensation of curiosity that is simply irresistible.
A good movie example of this is the movie Jaws directed by Steven Spielberg. This film has a very well driven plot as it follows the story of a town being invaded by a gigantic killer shark. The shark is a beast killing innocent people and it was up to the protagonists to capture him. Spielberg wanted to make the viewers feel the fear of the townspeople and build suspense throughout the movie. He wound up succeeding as Jaws is one of the most famous movies of all time.
Viewers enjoy this kind of content because of the emotional rollercoaster that the plot takes them on. The audience gets to play the guessing game of what will happen next and feel fear in a controlled manner. It leaves people wanting more and for this reason, it is one of the most popular film genres to date. Now let’s dig a little deeper.
Some production techniques: At a foundational level, thrillers pose a series of questions that the audience expects to be answered and the suspense is the anticipation for that answer. This kind of film requires a variety of production techniques to perfect so let’s talk about a few of them.
One major technique is sound. Sound is used to build suspense and keep the viewers on the edge of their seat as well as giving goosebumps and intensifying scenes. Many directors like to include a famous sound illusion that is referred to as a Shephard tone in their productions. Shepard Tone is a popular illusion that creates a constant feeling of rising/falling in the pitch of a soundtrack. It is also referred to as a barber pole because it looks like it is always going up but in reality it is not. It is utilized in many films to induce feelings of anxiety and stress to manipulate the audience not only mentally but physically as well. Directors like Christopher Nolan and composers like Hans Zimmer have become synonymous with this method to give their audiences adrenaline and make their films more intense. It can be seen in many films such as The Dark Knight and Interstellar.
Another popular production technique is the editing of the scenes as well as the camera angles used in them. Film makers like those mentioned above, like to use fast and rhythmic cuts in their films to increase the pace of what's going on. This translates on to the audience by keeping their attention grabbed. The quick cuts emphasize the high amount of energy in the scenes as well as making the events seem more chaotic. They also like to focus a lot on the kinds of camera angles they are using. Popular ones include over the shoulder shots to show something the protagonist may not see yet along with close ups to convey the characters emotions better to the audience; usually those such as fear, stress, confusion, etc.These techniques work to manipulate the audience's emotions by again keeping them on edge.
Its marketing: All of these techniques for creating thrillers would be useless if the movies are not marketed correctly to their target audience. Directors have to conduct research to ensure their productions include all the elements possible that will attract consumers. Popular ways that movies are marketed are on TV on commercial breaks and in previews in theaters. When campaigning movies, directors need to make sure that the trailers have all the components necessary to attract viewers before the release of the movie. Trailers are used to give possible consumers insight on the characters, the setting, tone, and plot of the whole movie without giving away too much. This form of marketing is used to gain enough curiosity from an audience so they invest their money and time into watching the movie.
Some iconic samples of thrillers:
The movie Psycho by famous director Alfred Hitchcock is a prime example of what thriller is. This movie follows secretary Marion Crane after stealing money from her employer to run away from her abusive boyfriend. While she was at the Bates motel, she winds up left alone to die. Hitchcock incorporated a multitude of elements such as sound and suggestive camera angles throughout the film y to ensure that his audience was on the edge of their seats. The combination of these techniques had aided him in creating one of the most famous movies in history. He managed to manipulate the audience's emotions and convey a theme of madness and suspense which is what a thriller is truly about.
The movie Seven is a crime thriller from the mid 90s directed by David Fincher. It follows two detectives that are trying to locate a murderer whose motive comes from the seven deadly sins. Though the movie does not have too much of a deeper meaning, Fincher managed to give the illusion that it has one. One of the main techniques that Fincher incorporated into this piece was Mise En Scene. This movie is very dark and had a lot of low lighting that was used to set an eerie tone for the audience. Fincher made sure to cast shadows against the bright light to create a sense of suspense and anticipation for the viewers. To the viewers, the killer could be lurking anywhere creeping in the darkness. This also works to get the viewers to feel uneasy and work to create the feeling of anxiety within the audience. By leaving the viewers guessing, he leaves them on edge and encompasses what a thriller is all about.
No comments:
Post a Comment