AS Evaluation Question 1

Within the thriller genre there are numerous elements, which are conventional to the thriller genre and make the genre unique and distinguishable from others as the consistently evoke similar emotions within the audience. One of the main conventions of the thriller genre is ‘low key lighting’; low key lighting is when the lighting used is very dark and doesn’t reveal much about the characters or setting. This lighting is extremely successful in creating enigma as it hides the identity of the antagonist which evokes fear as the audience don’t know what he’s capable of, it also hides the surroundings which means there could be anything there which could be a potential danger to the victim. This use of low key lighting is used within the thriller ‘Conjuring’ when the protagonist’s room is showed with very dark lighting, which hides numerous sections of the room. This makes the audience scared of what hides in these dark sections and in this particular scene this fear is immediately heightened as an antagonist eerily emerges. Another typical thriller convention, which regularly features within thriller films, is the handheld camera shot. This shot is presented to the audience as though the characters are filming the events occurring. This shot heavily features within the thriller series of films ‘Paranormal Activity’ the main goal for this shot is for the audience to form a bond with the character which is filming these events. They form a bond as it allows the audience to view the situation from their scenario and therefore emphasise the emotions the characters are feeling. This bond means that the audience are fearful for that characters safety and therefore are more enticed in the narrative.

Within our film we followed many of these codes and conventions to ensure that our opening thriller sequence fits the brief. Our narrative is conventional to the thriller genre as it follows a focal antagonist as a villain chases her. This chase sequence is very conventional to the thriller genre as many thriller films follow a victim being chased by an intimidating villain. We used this convention because it successfully keeps the audience incited in the narrative and successfully creates suspense and excitement. We also used the conventional low key lighting throughout our sequence as we used the natural dark lighting, this means that the villain is consistently hidden from the victim and therefore appears more powerful to the audience. This is conventional to the thriller genre as low key lighting is frequently used to hide specific identities and create suspense. We also used a conventional location of a forest, we used this convention because At the finale of our chase scene we use a handheld camera shot, this shot is regularly used within thriller films as it helps the characters and audience form a relationship. We used it to create a similar effect, as we wanted the audience to empathise with the emotions that the victim is feeling at this pivotal moment within our narrative.
CLOTHING
LOCATION
ICONOGRAPHY
FEMALE VICTIM 

I believe our opening thriller sequence can be closely compared to the thriller ‘Strangers’. The most obvious conventional comparison between the two thrillers is that of the narrative; both thrillers show a young female being stalked and terrorised by a masked and armed villain before her pursues his victim in a fast paced chase scene. This narrative is often the backbone of many thriller story lines as it successfully creates immense suspense before a exciting fast paced chase scene which keeps the audience enticed as they don’t know what will happen next. As well as having the same focal convention, the micro-elements used to achieve this similar narrative are also similar within both thrillers. For example both thrillers follow the convention of a masked villain with a knife, this presentation of the villain is very common with the thriller genre as it creates enigma and evokes fear as the audience and characters are unaware of the antagonists identity therefore they don’t know what he is capable of. The antagonist which features within both films is also similar and conventional to the genre as both films use a young female victim, this use of a stereotypical victim immediately portrays her as vulnerable it also helps form a bond with the audience which are a similar age to her, this will keep them enticed. Another convention shared by both our opening sequence and Strangers is the use of low key lighting; low key lighting is used in extremely similar, specific situations as it is used in both to partially hide the antagonist as he loiters behind his victim with intent, without her knowledge. This convention is used to evoke fear within the audience as she is presented as extremely vulnerable as she doesn’t know he’s there.