Research Into Conventions - Miss Miller

Conventions in a film are the elements that are typical to films throughout its particular genre. I will be looking at the thriller genres conventions. 

These include:

• Suspense, surprise, shock and tension

• Antagonist

• Victim which are usually female

• Iconography - weapons

• Enigma

• Low key lighting

• Timing of shots - slow/fast

• Hand held camera

• Chase scenes

• Death

• Blood

In this essay, I will analyse what conventions of thrillers are used in a scene from Scream 4 released in 2011 as it includes many of the thriller conventions such as having a masked antagonist and the traditional female victims.

Scene From Scream (2011)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHmed3LWrzs

The first thriller convention used in this scene from scream is low key lighting. It occurs when one of the girls gets up and heads towards the door after hearing a strange noise. It is used to foreshadow that she shouldn't open the door and that if she does then something bad could occur. Furthermore, the darkness created by the low key lighting causes an eerie atmosphere as well as a sense of danger and tension for the audience. The audience also feel scared for the character as the low key lighting infers to them the danger which is about to occur as thrillers can be sometimes be obvious about danger in the way that the frame is arranged and presented (dark and mysterious). 

Another conventions used is female victims, it is evident once we see the three girls by the front door screaming after seeing their dead friend. Also, the audience can tell who the victims are from watching this scene as it is a traditional convention for thrillers to have a female victims and the audience can relate to the three female victims as they are normal people and so the film makes it seem like this could happen to anyone and not only them. Moreover, by using a stereotypical female victim the audience can start to build a relationship with the characters as they can sense their vulnerability. Which, makes the audience want them to be saved and and when they are in danger makes the audience feel nervous for them. Furthermore, it builds tension for when the three female victims are in danger and by having conventional female victims its causes the audience to understand the the film more easily.

In this scene the antagonist/killer has a hidden identity as they wear a mask. Which is shown when we first see the antagonist running into the house through the front door. The hidden identity of the antagonist creates an enigma for the audience, this is because they don't specifically know who is under the mask or what their intentions are for wanting to kill the victims. A killer with a hidden identity is a common convention in thriller films as it adds tension and suspense to the scene which makes the audience more in engaged. As well as this, it means that the audience can connect to the victim and other characters in involves as neither the audience or the character know who the antagonist is.

Chase scene's are another convention which is used in this scene from Scream 4, it's shown when the girls run up the stairs trying to escape from the masked antagonist which is chasing them with an intention to kill them. They know this, as just a couple seconds before they witness their friend clasp on their door step after being stabbed. The use of the chase scene implies the anxiousness of the victims as they are running for their lives, this builds suspense for the audience as they don't know whether the victim will escape or not. Additionally, the audience can also relate to how the victims must be feeling as they must be feeling very scared and vulnerable at this time which also creates sympathy from the audience. This is conventional to the thriller genre as thriller films usually have a chase scene where by the victim tries to escape and it creates the themes of suspense and tension, keeping the audience engaged as they want to know how the chase scene ends and if the victim magnates to escape.

The main prop/piece of iconography in this scene is the knife used by the antagonist. We see it being used when one of the girls are hanging of the roof and he gets the knife out and looks as if he is about to chops her hand off so she will fall. The weapon looks extremely dangerous and harmful, which creates a sense of fear within the audience. It also increases the bond between the audience and the victim because we are scared for the victim. This kind of weaponry is common in the thriller genre also it makes the scene more realistic as it is a everyday object which is used compared to a gun. Furthermore, the iconography of the knife is conventional because a knife enhances the gore and violence in the film, thereby shocking the audience more which is one of the main theme throughout out the thriller genre.  

In conclusion, there are many conventions of thrillers which help in creating the frightening, gory, intense and suspenseful atmosphere and successful thrillers like Scream 4 contain most of these conventions. By analysing this scene from Scream 4 i now know why each convention is used and what effect it has on the audience which will help me to choose what conventions i will use in my opening sequence. For example, i have noticed that a female victim allows the audience to connect with the character and by using realistic everyday weapons as well as scenery it creates more suspense and tension for the audience as they can relate to the conventions more, so i will use this when making my own sequence.