Conventions of Thrillers

Thriller films have been known to get confused with horror films, however, there are some conventions that make these distinguishable.


Conventions of a thriller:


Narrative:
Within thrillers the narrative is usually fairly slow, but due to the tension and constant building of suspense it makes the audience want to continue watching to see what the outcome of the narrative is at the end. This means the characters have time to grow on the audience so that by the end of the film the audience feel that they have a relationship with the characters and that they are actually involved in the story.


Characters:
In thrillers there is always a antagonist and a protagonist, the antagonist usually has a weakness that is exploited by the protagonist, this is often hinted at by the title. 


Music:
The soundtrack is usually made up of an orchestra which is kept to a basic minimal score. When edited to the film the soundtrack is in most cases kept subtle but creates a tense atmosphere which keeps the film serious and the audience engaged.


Lighting:
The lighting is usually quite dark and the set is usually quite dimly lit, this is due to the low-key lighting and the dingy locations.


Camerawork:
In order to keep the audience involved on the characters level the camerawork is kept below or at eye height or is at low level, which gives you the effect of being there or at the same level of the characters.


The Set:
To give the effect of a never-sleeping set where anything can happen most thrillers are set in an urban location, for example a city. This setting can add to the sad and sometimes depressing feeling of the film. As an urban area is usually dusty and dark it means the audience can feel for the characters as the area is somewhere in which the audience wouldn't want to be themselves.