What is a Thriller film

1) define and explain what the codes and conventions are. Also relate to film examples
2) saw clip and answers
3)thriller analysis of a thriller film opening
4)summary of post

Codes and Conventions

• Enigma- A mystery is always set in a thriller
• Representation of characters - victims are represented as being weak
• Violence - when people are being killed
• Dramatic Irony - audience knows the victim is going to get attacked
• Intensity of sound - when killer approaches the sound goes up
• Lighting - low key lighting creates shadows,  high key lighting creates a happy scene
• Editing - to build suspense and tension
• Iconography - props, weapons, chains, ropes
• Non-Digetic sound - creates tension, hear sound when you cant hear where its coming from
• Mirrors - To show persons reflection

SAW OPENING SCENE

Normally in opening scenes there are a common conventions of a thriller film one of them being Enigma this is because they instantly draw the audience's attention to the events taking place, and further enhance the ambiguity surrounding the reason as to why the victim is the target of the attacker. In the opening scene of Saw there is Enigma because the mystery is being set in the thriller. It happens when the man is in the bath and all of a sudden he wakes up and he is chained to something and when he try's to see who is dead in the middle of the cellar he cant because he cannot reach that far.

There is Non-Digetic sound in the opening scene because it creates tension, it happens at the start when the man comes out the bath and he starts talking and he can hear a voice in the background at this point the viewers cant see the other man in the cellar with him they can just hear his voice.

The intensity of the sound increases when the man is in the bath and the blue light is appearing and the sound goes up and up and up all u can hear is a swirling sound like something is  drowning or being lost. Intensity of sound is used for when a killer approaches then the sound would go up.

The lighting in the opening scene is very dark u cant really see that much at the start of the scene this is called Low key lighting which is used to create shadows. However, when the man suddenly adapts to his surroundings a light turns on and he sees another man chained up like himself this is high key  lighting. When the light comes on it is used to shock the audience because they don't expect it.

The location for the film is an abandoned bathroom, you can tell it is abandoned because the walls are all dirty and the man says, “no one can hear you” this shows that the bathroom is abandoned. The Iconography in Saw is the chains which are attached to the mans leg when he try's to get to the middle of the room seeing another man laying there dead. Also the gun laying next to the dead man in the middle of the room because it makes the audience assume that he killed himself with that gun because of the surroundings he was in.

The representation of the character in saw is presented as being weak he screams alot when he comes out the bath and sees the body of the dead man.