Research into Conventions - Miss Miller

Research into Conventions

Conventions are features of the film that are expected to appear based on the genre. For example, within thrillers, the audience would expect to see a murder take place and the identity of the killer remained hidden in order to create an enigma for the rest of the narrative to unfold upon this basis. Having researched the different conventions that are expected to be featured in a thriller film, I have chosen to analyse a clip from The Strangers in which I have identified many techniques such as Camera, Sound, Editing and Mise-en-Scene in order to portray the conventions usually associated with a thriller film.

The first convention that I identified within this clip was the use of non diegetic sound of an eerie soundtrack played over the image of the female character hiding with a knife in her hand which can be heard from 0:01 until 0:53. Although other sounds such as objects falling over is played, the soundtrack is continuously played at a low volume and pitch in order to build suspense and make the audience believe that something bad is about to happen. The music is a parallel sound to what viewers expect to hear in this particular situation. This is conventional for a thriller as it helps to build suspense as well as portraying the story and setting the overall tone of the scene. Sound is much more effectively used in place of dialogue as it portrays the story and shows the audience exactly what is going on instead of telling them. This allows for the audience's emotions to be heightened and played with therefore making them feel vulnerable as the film overwhelms them. The sound is reduced to a minimum when the female character approaches the curtain where the strange noises are coming from to connote that someone is on the other side of the curtain and that the character may not escape. It also helps to build suspense and immediately conveys to the audience that something is about to happen that is significant to the film's narrative. This builds the scene up to its climax and evokes a sense of shock from the audience when the character sees the strange figure at the window. Due to the nature of the soundtrack, tension is built and so the audience are left knowing that the girl shouldn't approach the window as they can sense that it will put her in a dangerous situation. The viewers as well as the female have no idea what may be at the window looking into the house therefore when the curtain is drawn and the figure appears, the audience are put into the character's mindset and makes them feel nervous as well showing that they have connected with the character due to feeling closer to her.

Another use of a convention evident within the clip analysed was the use of a female victim running from an unknown antagonist.The audience witness the female victim running around clutching a knife in fear highlighted by her facial expressions highlighting the fear and horror she is feeling. Characters in any film can be used to allow the audience to understand the narrative better and to possibly gain an overall feel for what is to happen within the scene. The victim's body language and facial expressions immediately tells viewers that although she is intrigued to discover what is beyond the window and watching her every move, she is also scared conveyed through the diegetic sound of heavy breathing as this is something that we would do when we are scared in a particular situation. This causes the audience to be on edge as it builds suspense and could also act as an example of foreshadowing implying that something bad is to happen to the female character, as her vulnerability and fear portrays her to be the victim. This is also highlighted through the iconography of the knife suggesting to the audience that she feels unsafe in her own home due to this mysterious figure constantly watching her and creates an idea of paranoia as later on in the scene we witness a man walking in and the female character explains that she knows someone is out there however the man seems to be completely oblivious to this.

Furthermore, another convention that I noticed was the many uses of cinematography in the clip. One of these was an example of over the shoulder shot. For example, this is shown when the female is walking toward the window. This immediately places the audience in the character's shoes and allows them to feel the same emotions as her and also makes them feel vulnerable as they can now only see what she sees and are left completely unaware of what is about to happen. This causes the audience to feel sympathy towards the female character as they now know that something bad is going to happen and that she is consequently walking right toward danger, something that is common for victims within thriller films. This sympathetic emotion is felt throughout the remainder of the scene and influences how the viewers will react to the events about to unfold.

Another camera technique that I identified within the clip was a partial high angle shot in which the camera was focused slightly downwards placing emphasis on the image of the female character sitting on the floor and is portrayed as being weak and vulnerable therefore suggesting that she is the victim which is a convention evident within the thriller genre. This angle also highlights the distress of the female which is also a common theme. This particular angle makes the audience feel the same emotions as the character therefore showing that they have created a definite relationship between the character in the film and the viewers. This shot could also act as the stimulus for the creation of an enigma for the remainder of the film to work around as the audience are unsure of what is to happen to the character. The camera technique also creates an idea of emotional distance as the shot is filmed not too close to the female which portrays the character as a conventional victim having shown obvious signs of fear and distress and is therefore walking toward potential danger which may connote a possible fatal consequence but she decides to investigate nevertheless.

A convention I have also noticed that was used within the clip was Mise-en-Scene shown through the examples of low key lighting. This style of lighting works as a definite indicator as to what genre the film falls into, which is the thriller genre. It is used to create eerie shadows and silhouettes and some areas of darkness throughout the scene which is conventional for a thriller film. The only light sources evident within this scene is the naturalistic lights in the house which helps to create a realistic setting. This is because it implies a tense atmosphere and foreshadows that something bad is about to occur. The low key lighting is used to hide a majority of the detail within a frame in order to focus the audience's attention on particular actions and emotions of a specific character. Therefore this makes the viewers question with the images in their heads of what they think they are seeing to the actual representation of what they are seeing, creating an element of confusion in order to prolong the enigma created and keep the audience in suspense and anticipating the climax of what is to follow. This effect helps to build a maximum amount of tension and therefore makes the climax much bigger meaning that the audience may be more shocked when this climax is reached, something that is extremely conventional to the thriller genre.

Another element of Mise-en-Scene that I identified when analysing the featured clip was the use of costume, hair and makeup. Due to being the main character within the scene, she is dressed in a simple checked flannel shirt with a black vest top underneath. This creates the idea that she is a normal person within society and has no other connotations attached to her. The colours of her shirt are red, blue and white. The little patches of white on the shirt can be interpreted as representing purity and innocence which portrays her to be more victim-like. In addition to this, she is wearing a minimal amount of makeup which, along with her hairstyle and clothing, represents her further as being a normal person. This causes the audience to relate to the character which makes them feel vulnerable as they realise that the situation being shown could happen to anyone, including themselves.

Finally, the last convention evident within the clip analysed was the use of editing. Throughout the scene, several jump cuts were used to focus the audience's attention when the mysterious figure appears. As well as this, when the man walks in, possibly the character's partner, a reaction shot was used to highlight the fear of the female as well as her relief that she is now not alone in the house.A reaction shot is an editing technique in which a subject reacts to a previous shot. In this clip, the female character is crouched on the floor listening to footsteps in the house and then realises that her partner has now come home. We can see from the fear upon her face that she is extremely scared of what is after her and the fact that she is even jumpy around her partner connotes that this may be psychological therefore making her paranoid. Her facial expressions support this and help to tell the audience that something bad is happening to her and there is no way of escaping it. This reaction has been used to evoke a sense of sympathy from the audience as well as being able to relate to her and the situation she is in. As the character;s emotions are reflected,
viewers now feel a sense of paranoia and nervousness as well as fear as they wait to see what will happen next.This is conventional to the thriller genre as it helps to encourage the audience to feel a certain way and also helps them be able to connect with the characters to feel properly engaged within the scene.

Having researched the different conventions which are evident within a thriller film, I have managed to gather some ideas of how to use these conventions within my own opening sequence. For example, I could use a High Angle shot to portray my victim clearly and quickly to my target audience. I have also learnt that the addition of sound to a scene creates dramatic effects in comparison to a scene with no sound,therefore taking away the suspense and fear usually felt when watching a thriller film. This is something that I will focus on in depth when creating my thriller clip.