Time For Research! Part #2

    Hey hey! So I'm back with more research on the thriller genre. In the last posting, I dove into the content of the thriller genre and gave a specific example that gave me a lot of inspiration, a film titled "Megan is Missing". Today, I want to go deeper into the production process/techniques used to support a thriller film. Again, just a reminder that I'm not planning on portraying anything gory; doesn't mean it won't happen, but not only do I think that that isn't very appropriate for a school project but I also think it doesn't really belong in a film opening. Anyway, let's get into it. 

Production Techniques

    Certain production techniques take place in order to create that suspenseful and captivating theme the directors want the audience to experience. Much of this actually occurs in post-production. Certain sound techniques are incorporated within the film to create a sense of paranoia and stress. For starters, the music that is used in these films typically utilizes minor chords and unpleasant sounds to make the song sound...not so pleasurable to the ear. The chilling chords mixed with the gruesome visuals shown onscreen coalesce and create a piece together that gives the audience that apprehension and tension that directors want to achieve. 

    

    A certain set design in a thriller/horror can give the film that suspenseful or stressful theme, which the film wants to achieve. Dirty/filthy props are implemented in order to make the characters feel uncomfortable, thus giving that sense of being uncomfortable to the audience. Typically, scenes take place at night rather than the day, for the dark has a general public stigma of being viewed as scarier since daylight is no longer available. This gives the directors more opportunities for murderers, monsters, stalkers, etc. to "lurk" in the darkness, causing more build-up. 

Above is a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho- a famous scene where the main character is murdered by taking a shower. The music is utilized immensely in this scene; there are high pitch, sharp notes played when she is being murdered, and lower, minor chords being played when she is struggling to stay alive after the murderer leaves. This is a prime example of how the music can intensify the scene and make it just about 10x more horrific. 

Above is a picture from the film Scream. The setting serves that the main character is talking on the phone with a random number who keeps contacting her home phone, and a collection of POV shots insinuate that the stalker is outside her house. She cannot see him, however, since it is dark outside. The darkness helps to draw more fear from the audience and makes one even more scared for the main character. 

Sample

In the movie Unfriended, a group of teens are all talking together on an online video chatting website. A random user joins their call, but they pass it off as a technical glitch and keep talking, until one of the teens gets a text claiming that they are a classmate that killed themselves the previous year. It is revealed that the account is the spirit of the girl, and the movie continues with the spirit terrorizing the group where they all end up dying or getting injured. 

The reason I thought this was a good sample to include was because it incorporated the theme that I want to include with the whole "be safe on the internet or you might die" kinda deal. With the inspiration from this and other thriller films, I'm actually quite excited to see what I come up with in terms of representation and creativity. I'm hoping to include the previously discussed production techniques in my opening as well. 

I guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out. 

Citations:

22, Noam Kroll September, et al. “3 Directing Tips For Adding Suspense To Your Thriller.” The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat, 22 Sept. 2015, www.premiumbeat.com/blog/3-directing-tips-adding-suspense-thriller/.

Dryan, Daniel, and About Daniel DryanAfter completing a BA in English Literature from the University of Leeds. “The Power Of Set Design In Horror.” Raindance, 3 Aug. 2018, www.raindance.org/the-power-of-set-design-in-horror/.

“Unfriended.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfriended.