Codes, Conventions and Representations of thrillers.

The opening scenes of thrillers generally include an in look into the story of the film, as well as showing the audience the main plot line as well as including the main characters and where it is set. In addition to this the opening scene tries to excite the audience by being quick while making the audience want to find out more about the characters in the film. The themes thriller films may use are broad. These include crime, conspiracy, legal, mystery, supernatural and psychological. This shows that thrillers can appeal to people who enjoy puzzles and people who enjoy the build up of tensions in a film.
In scenes where the director wants to direct attention to what is being said, there is no background music so the audience can focus on the dialogue. When there is music it is soft and almost eerie, which builds the suspense and makes the audience want to know what happens next. The main identifying theme of a thriller is often based around something that occupies a lot of what society thinks about and is worried about. The props used in thrillers are mainly weapons, usually either large or easily identifiable (Knives or bats) or loud and threatening (guns).
The types of clothing that different characters wear are very typical and generic. In general, most characters will appear smartly dressed or at least well-dressed (different types of thrillers and settings will cause the dress to change. Often the villain will wear form-fitting clothing that emphasize their build and therefore power (i.e. leather trousers or jacket) and creates a contrast with the hero.
One prominent feature of the character’s dress are the colours used. Typically, colours of the characters’ clothes will draw parallels with their personality: villains appear in dark colours (usually black), while innocent and young characters wear pastel colours or white to emphasize certain aspects of themselves. Occasionally a bright or shocking colour will be used – most often red – to draw attention to a particular character and show their differences to the main party. Red is also usually worn by alluring female characters to show that they are sexy or attractive.