Conventions of an Opening sequence

The thriller genre focuses on audience reception they advertise intense suspense and excitement typical characteristics of thriller films are for the sequences to be very fast paced, for there to be some kind of frequentaction and the films usually encapulate a hero and a villain. Generally thrillers are known to focus on plot over character.

Typical points:
Camera:
- Point of view; the camera should take on human qualities, the camera should reflect the way in which something is being done e.g. looking around a room for an object.
- High angle shots; used for victims. The high angle shot on the victim works as the shot makes the character appear vulnerable; Alfred Hitchcock used this in ‘Psycho’.
- Low angle shots; used for the aggressor. - The low angle shot on the aggressor works as the shot makes the character appear menacing; Hitchcock also uses this in ‘Psycho’.
- Quick cuts; used in thriller films to let the camera tell the story rather than the actors; for example in Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ there are quick cuts from the knife to vulnerable parts of body, the camera tells the story as you never see the knife pierce the body.

Editing:
- Point of view;
- montages;
- camera tells story;
- lots of cuts during action;
- Use of effect such as sepia, b/w.
Sound:
- Strings
- Classical music

Themes:
There are six main themes that are carried out throughout thrillers:
- Reality – The theme of reality is often displayed in thrillers with the characters or often the main protagonist trying to determine what is ‘true’ or ‘real’ and what is not within the narrative.
- Perception – The theme of perception is a person's own interpretation/ view of the world around them through their senses. Often characters misperceive the world around them, or their perceptions are altered by outside factors within the narrative (see Unreliable narrator).
- Mind – The human consciousness; the location for personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. The mind is often used as a location for narrative conflict, where characters battle their own minds to reach a new level of understanding or perception.
- Existence/Purpose - The object for which something exists; an aim or a goal humans strive towards to understand their reason for existence. Characters often try to discover what their purpose is in their lives and the narrative's conflict often is a way for the characters to discover this purpose.
- Identity - The definition of one's self. Characters often are confused about or doubt who they are and try to discover their true identity.
- Death - The cessation of life. Characters either fear or have a fascination with death.

Narrative:
A successful way of keeping the audience following the film is to use a narrative that shows the story from one of the character's points of view. By following one individual character, the storyline is consistent and the audience is also able to relate to the character, meaning that it is easier to build up the tension within the film because the viewer is able to relate to the character with greater ease.

Examples of thriller films:
- The godfather - Francis Ford Coppola
- Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock
- Se7en - David Fincher
- Silence of the lambs - Jonathan demme
- The shinning - Stanely Kubrick
- No counrty for old men - Ethan and Joel Coen
- Jaws - Stephen Speilberg
- Basic Instinct - Paul Verhoeven

Characters:
- Minimal characters- Typically consists of a hero and a villain.- Macguffin's are often used - A macguffin is a plot device that motivates the characters or advances the story, but the details of which are of little or no importance otherwise e.g. the policeman in 'psyhco'.