History of a Thriller - Miss Georgiou

History of a Thriller Movie

The thriller genre can be defined as films which promote intense excitement, nerve-racking tension, anticipation and apprehension. They are intended to make viewers feel anything from suspicion to extreme fear and anxiety.

When looking back through history studying the genre of thrillers, there is one man who stands out, Alfred Hitchcock, also known as 'The Master of Suspense' for  utilising and introducing psychological suspense into his films for his audience's viewing pleasure. Alfred Hitchcock entered the film industry in 1920, leaving for Hollywood in 1939. His first film Rebecca is about a self-conscious bride who is plagued by the memory of her husbands first, dead wife. The film won two Academy Awards, one for Outstanding production and another for Cinematography. Following his successes with Rebecca, Alfred Hitchcock continued to direct around sixty films throughout his career and is now considered globally as a pioneer of the thriller genre within the film industry.

Rebecca (1940s)

Rebecca was one of the first films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The trailer on the left highlights effects that would be considered conventional of a thriller movie. These include; eery music which generates and dramatic effect, inviting the audience to find out more. The use of a female victim would also be traditional of a thriller, even in today, this would be considered conventional, it is rare the victim is male. Another typical convention of Rebecca that would link to thrillers

Research into editing styles

Research into Editing Styles

Introduction

Editing is essential within the thriller genre as various techniques build tension, fear, anticipation and excitement for the audiences viewing pleasure.

Editing Style 1 - Straight Cut

The editing technique Straight Cut is used in the scene from Saw 1 called Reverse Bear Trap. This is seen when the shot of location changes from the questioning room at the beginning of the scene to the  location where the young woman Amanda is being kept/tortured. This keeps the audience feeling on edge, anxious to find out how the young woman escaped, and anticipating to find out what ordeal Amanda encountered in order to escape. This is conventional for a thriller as the scene jumps dramatically making the audience question exactly what happened?

Editing Style 2 - Timing of Shots
The editing technique Timing of Shots has been used. The shots are edited quicker in the above scene. The effect of using this technique generates confusion for the audience which mirrors the character Amanda's apparent state of mind, this in turn enables the audience to feel an amount of sympathy with the character and fear for her.

Editing Style 3 - Jump Cut
In the above scene the editing style jump cut is used. This is where the film suddenly focuses on something. This can be seen when the the camera suddenly focuses on Amanda, trapped in the reverse bear trap. The effect of jump cut generates and jumpy feel for the audience and shock as the jump directs the audience towards the characters horrific predicament. This in turn creates a sense of worry and sympathy from the audience as they anticipate Amanda's attempt of escape.

Editing Style 4 - Montage
A series of short shots have been edited into a sequence to condense time and information relating to the scene. The effect can be seen where the character Amanda is panicking to unlock the reverse bear trap and remove it from her head. The use of montage in this scene creates excitement for the audience and builds tension. In, addition this technique produces a vast amount of anticipation for the audience who are made to feel panicky, also, mirroring the feelings of the character. The use of a series of short shots indicates time is running out which again would be a technique typically found in a thriller producing apprehension.

Summary
 In conclusion, my analysis of this thriller scene has helped me to begin my thought process in regards to creating my own opening sequence as, through closely studying the editing styles present in the above scene, those generally typical to a thriller, I have developed my understanding of various styles of editing and ways in which they are used to create various effects.
I am interested in using jump cut and straight cut in my opening sequence as I feel they are effective in the way in which they produce an audience response representative of a thriller movie e.g. apprehension, worry, tension, confusion, anxiety and excitement.