Conventions of a thriller genre

Alfred Hitchcock is an English film maker/producer who uses these conventions for a thriller. He preferred to use the suspense technique (instead of surprise) in thriller genres. Hitchcock once said "It's not the bang that scares you, but the anticipation of it". The visual sequences he used enable his films to unfold fluently.
"Psycho" uses dark lighting apart from a centre key light that shines on the main character, Marion. Not only does this soft lighting surround her, but the mise en scene behind her contains round picture frames. The other character, Norman, is harshly lit with angular picture frames behind him. The camera also views him from both sides of his face, whereas Marion has a full front preview. False suspense makes the viewer surprised and interested because we never know what will happen. Hitchcock creates false suspense in a number of ways. When Marion has been sleeping in the side of the road in her car, a cop comes and wakes her up. The audience feels tense and wonders if she is going to get caught with the $40,000. Marion is very nervous and we are afraid if the cop is going to search her bag. Her uneasy behaviour adds to the tension. The policeman's sunglasses add to the tension because we cannot see his eyes, hiding his identity.
Commonly, he uses a device whereby the audience knows something that the characters don't know. For example, people are sitting around a table, under which is a bomb ticking away, the people at the table don't know it's there, but the audience does. I will take this into account when creating my main task; the audience will know for definite that the ex-husband/father is stalking his daughter, when he thinks he's stalking his ex-wife. This creates suspense for the audience and eagerness to know what is going to happen next.

Alfred Hitchcock uses many of these conventions when making a thriller:
-Quick cuts/camera angle changes
-Tense music (often strings)
-Dark/dull lighting
-Use of shadows
-Sympathy towards victim
-Hand-held camera
-Characters may dress in dark colours
-Close-up of the characters face to show emotion of anger/revenge/fear
-Large, threatening weapons for props
-Colour effects (e.g. red indicates danger)
-Element of surprise, expected and unexpected

Todorov's Theory

Todorov's theory is the way we look at narrative and structures. Tzvetan Todorov devised a way of analysing narrative according to the way they move forward through different stages. He suggested that many narratives, regardless of their genre, could be broken into specific stages for analysis. I will use these stages when planning for the main task, so it has a set structure and this will make it easier to create the film.

Todorov's Narrative Stages
Equilibrium- the setting is established, key character(s) are introduced and the storyline is set up.
Disruption- oppositional character(s)- appear and the story takes a particular direction.
Recognition of disruption- the lives of characters and events are interwoven. Tension builds throughout this section, which is often the longest.
Attempt to repair disruption- the highest point of tension after which there is a change in dynamic.
Reinstatement of equilibrium- matters are sorted out, problems are solved and questions answered.

For example, the thriller "Phone Booth" has this narrative structure:
Equilibrium- We are introduced to the main character, Stuart (an arrogant publicist)
Disruption- He makes a call to a woman who he was been cheating on with his wife, so his wife can't trace the call. However, unlike any other day, the phone rings and Stuart picks it up.
Recognition of disruption- There is a dangerous yet intelligent psychopath with a sniper rifle on the phone, and threatens him to not hang up or he will kill his wife, who he has been cheating on. He tells him instructions on what to do, such as telling his wife the truth. If he doesn't follow these instructions, someone will be shot.
Attempt to repair disruption- The police come and Stuart confesses to his wife.
Reinstatement of equilibrium- The police search all the buildings that someone can look out of to watch the phone booth. The villain is caught and he ends it with his girlfriend so he can be with his wife.

This image is from http://asanda2mediastudies.blogspot.com/2007/11/todorovs-theory-of-narrative.html