Conventions

Thriller

For this production course work I have decided to work on a thriller project but for this I need to figure out the codes and conventions of thriller productions and the many sub genres.

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock is a feature length crime thriller from the BBC and while it runs as a TV series each episode runs at a feature length time. The series is currently running at nine episodes across three series, each episode runs for about ninety minutes. Each episode runs at a slightly different pace to the last keeping things fresh and interesting. though generally the episode starts off at a slow pace building up the story with enigmas with the use of flashbacks and police interviews. As with many crime thrillers there are very few characters introduced for no reason therefore no character is given a full introduction in their debut on the program. The series breaks the convention seen in many other crime thrillers such as the Sweeny in that both lead characters are heterosexual. The series uses elements of comedy to keep things up beat between the more moody scenes.

Shutter Island  is another crime thriller that relies heavily on suspense and elements of horror, the film opens with eerie tense music as we are introduced to the two protagonists, one of which is introduced throwing up over the side of the boat and while the two appear relatively close they are "tougher" than Sherlock and Watson appear. The tense music is used repeatedly throughout the feature, starting off subtle and building up to a climax, perhaps to foreshadow something as well as build on tension. Enigmatic characters are introduced almost straight away to leave the officers to solve the crime throughout the rest of the film.

It is not surprising that Inception uses enigmas to open the film but unlike the previous two examples don't wait too long until they bring in fast paced action and gunplay as a hint as to what the rest of the film will be like. The film takes an international trip around the world..