The first film I have chosen is The Birds, by Alfred Hitchcock.
The first thing I noticed was the sheer volume of birds flying around. Although on a small screen this doesn't seem scary, imagine it in a dark cinema where it's all you can see; the sounds of the birds screeching all around you, enclosing you and making you feel trapped and uncomfortable. All of this is before the film has even begun. Next, the credits appear on screen. Each name is shown the disappears bit by bit, creating the illusion that the birds are pecking away at them, foreshadowing the events of the film.
Here is a later scene from the film, in which a woman enters a house, finding it all quiet. Immediately this creates tension and an air that something isn't quite right. The first shot shows her walking towards the house and because of the position and distance of the camera it leads the viewer to believe that they are watching this woman from afar, both making you feel safe, but that you might be part of the problem. There is no answer at the door, so she lets herself in a creeps slowly from room to room, carefully leaning through each doorway and peering around. As she enters the bedroom, she sees that everything is a mass and there has been a struggle. There is a bird, dead against the window too. Gradually, the truth is unearthed and she sees the body lying dead on the floor. The camera shows his face and jump cuts forward several times, revealing the extent of damage done in a way that makes you curious, yet disgusted. As she runs out of the house, the camera is at the end of the path, at a low angle looking up towards her. It appears as if she is falling over, almost falling on top of the viewer, and gives an illusion of extreme fright and urgency.
Some of the conventions used are intentional jump cuts to build tension, a slow reveal, a lot of blood and gore, a murder/death and a lot of panic, the sudden realisation that something is wrong. There is also an eery silence through the film.
Next, is A Clockwork Orange, by Stanley Kubrick.
Alex is shown with a bandaged cut across his nose. He is standing in a white room and tells the police that he knows the law and refuses to talk until his lawyer gets there. It cuts to an elderly officer lighting a cigarette and saying that they'll have to show him that they know the law too, but that it 'isn't everything'. This implies that they are about to break the law, but the viewer isn't quite sure how at the moment. An officer is then shown staring menacingly at Alex, looking fed-up and run-down, like he's lost all of his patience. He menacingly leans over Alex, leading the viewer to believe something is about to happen, and then he pushes down on his damaged nose, forcing him to the floor, causing a fight to break out.
Some conventions used are white-washed walls, creating tension due to stark lighting. They use a lot of close ups, and the dominance of the man leaning over Alex and exerting his power. The fact they are at a police station, and that Alex refuses to talk makes the viewer want to know more and want to know what's going to happen. The police breaking the law and beating a man are also a convention of a thriller, and the viewer wants to know if they'll be any consequences of their actions.
Finally, I will look at a scene from Resevoir Dogs.
This scene is set in a warehouse, with plastic sheeting wrapped around everything. This implies they don't want to get things messy, and given the nature of the film, it implies there will be a lot of blood. The three men are talking then pull guns on each other. The first line of dialogue 'That's the only one I wasn't 100% on.' basically says that something went wrong, which is soon reinforced by a man shouting, covered in blood and obviously stressed out. They continue talking in a calm manner, but they appear out of breath and thus stressed out and nervous. A man is revealed lying in a pool of blood on the floor. The man in blue then starts shouting and they all shoot each other.
Three men pointing guns at each other is a convention, as someone may die, but it is not clear if it will be one person or all of them. There is also the setting, a warehouse with plastic covering everything, implying that blood will be shed. The fact it is a warehouse implies that it's in a secluded location, so things can happen out of the public eye. Calm talking suddenly turning into shouting and screaming as the tension builds, only for it to drop to a normal volume then rise again suddenly. A body covered in blood on the floor builds tension as to whether he will live or die. There is mostly slow cutting, and shot/reverse-shots during the conversation. A character pleading for them not to shoot anyone. The fact that the three men are covered in blood makes the viewer feel slightly uneasy looking at them.
I have covered the basics here, however as my group and I develop our own idea for a thriller opening I will analyse more thrillers and extrapolate as much as I possibly can from them in order to gain as much knowledge as possible.
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