Spy Thriller Power point Presentation

1. Genre Research
By Jamie Beatty

2. About Thriller Genre
• A Thriller Film is a type of genre that contains
suspense, anticipation and drama. Thriller
Genre films keep the audience on there seats,
making them alert and paying attention to the
movie plot. Thriller films normally have a
problem, that includes an escape, a mission or
a mystery. Any sub genre under thriller still
contains a Thriller Genres aspects.

3. About Thriller Sub-Genre
• There are many sub-genres for Thriller. Below are the
most common sub-genres. However there are many
more for Thriller.
• Crime Thriller
• Psychological Thriller
• Spy Thriller
• Action Thriller
• Supernatural Thriller
• Mystery Thriller
• Action Thriller

4. About Thriller Sub-Genre: Crime
Thriller
• Crime Thrillers still contains aspects of
the Thriller Genre, however the main
aspect is crime, some more than other
sub genres of thriller. In Crime Thrillers
there are often murders, stalking and
robbery’s. Crime thrillers often show the
action of the crime rather than the
mental state of the characters and
victims. In Crime Thrillers, the crime
that is committed is often solved at the
end of the movie. Also at the end of the
movie it is linked back to the beginning.

5. About Thriller Sub-Genre:
Psychological Thriller
• Psychological Thrillers still contains
aspects of the Thriller Genre, however
instead of crimes and the action
involved in movies, psychological
thrillers involve more about the mental
state of the characters. This type of sub-genre
involves lots of suspense and is
shown by the mentality of characters
minds. Also characters succeed not by
there physical talents but rather by
using there mind and there intelligence.

6. About Thriller Sub-Genre: Spy Thriller
• Spy Thrillers still contains aspects of the
Thriller Genre, however this type of sub-genre
focuses on the travels and
adventures of agents either in the office
or out on the field. In movies with a spy
thriller genre, often if the main character
fails, there is almost always a chance evil
will take over or that a war across the
world will take place. Also politics is
often a aspect normally involved in spy
thrillers which is either governments or
organisations.

7. About Thriller Sub-Genre: Action
Thriller
• Action Thrillers still contains aspects of
the Thriller Genre, however Action
Thrillers focus more on the action
involved in movies, creating more
excitement and suspense for the
audience. Action which the audience is
drawn to is the visual appearance of
what's happening, for examples
explosions and violence.

8. About Thriller Sub-Genre:
Supernatural Thriller
• Supernatural Thrillers still contains
aspects of the Thriller Genre, however
this sub-genre often contains unearthly
elements like demonic creatures and
spirits, and that characters may possess
psychic abilities and other types of
supernatural elements may be present.

9. History of Thriller Genre
• Alfred Hitchcock is a English Film Director who
made the first ever thriller movie. This was his
third silent movie which he created in 1926. The
first thriller movie was called ‘’The Lodger’’ a Jack
the Ripper type movie.
• The first Thriller movie with sound was in Britain
and made in 1929 which was directed by Alfred
Hitchcock and was called ‘’Blackmail’’.

10. History of Thriller Genre: Movie
Examples

11. History of Thriller Genre: Film Director
• Alan Hitchcock
• Born in London on August 13, 1899
• Alfred Hitchcock worked for a short time in
engineering before entering the film
industry in the year 1920.
• Hitchcock went to Hollywood in 1939, where
he made his first American film, called
Rebecca. Rebecca won an Academy Award
for best picture.
• In Hitchcock’s lifetime he made over 50
films.
• Hitchcock won and accepted the AFI’s Life
Achievement Award in the year 1979.
• Some of Hitchcock's films included Psycho,
The Lady Vanishes, Rope and The 39 Steps.

12. History of Spy Thriller
• In the year 1928 one of the earliest spy thriller
movies was created. This movie was called
‘’Spies’’ and was made by Fritz Lang, this
filmed help towards the making of the James
Bond movies.

13. History of Spy Thriller: Movie
Examples

14. Typical Conventions of Thriller Genre
• Elements - Danger, Enigma, Cliff-Hanger, Exotic Location,
Violence, Excitement, Investigation, Suspense and Tension
• Sound - Eerie, Diegetic and Non Diegetic, Fast Paced and High
Pitched
• Editing - Fast paced editing, CGI (Computer Generated
Imagery), Tracking Shot, Establishing Shot, Panning Shot
• Characters - Spy, Stalker, Victim, Hero, Murderer, Terrorists,
Police, Agents and Criminals
• Hero - Secretive, Solve the Enigma, Reveal the Truth, Outsider
and Moral
• Sub-Genres - Mystery Thriller, Disaster, Psycho Thriller, Action
Thriller, Crime Thriller, Eco Thriller, Political Thriller, Military
Thriller, High-Tech Thriller.

15. Typical Conventions: Settings
• Movies with a Thriller Genre, the typical
setting is often in an urban city. However
Thrillers can also be set in a quiet country
village area, where the characters would
normally have typical jobs like a farmer or a
priest.

16. Typical Conventions: Props
• The props used in Thriller genre movie are
mainly weapons from different sizes like
pistols and machine guns. Also weapons like
knives and swords are sometimes used,
however this often depends on the time the
movie is set in. Also in thrillers vehicles, are
often used, especially in Spy thrillers and
action thrillers.

17. Typical Conventions: Costume, Hair &
Makeup
• In Thriller movies, the costumes range depending on the characters and
the time the movie is set in. However in thriller movies, most movies
made in this genre are made to the present time, and characters in the
movies wear typical clothing. However in general the characters will wear
formal clothing and look well-dressed, but for the characters who play
villains in the movie, they often wear clothes that emphasise there build
and make them appear more powerful. Also the clothing that the villain
wears is often dark clothing, but also characters can wear a single piece of
clothing that is in a bold colour like yellow or red, as this draws our
attention and singles them out if in a large crowd. Females in thriller
movies, especially characters who are often the damsel in distress wear
red to show they are attractive and the colour red helps the female stand
out from the rest.

18. Typical Conventions: Lighting & Colour
• Lighting and Colour are important in Thriller movies. As
colour can help express emotion, for example red can be
seen as pain and death. In Thriller Movies the setting is
normally a city area, which dark and dull colours would
be used like grey, black and white to show how boring
and normal life can be in the city. In Thriller movies
lighting is a main element, low key lighting is often used
in thriller movies. Also the use of shadows through
lighting is often used. Shadows are related with low key
lighting and they are often used to represent darkness in
people. Also shadows are used to create tension and
they are also used to create an eerie atmosphere.

19. Typical Conventions: Narrative
In Thriller movies, the film is usually shown from the
hero's point of view, and throughout the film it shows the
events and struggles the hero has to over come to
achieve his or hers goal. However not all thriller movies
show the hero's point of view, some movies do show clips
from the villains point of view, allowing the audience to
see why the villain has become evil. This can sometimes
make the audience feel sorry for the villain but it is often
used so the audience can see a glimpse into the villains
past.

20. Typical Conventions: Titling
• Films in the Thriller Genre commonly have their opening
credits done over a black screen with some non diegetic
sound playing in the background to establish to the
audience that the genre of the film is a thriller genre.
Most Thriller films include a clip before the opening
credits begin, this scene shown before the opening
credits often helps foreshadow the upcoming events in
the film. This scene before the credits also gives the
audience a taster of what the film is going to include for
example the characters, the time set in the film, the
locations and many more.

21. Typical Conventions: Sound
• Thriller movies often contain eerie and fast paced music, this
is used to relate to the movies plot and the scenes in the film.
Also high pitched music is used because the higher tones
make us feel more on edge and help the audience feel
uncomfortable and feel more alert. Thriller Movies contain
non diegetic music which plays in the background of a movie
this creates a sound bridge to create a atmosphere in the
movie, which helps the audience feel more connected with
the movie. Sound is needed in a Thriller movie to help the
audience understand a characters emotions. In a thriller
movie, sound is used to create suspense and tension, this
helps create a sense of danger and excitement for the
audience.

22. Typical Conventions: Characters
• Characters in thriller movies normally contain two types of people,
the antagonist and protagonist. The audience views these
characters apart from each other. In thriller movies the main
character who is often the hero is normally played by a man that
has a career which comes with danger and violence and a
possibility of death. Also the hero's goal is normally to defeat evil
from spreading destruction and pain to others. Also the villains in
thrillers are normally men as well, however they normally give the
audience the means to think they are not to be trusted. This helps
the audience push there loyalty to the hero. Also the villains may
posses a deformation or that they are trying to hide there identity,
which makes the audience curious and makes the audience think
there is a sense of secrecy around them.

23. Typical Conventions: Editing
• Editing in thrillers tends to be fast paced quick cuts, this helps create a
sense of tension and suspense. Quick cuts are often used in thriller
movies as well. This helps create tension as well and quickens the
pace. Plus fading to black, is also used when someone is injured, dying
or unconscious. This is normally used in psychological thrillers. Fade
also adds suspense to a movie with thriller genre as the audience are
unaware of what is about to happen next in the movie. This helps the
audience become more suspicious and curious in the upcoming event
in the movie. Flashbacks are also used in Thriller movies, flashbacks
are often used to see the characters past. Flashbacks also contribute to
making the audience confused, which can be a positive thing, because
as the movie progresses the audiences confusion becomes resolved, as
pieces of information are revealed throughout the movie.

24. Typical Conventions: Camera
Movements & Angles
• Thriller movies contain many camera movements and camera angles.
Close ups and extreme close ups is often used in thriller movies. These
types of camera shots are used to show the characters facial
expressions to the audience, this helps the audience feel more
connected with the characters emotions. A camera movement that is
often used in movies with thriller genres is the tracking shot, this is a
fast camera movement. This type of shot has been used in action
thriller and spy thriller films often, when the camera is quickly tracking
along a car chase or fighting scene, or a scene where they is violence
or action involved. This type of shot helps the audience become
excited and exhilarated. Also the camera shots are usually either very
steady or they are moving around, this is used for calm scenes and
scenes containing action. Scenes with dialogue the camera will be in
focused on the characters more than anything else.

25. Typical Audience Profile
• Thriller films are aimed for an audience who enjoy films containing
suspense, excitement and tension.
• Class: Middle Class
• Age: 15-40
• Gender: Male mostly, however many females are also interested in
thriller movies.

26. Genre Popularity: Thriller Genre
• This graph below shows the number of top grossing
films of films between 2006 – 2010. As this graph
shows the number of top thriller films in Europe is not
the most popular. We will be making a spy thriller to
help boost the thriller and spy thriller popularity within
Europe and the rest of the world.

27. Why does the Audience watch
Thrillers?
• Viewers watch Thrillers because these particular movies contain suspense,
tension and excitement. Also the audience who watches Thrillers must
have to like action such as violence and explosions. Also Thriller movies
aren’t calming and relaxing movies, so the audience of thrillers enjoy
being on the edge of there seat, and being pulled in by thriller excitement.
Also there are many sub-genres for thrillers, like psychological thrillers, spy
thrillers, action thrillers and supernatural thrillers. Thrillers also contain a
protagonist in these films who is often set against a problem, for example
a mission, a mystery or a escape. Also with sub-genres in thriller, they all
empathize danger that the protagonist faces. Also all the danger
throughout the thrillers build up and the audience looks forward for the
final climax at the end of the movie. The audience also like the
anticipation that is involved in thrillers, as they can feel more connected
with the film and less connected to the stresses of everyday life.

28. Types of Films in the Thriller Genre

29. Types of Films in the Spy Thriller Genre

30. Skyfall
• Narrative: The Antagonist is trying to get revenge on the organisations leader, however the
protagonist gets involved and defeats the villain.
• Lighting: Low key lighting has been used in Skyfall this helps create silhouettes which makes
shots look more intimidating to the viewer. Natural lighting has also been used when there is
action outside which is high key lighting and reduces the contrast in the shot. Natural lighting
helps show the reality of the shot, and helps show what time of day is present in the film.
• Camera: There has been the use of close ups in the film to empathize the characters facial
expressions and emotions. Also close up camera shot are commonly used in spy thriller
movie, which shows this is a genre convention used in Skyfall.
• Sound: Sound that has been used is a mix between diegetic and non-diegetic sound. The non-diegetic
sound helps create tension and suspense for the viewer, which is a genre convention
for both thriller and spy thriller.
• Costume: The characters in Skyfall wear formal clothing which is commonly worn by secret
agents in spy thriller films.
• Setting: In Skyfall, many settings have been used all over the world, from a urban city area of
London to the slums of India. Spy thrillers normally have a range of settings as secret agents
normally

31. Lucy
• Narrative: This film is not a spy thriller however it is a thriller and includes elements of the
thriller narrative, for example there is shots in the film of the protagonist and the antagonist
confronting each other, where then action and violence occurs.
• Lighting: Low key and high key lighting has been used in this film, some shots are low key
lighting that has been used and created by artificial lighting, for example the shot in a cell has
low key lighting which makes the shot look more dangerous and intimidating to the viewer.
• Camera: Aerial views have been used in the film, to show the viewer where the characters
are and to help set the location. Camera shots in the film uses close ups to show the
characters emotions, which helps the viewer feel more connected with the film and
character.
• Sound: Sound has been used in this film diegetic and non-diegetic. In action scenes
containing violence, the music is fast paced and dramatic to create suspense for the viewer.
• Costume: The characters are wearing very typical clothes, that normal people in cities would
wear. Also this is typical convention for the thriller genre but not the spy thriller.
• Setting: There are several settings that have different locations, this elements is typical for a
spy thriller film, however there aren't many other elements, so it is not classed as a spy
thriller.

32. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
• Narrative: This film has a typical genre convention where the antagonist is trying to destroy the
world and the protagonist and his team get involved to kill the villain.
• Lighting: Low key lighting has been used in Mission Impossible 4 this helps create silhouettes which
makes shots look more intimidating to the viewer. Natural lighting has also been used when there is
action outside which is high key lighting and reduces the contrast in the shot.
• Camera: Camera shots in the film uses close ups to show the characters emotions, which helps the
viewer feel more connected with the film and character.
• Sound: Sound that has been used is a mix between diegetic and non-diegetic sound. The non-diegetic
sound helps create tension and suspense for the viewer, which is a genre convention for
both thriller and spy thriller. An example of where there is non-diegetic sound is when the hero is
climbing a building and is in danger of falling, the music is fast paced and creates an atmosphere of
danger.
• Costume: The characters in mission impossible wear the typical secret agent uniforms, this is a
convention for the genre. Also when the characters wear the appropriate clothing for different
environment, for example in the desert they are wearing sunglasses and loose shirts, whereas in
Russia there are wearing winter clothing. This helps the film more realistic, and helps it appear
more believable.
• Setting: In Mission Impossible, many different environments have been used, the cold lands of
Russia, the hot desert of Dubai, and the wet urban streets on Washington DC. This is a typical
convention for spy thrillers.