Research into conventions - Miss Georgiou

Firstly, conventional is conforming or adhering to accepted standards. In films the conventions are the elements that are common within different film genres - patterns that can be seen/used in different films from the same category. In a thriller genre, there are many different conventions such as; shock, surprise, suspense, tension, death, isolation, weapons, blood, enigma, suspense etc.

In this part of my research I am going to analyse the clip ' Caption: Insidious Chapter 2 - "Did You Believe Him" ' clip. I have chosen this particular clip as it contains a wide variety of different types of conventions that are typical to a thriller genre and that will help contribute to my research. Furthermore the conventions that are being used are fascinating including very impacted effects that help build relationships with the audience and are idea's that I could use within in my own thriller sequence.




The first convention that has been identified within the clip is the non-diegetic sound which can be evidently heard when the murdered woman's face appears within the frame. The purpose of this is too immediately capture the audience's attention. Furthermore, this needs to instantly grab the audiences eye as this is the base of the story line which would then help the audience acknowledge that their is a killer on the loose. The sound is played at a high level so that it will capture the audience's attention more quickly and will also emphasize the activity that it taking place. This convention creates a sudden shock and surprise towards the audience and alerts them as the audience wouldn't expect this too happen and makes them more eager to continue watching. It also creates a high level of tension as the hidden identity makes the audience more paranoid and raises the intensity. Furthermore, this convention also creates a mysterious atmosphere as there is a hidden identity within the murderer which then creates more caution between the audience, making them more paranoid as they don't know who the killer is. This is conventional within a thriller genre as the use of 'shock' is being included which is a typical thriller convention as it makes the audience feel more on the edge of their seat and also gives them a little fright to keep them more focused. In addition, the use of an unknown killer creates enigma which is conventional towards a thriller as it makes the scenario more mysterious and tense. Also, the key elements 'tension' and 'shock' are being created at a high level which are vital towards any thriller film and also make the film more conventional. This convention will give the audience the ability to create a relationship with the characters as it makes the audience feel more sympathetic and paranoid for them as they are scared that something is going to happen to one of the remaining characters. Furthermore, the audience become more cautious of the characters now that they are aware that there are murder activities taking place so the audience keep a closer watch on them as they are eager to find out who the murderer is.



The second convention to be identified within the clip is the low key lighting. This can be evidently seen through the majority of the  clip. This convention has been used to create more suspense and tension in the clip as well as keeping the audience on the edge of their seats as this now creates a more mysterious atmosphere as we sense the darkness in lighting will cause more danger towards the audience and make the scenario more dangerous for the characters. Furthermore, this lighting will also help keep the audience more focused as they spectate any hidden movements that is taking place within the darkness as they would be a typical movement within this lighting as the characters would then be more unaware which then makes them more vulnerable. This convention will create more paranoid thoughts within the audience as they know the character are more likely to be harmed in the dark. Furthermore, it creates a higher level of tension and suspense as no one knows whats going to happen and the audience get the feeling that the danger is within a close region. This is conventional to a thriller genre as the low key lighting is ideal for any thriller genre as it creates more suspense and tension as it is keeping the audience anxious and also makes the atmosphere more tense. It is also conventional as it creates a mysterious atmosphere throughout. As a result it can build relationships with the audience as it makes the audience more paranoid and anxious as they stay alerted as the darkness is a sign of danger. Furthermore, it makes the audience more aware of the characters as they have the feeling that the danger is approaching them which then increases the intensity levels.



The third convention to be identified in this clip is the use of enigma. This is evident at the end of the clip when the interviewer questions the witness "Did you believe him?" and then the clip ends. The purpose of this was to leave the audience feeling questioned and anxious as they start to wonder whether she believed him or not and what actually happened as a result. Furthermore, it has been done in order to create a cliff hanger as it leaves the audience questioning the activities. This creates a paranoid mood and anxious atmosphere as we wonder what happened and whether the man who was accused was actually guilty or innocent. It also creates a more mysterious atmosphere as the suspense builds up as the audience wonder what her answer to the question was. This is conventional to a thriller as it raises the level of tension and the anxiety levels as her answer to the question is unknown to the audience. Furthermore, it's conventional as it builds up more suspense within the audience which is a key element and vital for a thriller as it helps to build a better relationship between the audience and the characters. As a result the audience can build a relationship with the characters, especially the female character who first sighted the dead body, as well fear for her as she could be in potential danger as the murdered has not been discovered yet and she is vulnerable. This would be typical within a thriller genre as female characters tend to be more vulnerable than male characters. Furthermore, the audience can also build a better relationship as the female character looks terrified therefore the audience feel more sympathy for her.


The fourth convention to be identified in this clip is the use of exaggeration. This can be seen at (0.41) where the female characters picks up the camera and clearly sees something bad where the camera zooms in on her and the camera and also plays a exaggerated, mysterious sound effect in the background to emphasize the moment. The purpose of this is to show the complete focus on her and the image that is being shown on the camera, this also makes it evident that there is something terrifying on the camera which could be evidence for the murder which is why she looks so scared and shocked as she picks up the camera. This creates a mysterious effect as we are curious of what she is seeing as we don't see what is displayed on the camera which also makes the audience more anxious of what she is seeing as it is evidently not a good thing. Furthermore, this creates more tension as the audience are more eager and paranoid to know what this female character is seeing as it is clearly something that is horrifying. This is conventional to a thriller genre as it is more dramatic making the moment more mysterious and raising the anxiety levels of the audience. Furthermore, it is conventional as it creates a surprise and shock towards the audience as they do not expect any shocking scenes to be shown on the camera. As a result the audience build a relationship with the character as the audience feel shocked and scared for what she is seeing as her expression displays that what she is seeing is negative so the audience feel more paranoid as the murderer can be a possibility of what is being seen on the camera. Furthermore, the audience feel more sympathy for her as her facial expression is displaying that she is upset and scared so the audience create a more attached relationship with this particular character.



The fifth convention to be used in the scene is the use of a murderer. This is evident from when we discover that someone that is living in the house as been killed. The murderer is not known so therefore has a hidden identity within the clip. The purpose of this is, is to build up a high level of tension as the audience are eager and keen to know who is behind this. Also the hidden identity builds up the suspense within the clip and keeps the audience more curious and aware of the scenario. This creates a more haunted atmosphere and makes the audience more curious as the hidden identity keeps the audience tense and on the edge of their seat. Furthermore, it also creates a high level of tension as the cause and the killer is unknown to the audience which makes the scene more frustrating. It also creates a sudden shock as no one was expecting this to happen and be seen.  This is conventional to a thriller genre as the levels of suspense rise as we do not know who is the murderer and killing people. Furthermore the anxiety levels rise as the hidden identity reveals that we do not know who the murderer is and that they are still on the loose and have not been caught so keeps the audience tension levels high from this point on wards as the identity of the murderer is hidden. As a result the audience can build a relationship with the character as the audience now are curious and fear whoever is killing these people as they seem to be doing this very discretely. Furthermore the audience feel threatened as they do not know who it is and could be someone they do not expect so the audience tension levels are kept at a high level and keeps an mysterious atmosphere. In addition, it makes the audience more cautious of each individual character as the want to know who is behind this killing so they keep an open eye on each character to see if they have the ability to work it out.


The clip that I have analysed has been successful in creating a conventional sequence as the use of different conventions as has been used throughout creating different effects and having different impacts on the audience e.g suspense, surprise etc. I will take on board different conventions when it comes to creating my own sequence such as low key lighting as I find that it has an impact on the audience by keeping the sequence more thrilling and the audience on the edge of their seat as the tension rises. I find that this technique was consistently impacting the audience by keeping the tension and suspense levels high and also making them curious throughout which is a well created impact to use within my own sequence. In addition I enjoy the use of the 'hidden identity' as that keeps the levels of tension and suspense at it's best and has a huge impact on the audience as it makes the audience more paranoid of the event that take place and also make them more curious and it makes the sequence more thrilling which is clearly ideal for a thriller genre so would be a ideal convention to use within my own sequence. I also enjoy the idea of a murderer as it builds up more tension which is a good effect to have on the audience as it helps to create better relationships with the characters so I will take this on board and use it within my own sequence.