The Thriller Genre

Thrillers must...

• Stimulate the viewer's mind using techniques such as anticipation, heightened expectation, tension, suspense etc.
• Keep the audience at the ''edge of their seats'' as the plot builds towards a climax.

Whilst researching into other conventions of a thriller I found out that they often portray the world very negatively making it seem dark and corrupt. My particular sub-genre of thriller; Psychological Thriller, is based on mental and emotional conflict rather than physical.

Themes in a Psychological Thriller...

• Mind – Human consciousness; the location for thought, memory, intelligence and emotion. The mind is often used as a location for narrative conflict, where characters battle their own minds to reach a new level of understanding or perception.
• Reality – The quality of being real. Characters often try to determine what is true and what is not within the narrative.
• Perception – A person's own interpretation of the world around him through his senses. Often characters misperceive the world around them, or their perceptions are altered by outside factors within the narrative.

These themes relate closely to the storyline I am trying to portay in my teaser. Portraying these with the series of shots/signifiers during my teaser will allow the audience interested in this particular genre to know that this film is right for them. As my market research has shown, storyline is key to attract the interest of my audience and therefore exploring into how I can show Perception, Reality and Mind whilst also sticking to the themes of a thriller is vital to the success of my teaser.