Conventions of a thriller- X-Men

Conventions of a Thriller

Within this clip from X-Men, there are elements which allows the audience to question the storyline as well as understand it is a thriller film.

A close up is used of the young boys hand, this is a powerful shot as it symbolises to the audience that something is very significant about this hand. His powers are suggested to be coming from this shot as it is a close up. If the shot was a mid-shot or a long shot it wouldn't be as clear to the audience what and where the action was coming from, as it is already the audience are confused on why and where these powers have suddenly come from. The boy is realising a magnetic field from his fingers which is shown through this camera frame and added non-diegetic sound. From this single shot the audience can see his hands are very small and fragile therefore emphasising he is young and pure, the boy is wearing fingerless gloves, this item of clothing is very significant. Where the fingers are missing they are opening the bare skinned fingers therefore when the close up is put in place it is suggested the power is coming from his finger tips other than he whole hand. The power shown from the child suggests he is evil as he contains this power he cannot control, this subverts the stereotype of a children as they are stereotypically seen as sweet and innocent.

The editing technique used in this scene is referring back to the power from the hand a slow motion technique is used. This is to create the effect that waves are coming from his fingers, the power from this slow motion shows how quickly something changes in such a short space of time. The boy is controlling the gate with his finger therefore the slow motion creates the effect he has strength.

When the young boy is using his power's diegetic sound is added to make the young boy to sound more powerful. This sound is edited on because it is louder and more pricing than how it actually would sound, this has the effect that he is stronger and exaggerates he is contorting the fence. The sound suggests his powers are some sort of a magnetic field. The piercing sound creates the effect that the gates are heavy and makes the audience feel awkward as the sound is uncomfortable this a convention of thriller because it makes the audience feel out of place and build's the tension. The sound shows the gates are being crunched up, when removing the sound the scene is very bland as the sound of rain is removed too. The rain effect is called pathetic fallacy as it sets the mood however with the additional sound of the gates the mood/ atmosphere is dramatic.

Within the scene the audience are shown a shot which contains a bunch of people within a very confined space. Due to the titles which were shown at the beginning of the film the audience are informed that they are in Poland therefore the mise-en- scene within this scene suggests that they are set in the concentration camps. This is an uncomfortable storyline to the audience as not many people like to talk about these discomforting stories and events, this technique of making the audience feel uncomfortable is an convention of thriller. The proxemics between each character is very close and they are being shouted out, not only are they close together but they are being order to move into an even more confined area which is contains wired walls and bared gates. This structure allows the audience to feel very confined and awkward because they cant help, they can only just sit there and watch.