Downtown Abbey

Opening scene 0:00-0:02 Establishing shot of the location of the estate, a sign of wealth due to the grandeur of the estate, which gives viewers an insight into the type of characters they are about to be introduced to. Also a piano piece in minor key begins to accompany the visual scene.                                   0:03-0:06 a shot of a door opening commences, where an almost blinding bright light begins to beam through the door, possibly indicating life after death and that murder may be involved.

0:08-0:10 A scene involving a ringing bell begins, which is a sign that time is running out, which could be referenced to a murder being needed to be solved within a set time limit.
0:11-0:25 Here are various scenes of inside the estate, showing different valuable objects, using a variation of lighting.

Thriller Film Conventions - Sound

In Terminator two non-diagetic sounds are often used in order to build up tension and also allow us as the audience to develop relationships with the characters that we are watching. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=terminator+kill+scene&qs=n&form=QBVR&pq=terminator+kill+scene&sc=0-14&sp=-1&sk=&adlt=strict#view=detail&mid=FE7A7AC791071B3D4B3EFE7A7AC791071B3D4B3E

Mise En Scene continued

However sometimes thriller films do live up to their 'dark' scenes. In the image below we can see the low lit lighting in the hospital which creates a dark and mournful feeling for the audience. The extensive use of the colour grey in the hospital also creates an over looming feeling that something grave is about to happen. The use of a hospital in an over looming scene is very powerful as hospitals are meant to be seen as safe and protective, but in this case the hospital is about to become someone's grave.

 

Mise En Scene

Scenes in thriller films can alter between atmospheres and emotions, in order to help convey the directors message. For example in the Kill Bill 'eye ball' scene the bright colours and lighting is a direct contradiction of the scene as the scene would stereotypically be judged as an 'dark' scene but because of the bright colours this cannot be depicted

 

Conventions of a thriller - camera angles continued

Close up camera shots are also another commonly used shot in thriller films in order to show the severity of a situation 

Conventions of a thriller - camera angles continued

Another popular camera shot is the 'low angle shot' these shots are often used to show a more sinister side of characters in thriller films. Lighting is also key in these type of shots as low lighting can create a sense of evil within characters. 

Conventions of a thriller - camera angles

The most common type of camera angles used in thriller films are 'pan shots'. These are most commonly used at the beginning of films and is used to set the tone of the film. For example in the film 'obsessed' a slow panning shot is used to show the gravity of the situation when victims find out that they're home has been intruded.