Codes and Conventions of TV Thrillers

In the genre that I have decided to analyse there are probably a few main codes and conventions. As previously stated there is the idea of the order that the cast appear in and the main ideas of an opening sequence and there are a lot of main features. What the idea of showing things in an order of importance then the audience can understand that when creating a TV drama there is the idea of corporate control. By this I mean the idea that the creator specifically in American dramas all appear at the end of the credits and often right in the middle of the screen and it is made really bold and obvious it is a way of showing the importance of the creator of the show. Another feature is that if you consider the lighting specifically of the opening sequence then you see that most of the opening sequence of the thriller genre are often really dark and the don’t have much light not like you would expect a comedy or other light hearted show to have. What this is a sign of is that there is a lot of dark in these shows and that they are serious to some extent and it could even by a way of making obvious to the audience which is the binary oppositions and the fact that the main characters of the thriller are the heroes and they are trying to combat evil in whatever present society that they are inhabiting. The titles or credits are also important to a show in the genre of thriller they are often in a kind of typewriter or newspaper script they are not lose of fluid but solid and garish. Again I presume this is done to show the importance or seriousness of the show. I have already talked about the music of a show but again this is often a really important feature as it shows that reinforced build-up of tension and seriousness. The metronome is something that normally pulses at the same rate as the human heart beat and if you listen to the music it normally pulses and it shows that there is often a time limit in crime and it needs to be solved soon and the music reflects this and warns the audience about the show and the suspense that will be created. Also most opening titles music is made on digital instruments and keyboards rarely would you find an opening theme with live classical instruments. There is often the idea of building up tension and expectancy in the opening sequence of a thriller TV drama and strangely a common feature that seems to be reoccurring is the idea that when the audience is privy to viewing the characters of the show they are either seen in the close up to show the audience there faces or they are shown running or pointing a gun occasionally they are seen to be doing both of these things. The running shows that there is that idea of the pressure of time which is an important factor in building up tension and the pointing of the gun shows the action and how much an agent has to use their gun this is most commonly seen in American TV dramas. What this could show is a sceptical idea that producers are trying to get across to the audience which is that an agent is only as good as their gadgets and without their guns which are weapons of destruction they are generally quite helpless.