Creating a Genre-Psychological thriller

-Our genre was a psychological thriller, so, as mentioned in one of my previous posts, we wanted to include some of the traditional conventions of psychological thrillers. The conventions that we chose to include/ play on in our piece these were:

• Dream sequences: for the most part of our piece, it is set in a dream sequence. Dreams and flashbacks, which were the two main components/ themes of psychological thrillers. Our use of them clearly distinguishes out genre in a very stereotypical way.
• Enigma- the parcel: we were given a brown-wrapped parcel to include as part of our plot, we used this to create an enigmatic feel to our piece, as it was a key part to our film, yet the audience never found out what was inside of the parcel.
• Enigma- identity of BAZ: Initially, you do not find out that it is BAZ in the dream, as all of the shots up until (0:40) are either tracking shots from behind, or close ups of her hand, so you do not know what she looks like. Enigma is quite a key feature/ theme of psychological thrillers, as it keeps the audience hooked, and on the edge of their seat up until the point that the enigma is solved, if at all.
• Shots: We used a number of different shots that helped to create our genre. These included:
• Tracking shots- Tracking shots create quite an unnerving feel for the audience, as it gives the impression that someone is following the character. It also adds to the enigma that you can only see the back of the character.
• Close ups- These were used to draw the audiences' attention to certain aspects of the frame, for example, the parcel in the hand, and then it's absence. Which makes it very obvious to the audience that the parcel is of importance. The use of the close ups also added to the enigma of the film, as the audience is only shown small close ups of the character to begin with, so are not sure of her identity until (0:40).
• Over the shoulder shots- used to show the audience the scene from the characters point of view.
• Point of View shots- used to show the audience the scene from the characters point of view.
• Editing: The editing that we used was very choppy and quick to begin with. This gave the impression of expanded time, as shots were added in. This created a feeling of suspense and tension within the audience, as they were waiting to find out what was happening in the scene, which also added to the enigma. The film then switched to more of a real-time format, as the two characters are having a conversation. The scene then switches to expanding time, when the parcel is spotted on the desk, as there are extra shots, such as the close up of the eyes, added in. This, again, creates tension and suspense in the audience. This feeling of tension and suspense that is created adds to the theme of the psychological thriller, as it creates a feeling of unnerving and discomfort within the audience.
• Sound: The song that we chose to use as non-diagetic sound to accompany our visuals was an instrumental version of "Newborn" by the band Muse. We chose this song as we wanted a song that is quite haunting, yet still beautiful and interesting to listen to. The song also builds up gradually, with quite a complex melody, which reflected the nature of the narrative, up until (1:30), at which point it starts to get quite rocky and heavier. This fits well with the visuals, as this is the part of the scene where she spots the parcel, which is the enigma of the clip.We chose an instrumental version of the song, as we believed that the version of the song with the lyrics slightly distracted focus away from what was occurring in the frame.