Sherlock (case study)

The TV series Sherlock isn't a thriller series, but each series contains elements of generic conventions that are used in thriller productions. There have been a total of three series, each containing three episodes which makes this sound like a very short collection of shows, but the fact that each episodes running time is 90 minutes basically makes each episode a film. The show takes the 56 short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and gives them a modern twist to attract younger audiences. The original series of Sherlock Holmes books were set in 1880's which means in the modern day that kind of setting may not do as well with younger audiences. However, the Sherlock Holmes films starring Robert Downey Jr. provide a counter argument to this point. So, the new Sherlock Holmes is set in modern London with Benedict Cumberbatch playing Sherlock Holmes, and Martin Freeman playing his assistant Dr John Watson. The show has built up a large fan base since its first series being released in 2010 and the 4th series finishing this January (2014). As I said above the show isn't classed within the thriller genre, but it is a crime series which gives it a large amount of similarities to other thriller texts.

          One convention which is used in nearly every episode ever produced is a spiral or conventional staircase. Staircases are used in thriller films to show that a character is leave one world and entering another. It is also used to show how vulnerable a character can be in this setting. This vulnerable comes from the idea that you can easily be pushed down the stairs and someone can be standing above you which gives them the higher ground. Sherlock and Watson are seen travelling to a multiple different locations, so the loactions are constantly changing. In any building containing a staircase there is a shot added into the edit to show how something new and probably very significant is coming into the storyline. The staircase most commonly used throughout each series is the one leading up to 221B (Sherlock and Watsons apartment). Sherlock Holmes is a consulting detctive who is essentially like no other detective in the world. 221B is seen to be Sherlock's own little world, so as he goes up the stairs in his apartment block he is entering the place where he feels most comfortable, and the place that allows him to do his best work. The image to the left (top) shows Sherlock walking up a stair case with his shadow being projected largely onto the wall. Non-ambient lighting would have been used to create this shadow that towers over Sherlock on the wall as he walks up the stairs. An almost identical shot was used in The Third Man as Holly Martins walks up the stairs of Harry Limes apartment block. The same affect was also given in this seen of Holly entering a new world. The top image from Sherlock shows him walking up a conventional stair case, but the one Holly is standing at the top of is a spiral staircase. There have been spiral staircases featured in Sherlock, with the best one being in the very last episode of series three. Spiral staircases use the concept of being never ending. At the top they look as if they just carry on going forever and ever so it gives the audience the impression that the character is trapped in this never-ending enigma of a staircase. The video below shows a brief clip from the last episode where Sherlock is fighting for his life after being shot. The stair case shows how his condition is becoming worse as he gets closer and closer to what he thinks is his inevitable death. This clip also shows the generic convention of a vanishing point. The brightness and saturation are very strong at this point which gives the sequence a sense of surrealism, so this makes the vanishing point at the end of the corridor in Sherlock's mind palace a bright white colour. This makes the audience very disorientated because they're unable to make out any specific details of the wooden hall way. Most of this effect would have come from very strong non-ambient lighting when editing and increasing the brightness during the edit. The producers of the show obviously wanted to use the idea that when you die there's a "light at the end of the tunnel", so to Sherlock at the end of this vanishing point death awaits him, unless he can save him self from the gun shot.    


A large amount of the lighting used throughout each series can be considered as almost noir lighting. A lot of the lighting in noir thrillers are stronger to one side of the screen when compared to the other. This gif (left) shows Sherlock with a non-ambient light on one side of his face. This type of lighting brings a large amount of emphasis to a single part of the screen. This is called chiaroscuro lighting. This lighting gives the cut a higher amount of contrast. This type of thing is used in a lot of noir thrillers because it works very well in black & white. A more modern thriller which uses this kind of lighting is "Blade Runner". This is Sci-Fi thriller which means in most aspects it is very different to Sherlock or any noir thrillers, but some of the lighting used is almost identical. The screen shot I have included from Blade Runner shows how the lighting is stronger on the right hand side when compared to the left (identical to Sherlock). The background isn't as dark in this screenshot which means the same level of contrast isn't there, but the same effect is accomplished with bringing more focus to that side of the screen for the audience.

        The fashion used in Sherlock could also be consider to be quite noir and old. As I mentioned earlier these series are set in modern day London, however the clothing Sherlock wears stick very traditional and accurate to the old Sherlock Holmes stories. Sherlock tends to wear suit trousers, leather shows a long coat which goes past his knees and a scarf. This is very similar to fashion used in a lot of thrillers such as 'The Third Man'. The only things that is really missing from Sherlock's costume is a trilby hat. This screenshot from The Third Man shows the long coat, suit trousers and leather shows being used in an old noir thriller.