Conventions of the Detective genre

 The detective genre both in novels and in film revolves around a mystery which is generally solved by either an amateur or professional detective. The general story line is conventionally a case which nobody has been or can solve until the protagonist who is the detective mentioned above. Other aspects are often thrown in to disorientate both the detective within the fiction and the audience. These may include wrongly accused suspects, corrupt detectives or wrong evidence.
 Detective and mystery genre is also divided into sub-genres which change the feel of the media piece depending on what type it is. These sub genre's can be to do with the style or the era in which the media piece is set and could include: noire, modern, whodunnit's, Victorian, crime stories ect. Many of these genre's will have the same basic template however will have a very different vibe due to the sub-genre they are from. For example, if we compare Noire with Modern detective, Noire is filmed mostly in black and white and has a dark, bleak feel to it. Lighting is used heavily to emphasis characters personality meaning less speech is used to introduce a character as we can get more from their appearance, which also gives us an instant impression. The modern genre on the other hand is filmed in colour and characters are introduced over time through their dialogue and actions they perform during the piece. Despite these differences both pieces will have a main detective character who will likely have a partner and in both pieces they will be attempting to solve what is considered an unsolvable case. This allows an audience to know what will happen in the media piece and be satisfied when they see it or shocked and surprised when general conventions are altered.
 Mise-En-Scene in the detective genre varies on the environment, sub-genre and whether or not the piece is following general conventions. A stereotypical detective may wear a suit or long trench coat, some form of trademark hat and carry around a magnifying glass. A more modern detective may wear work clothes for example a shirt and tie or even plain clothing if they were on some undercover job. The mise-en-scene is definitely heavily affected by the type of detective film the character is in. Clothing and objects will vary depending on the time period for example, you wouldn't see a mobile phone in a Victorian setting. The setting of the piece will also change depending on the time period the piece is set. Architecture is different in modern detective pieces to what it may have been in an older piece so a set needs to be altered accordingly or it will just look bad.
 The sounds used in a detective piece will be both diegetic and non diegetic. The diegetic sound will mostly come from the dialogue of the characters though other sound effects such as phones ringing, doors slamming etc will be used and made diegetically. Other sounds which may seem diegetic may be used such for things as crowds shouting in the background of scenes or people talking in a canteen or large office area but it may be added afterwards as non-diegetic sound to appear diegetic. Doing this would reduce the need for so many actors, and also give greater control over the sound of the background compared to the dialogue. Non-diegetic sounds could include the soundtrack for the film. Sounds are used for dramatic effect in a detective trailer and also give clues as to what is about to happen for example if deep, slow, tense music plays it is likely something bad may be about to happen.