Written analysis of opening sequence: Scream.

In the opening scene of the thriller movie ‘Scream’, we see an opening title being used, which pictures the title of the movie ‘SCREAM’. First we see the title being used with white colors, which then turns color to red. Red can be associated with danger and blood, in which this gives the audience an idea of what particular the genre this film is going to be.

Next we see a close up shot being used, which captures the shot of a house phone and uses diegetic sounds when the phone begins to ring. Typical genre conventions within Thriller movies use this technique to create suspense within the audience and to set a mood that the movie is trying to evoke within the viewers.

Then a medium shot of a woman picking up the phone is used in the next part of the sequence. This scene uses dialogue when the woman is interacting with the caller. The impression that the characters gets from the caller is a friendly tone and that the caller just wants a casual chat with the woman. When the woman has finished speaking to the caller, she places the phone down and begins to walk away from the phone. Then diegetic sounds emerge from the house phone again, in which the woman turns around and the camera zooms in to the woman’s face in which to identify her emotions and even fear within the character. When the woman picks up the phone again, a medium shot is used which not only captures the woman and her body language but also captures the background and environment that she is in, which shows us a view of doors, in which this sets the scene of night time and this could link to the typical setting of the thriller genre which lets the audience know that something bad is going to happen.

The next part of the movie uses a long shot which captures a view on tree’s, from this particular shot it now informs the audience that the setting of this movie could be near to a forest, which identifies the genre of this film as a common environment for a thriller film is usually forests or wood area’s.

We then see a long shot of the woman making popcorn. This could be telling the audience that she is a student living on her own; due to the particular simple food she is eating. This scene also uses diegetic sounds of the popcorn cooking, and the hob heating up as we can see the source that the sound is emerging from.

Continuity editing is used through the whole kitchen scene and when the phone begins to ring again. After the woman has finished speaking to the caller on the other side of the phone, for the third time. We then see a medium shot being used when the woman puts the phone down and we see her silhouette through the doors, this is also a common genre convention for thriller film because they

build fear within the audience, create suspense for the audience which makes them think what is going to happen next. From this the woman is moving about the kitchen from side to side cooking the popcorn still and the continuity editing is still taking place.

Continuity editing is used when the caller rings the woman once again. Which uses a medium shot which captures the woman walking from one side of the kitchen with the phone, after she picks it up and then when the woman walks over to the worktop, in which she leans over when she is speaking to the caller. This shows the audience that the woman is very chilled and relaxed and is not worried that something bad is going to happen due to her body language that is being used in this scene. We see iconography being used by props like knifes, in which the woman picks up and places back. Knifes are a typical symbol associated with a thriller as they have connotations of blood, death and pain.

This continuing editing is still carried on as the camera follows the woman walking to different rooms of her house.We then see a long shot being used which pictures the shot of the garden, we now know by this that the woman is starting to panic due to not only by the way she is rushing around the house looking in different area’s but also by her changing tone of voice being used through dialogue when the woman is speaking to the caller. From this scene it now makes the audience identify that the phone call is not just a friendly chat, in which this creates suspense in this particular scene and builds up fear in the audience as the viewers are thinking about what is about to come next.