Scream (1996) AnalysisDamita Dickerson

At the start of the clip there is non-Diegetic sound in the background of someone screaming, this implies that they are frightened and implies the genre of this film. Also there is the title of the film, from this you can tell that it is a horror film. The title then turns to red, this links with the genre of the film as it is a thrilller and the connotations of the colour red are blood and death. There is a close up and shallow depth of field of a phone when it is ringing which suggests that this is an important prop within the thriller as it is based around phone calls. The woman walks away and the phone rings again, this is followed by a mid shot of the woman with her eyes squinted implies that she is surprised that the phone is ringing again as she thought the person had the wrong number. The woman answers the phone and the man apologises, there is more conversation and then she puts the phone down again. After this there is a pan going from the trees to the house – an establishing shot is used here. This establishing shot links with the codes and conventions of thrillers of being set in houses. Within the pan shot there is a soundscape of birds tweeting but there is a squeaking sound of the swing, implying that someone was sitting on it, creating tension and suspense.

The man asked “what's your favourite”, the women then says “ I don’t know”, after this the man says “everyone has a favourite” and the women replies “halloween” and as she says halloween, she picks up a knife shown by a mid shot, this represents the genre of the film as well as representing the danger of a knife and what it can do to people. This also implies the danger that she is/is going to be in. The woman is wearing a crème coloured jumper and jeans, this links with the codes and conventions of thriller films of the protagonist wearing casual clothes. The man asks “do you have a boyfriend” and the woman replies “why, you wanna ask me out on a date.” This shows that he is flirting with her and trying to know as much about her as possible. Another tracking shot is used the following the woman which is then followed the use of the Diegetic dialogue of the man on the phone – “I want to know who I’m looking at” completely changes the mood and makes the audience feel shocked. At this point a zoom is used in order to show the woman's facial expressions of shock and confusion. Non-Diegetic sound of incidental music is used after this to create an intense part of the film. Fast editing is used when looking outside from different parts of the garden and within this a point of view shot is used in order to see what the woman is seeing and put the audience is her shoes. The close up of the woman locking the door, suggests that she is in danger.

The phone rings again the woman uses Diegetic dialogue saying “shit”, which implies that she is frightened and doesn’t really want to answer the phone. On the other end of the phone, the mans tone of voice is deep and he is talking slowly suggesting that something bad is going to happen. The incidental music in the background is used in order to build tension and anticipation. Again, the phone rings and she answers and says “listen asshole”, showing she is getting annoyed and angry with him but then he says “no, you listen you little bitch, you hang up again, ill cut you like a fish. You understand”, at this point his tone of voice starts to get angry, this suggests that he may become violent. The close up of the woman heavy breathing implies that she is very frightened. There is incidental music of screeching and the tracking shot is following the woman as she locks all of the doors. A pan is used when looking out the window to see if anyone is out there. What do you want.” to see what tour insides look liked, at this point a mid shot is used and the woman breaks down crying. The door bells rings and there is a jump cut straight to the door implying that someone is there. A long shot is used and dialogue is used “Who's there”. This is said as the woman is crying suggesting that she is absolutely terrified. More incidental music is used in order to build even more tension and then the woman starts getting angry. The final shot is of the woman turning on the patio lights. This builds suspense as no one knows what is going to happen next. Throughout the whole scene the woman motivates the cut and has the most prevalence as it is all based around her.

Overall, this opening was very good and is put people on edge and it build lots of tension and suspense. The music used fitted the genre of this thriller as the music was eerie and scary linking the this film. The viewer will feel sorry for the woman as she is being tormented and she is absolutely petrified. The plot was good and easy to understand, by the opening sequence evolving around the phone made the audience anticipated and shocked at some points.