Research: Scream analysis

The opening sequence of Scream is conventional as a thriller opening in various ways which I will discuss. I will be analysing the meaning and responses that it creates within the viewer.

One of these factors is the cinematography. The first camera shot utilised was an establishing shot. This shot demonstrated the setting which was a big house located in what seemed to be in the middle of a forest. The setting looked like something negative was bound to happen due to the fact that it was set in the night which made it dark and appear isolated. Furthermore, the house is isolated which depicts the victims vulnerability. This is conventional to a thriller movie as ilustrating where a film itself is set is a vital feature within a thriller movie. This is due to the fact that in most thriller movies it is the setting which makes the movie what it is for e.g. in the film The Conjuring the vast majority of the film is set in a haunted house which is under investigation. The setting in Scream makes the audience feel that it was not safe as the victim was alone making her a target for the antagonist (Scream).

Another element of the opening sequence of Scream which made it conventional as a thriller opening was the body language/facial expressions. At the beginning of the movie, the victim picks up her phone calmly and relaxed but when Scream mentioned her name she froze and her face dropped which was illustrated via the usage of camera zoom and a reaction shot to show the victims reaction towards what was happening. This is conventional as a thriller opening due to the fact that the manner in which the characters respond to situations is a major ingredient when producing a thriller movie and making it interesting. Scream's body language also had a big effect; his body language demonstrates his power and superiority over the victim. This is vastly evident when the camera was at a low angle when focused on him. At this point it made the audience feel that there was going to be a major twist and that the victim may not be well and alive for too long after this. Moreover, the antagonist (Scream) was masked and dressed in black when he first appeared to the audience. This had a huge effect on the audience as a masked antagonist is a common factor within thriller movies. This connotes to the audience that the fact that the antagonist was masked it meant that his objective was to attack or to kill and he did not want his identity behind the mask to be known to anyone. The antagonist's hidden identity made the audience feel fearful as when the victim eventually managed to unmask the antagonist, the antagonist still did not have a face under the mask.

Another factor which made the opening sequence of Scream conventional as a thriller opening was the lighting. When the movie commenced, every light in the house was turned on such as the lamps. This made the room very bright and made it appear to the audience that the victim was safe and nothing bad could have possibly occurred. However, when the phone call starts, as I said before the lighting shows the victims safety but as she moves from room to room whilst speaking on the phone nothing bad could have been suspected by the audience. However, as she walked into the corridor low-key lighting was utilized to illustrate the darkness that was arising upon the victim. As the reaction shot was shown when her name was mentioned, she started to become frantic which made her start to panic and then decide to run. As she was running, her shadow was following her which suggests that the dark shadow could be a sign that death was creeping behind her. This affects the audience as when the phonecall started to progress, the audience begun to empathize with her fear and they were curious to find out what would then happen to the victim.

Iconography also proved to be a vital feature in making the opening sequence of Scream conventional. The victim's phonecalls were scream were very important as the first phonecall was what started the scene. Whilst the victim was on the phone to Scream she was holding a knife in a playful manner. This was very effective in the end as later on in the scene she attempts to use the knife as her defense weapon against Scream but he takes it off of her which ironically killed her. This was conventional due to the fact that knives are a common household object which links to the fact that many thriller movies are set inside venues such as houses etc where knives are easy to get to by the antagonist. As knives are mainly used in a kitchen for cooking, the audience can connote from this that the knife could be utilised as a weapon to harm the victim.

Editing in this opening sequence is utilised significantly to create deep meaning and understanding within the audience. The scene displays many straight cuts which makes it more simple for the viewer to understand what is going on. However, slow and fast paced editing is also used to create different responses. For example, when Scream stabbed the victim in her chest, slow paced editing is used to reflect the seriousness of the situation and to make the antagonist appear bolder although fast paced editing was used when Scream was chasing her. The slow paced editing represents the fact that the antagonist is heartless. This makes the audience feel even more helpless towards the victim and when the victim tries to scream to gain the attention of her parents. Moreover, this connotes to the audience that the antagonist is ruthless and that he will kill anyone that tries to cross his path or prevent them from achieving their its intentions.

The sound throughout the opening sequence of Scream also helps to make it conventional as a thriller opening. When the scene first starts there is a lot of diegetic sound such as when the victim was making her popcorn and when her phone. this sets the mood as the fact that she is making popcorn makes everything appear calm to the audience. However, once Scream says to the victim on the phone that he wants to know her name because he wanted to know who he's looking at, Non diegetic sound is playing which was slowly paced and also quite eerie sounding. There was then fast-paced music as she was running to lock all of the locks in the house. There was then diegetic sound when the doorbell rung which also proved to be very effective. This sound demonstrated the thrill and terror within the scene. This makes the audience feel that bad events were about to occur as the music then became very fast-paced which created a lot of suspense

In conclusion, I believe that the opening sequence of Scream was highly conventional as a thriller movie opening due to the fact that several of the micro-elements demonstrated within it were typical in thriller movies which created a high level of emotion within the audience. The micro-elements used helped to create fear and empathy towards the victim. All of these elements together help to produce a more frightening and shocking scene for the audience as it makes the audience relate to the female victim who is being killed. The uses of micro-elements have made this film popular amongst many thriller movies and made it one of the most successful thriller movies of all time.