To continue the calm tone of the scene, the director makes the female responds in a similar way with the lines, “Ok, take it easy” and “See ya later”. The informal casual language creates a false sense of security. The female character also wonders around the house whilst she is talking to him - something that is usually associated with having a conversation with a friend or somebody of close acquaintance, or if you are talking or flirting with a girlfriend or boyfriend. As the female character moves around the house, the director uses a panning camera technique and does not use any cuts. This creates tension for the audience because the camera is symbolising the eye of somebody watching her every move (the murderer). This is the first clue the director gives to the audience about the potential breakdown of what appears to be a peaceful, domestic scene.
In addition to the woman character walking and chatting around the house, she starts to cook some popcorn in the kitchen. The director uses a quick cut shot to the stove where the hob bursts into flames. The audience jumps at this point, as they are becoming a little edgy about what will suddenly leap or pop out at them. Fire is usually connected with danger or a hazard of some kind and the director may have used fire at this point to try to warn the audience that danger is near and that they should be on the look out. Symbolism plays an important part here because the viewer knows that there will be danger soon, they can feel it through the mood and tension that is building up. The director can subtly give away the plot of the film through symbolism.
Immediately after this, the two characters start talking about horror films that they have seen and which ones are their favourites. The tone is still calm but the words that are used are now very emotive. For example, “Nightmare”, “Halloween”, “Mask”, “Knife” and “Scary”. All these words suggest typical horror scenarios or equipment and the audience wonder why the words are used at this point when everything seems normal. The implication of these words is quite strong and when spoken they sound menacing and threatening, such as “Nightmare”. In addition to this I think that the director is using double meanings on the words. For example, a "mask" is used to hide things or the identity of a person and a "mask" may be used to hide the horror or terrible things that will happen.
As the female and the male character continue to chat and talk about various topics, the female character rests on the kitchen counter and there are some large knives in the foreground. There is a close up of her head and shoulders. She soon starts to fiddle with the knives and pulls one of them out of the holder and looks at it. The director could once again be warning the audience of the link between the woman looking at the possible murder weapon, and what the supposed murderer on the end of the phone is thinking about using. The close-up shot of the woman reinforces the potential for horrific events to happen.
Following this scene, there is a long shot as the female character enters the living room (still content on the telephone) and the lighting is low-key. In the background there is a bookcase and some lamps, a red carpet and some paintings. These objects create the picture of a typical love story setting or a domestic scene. This is effective here because the surroundings seem so perfect and innocent and yet outside, the weather is windy, it is pitch black and there are many trees and bushes moving and swaying with the wind. The audience will notice the contrast and will wonder which surrounding will take over. For example, the hectic and threatening weather outside might represent the future happenings inside and the director is mixing genres effectively in order to create confusion.
Suddenly after the long shot, the director cuts directly to a close up of the woman’s face. Her expression changes dramatically from a happy and smiley look to a shocked and terrified look, as the male character declares, “I want to know who I am looking at!”
In addition to the new terror of the female character, the director first introduces the music. It is the music anyone would expect in a turning point in a horror film. It is played by violins and is soft, tender and moving. The clichéd music acts as a great tension builder for the audience and the director adds it in just at the right times. The off screen sound is very effective here because it gives the viewer a sense of confusion because they will wonder why the music is so calm at that point when the girl herself certainly is not.
Subsequently, the female character starts panicking and the camera shots go from long and slow to short, sharp and quick - possibly mirroring the woman’s heartbeat or the footsteps of the approaching murderer. She is becoming increasingly worried now and so rushes around the house, locking the doors. As she does this, the director uses a close up on her hand, which emphasises the locking - perhaps to exaggerate the fact that there is no way in. Or out.
The shot that continues from the close up of her hand is a long shot of the patio outside. As it stretches across, the viewer can see blue lighting - symbolising coldness, evil or isolation. The vegetation in the background is dark and shadowy. The shadows may well be somebody lurking about or perhaps ghostly figures of some kind. The audience is now very tense and this is brought about through the contrast of high-key lighting inside, and low-key lighting outside.
The male character (who the audience suspects to be the murderer) continues to ring the woman again and again and the girl, who is starting to cry, becomes more fearful for her life. The director is still following the girl everywhere she goes around the house with the camera and uses quick paced cuts. There are also booming noises that seem to be getting louder in the background. Once again, these could represent approaching footsteps. The music is now loud, powerful and intimidating and this power is reflected in the way that the male character is shouting down the telephone, “NO! You listen you little bitch!” and “Hang up on me again and I’ll cut you like a fish!” This contrasts greatly from how he was speaking to her at the start of the film and the simile creates a strong impression because he compares her to a fish and usually fishermen are rough and unsympathetic. This could be reflected in the way the murderer will cut her.
At this point in the film, the lighting remains low-key and as the woman runs, frantically, through the house. There are many shots of windows and doors - conceivably showing the audience that there is no escape because the killer is constantly watching all the possible exits. The audience and the character herself are now very tense and scared. The female character is screaming down the phone using phrases such as, “What do you want from me?” The mood of the film has changed dramatically from relaxed and calm to frantic, alarming and looming.
The female character peers out of the front door and tears are pouring down her face. The director has carefully managed the lighting so that one half of her face is brightly lit and the other is dark and in the shadows, again symbolizing good against evil. We witness the opening of the door as the two worlds merge together.
As the scenes progress, the male character gives away more clues that he can actually see her. For example he calls her “blondie” and he would not have known what colour her hair was unless he could see her somehow. As the male character states her hair colour, the woman starts to cry even more and her terror is enhanced through a close up of her face, which reveals extreme emotions.
Furthermore, the male character scares the woman again after she tells him that if he did not leave her alone her boyfriend who is “big” and “plays football” will get him. However, after she has told him this, the murderer says, “Is his name…Steve?” There is a close up on the female character’s face and the audience can clearly see her shock. In amongst all the horror, there may be elements that the audience would find comical. The boyfriend’s name is Steve; this is a stereotypical name for a football player and every American girl’s dream boyfriend. The viewer might find it quite ironic that the boyfriend is actually called Steve in this horror film, so the director's approach becomes playful and satirical. “Scream” was originally going to be a spoof comedy of the typical “scary movies” and so I think the director wanted a hint of that comedy to be incorporated in the film after it was changed in to a horror film.
The female character discovers that her boyfriend is in fact tied up on the garden patio and as she sees him, the murderer on the end of the telephone tells her that she and he ought to play a “little game”. The tone of the murderer’s voice has now changed from threatening to patronising. The director has planned that well because it makes the audience feel very uncomfortable. The female character reluctantly agrees to play the killer’s game and with that, the opening draws to an end.
In my opinion, the director has been very clever making the opening of "Scream". He/she has used many different camera techniques such as close-ups, long shots and quick cuts. All of these help to build up the tension for the audience and give the impression that they are actually present while all these horrific events are taking place. The director also uses character speech as a tension builder. For example, the viewer can tell by the way each of the characters are speaking, what will happen next. After watching the beginning of "Scream" I felt that it was very well put together and I felt very tense as it drew to an end and I was very anxious to see what would happen next and finish watching the film. So to conclude, the director has been successful in making the audience feel uncomfortable.
