(Reserach) How is the opening sequence of Scream conventional to a thriller opening?

At the beginning of the film we see different types of micro elements used effectively which are cinematography, editing, sound and mise en scene to display an impact of when a female victim gets murdered by an antagonist. 

 Firstly at the beginning of the scene we see the female victim playing with a kitchen knife as she doesn’t have a clue that the weapon she is playing with would be the same weapon that the antagonist will use to murder her. This is conventional to an opening thriller as it gives the audience an idea of what weapon the antagonist would use to murder her. This creates a wave of fearfulness as the audience already know what weapon is going to be used for her death.

Another iconography that used was the house phone. This is revealed to the audience at the beginning of the scene when it the phone rang. Firstly the female victim picked up the phone and heard a males voice she than decided to hang up. This makes the audience to assume that she will be the victim. After hearing the house phone ring for the second time she got the house phone and started speaking to a stranger. This represented her as a senseless character as the audience would expect her to not speak to a person she does not know.

Secondly natural lighting was used at the beginning of the film. This type of lighting was used to reveal to the audiences that everything was calm and peaceful as she is comfort of her own home. Suddenly we then see low key lighting which was used when the female victim began terrified whilst speaking on the phone to a stranger. The use of low key lighting showed  the audience  that something bad is about to happen because low key lighting is mostly used when danger is about to occur.

The use of these type of lighting is conventional to a thriller opening because the audience would expect natural light and then  low key when crime is about to happen. Low key lighting brings fear to the audience as they would begin to think what is about to happen.

A close up was used when the female victim heard the antagonist say her name. This camera shot allowed the audience to see the female victim’s emotion as she became confused of how did a stranger know her name. This makes the audience feel fear for the female victim as she does not know who she was talking to. Her facial expression also helped this as it changed into being happy to becoming afraid.

 In addition low and high angle was used simultaneously when the female victim quickly ran to lock the house doors.  High angle is used when the female victim goes behind the TV to hide for her safety. This reveals to the audience how weak and terrified she is as her body language was very panicked as she curled like a ball to protect herself.

Furthermore low angle was used when the female victim finally managed to escape from her house. This shows the audience how brave and quick thinking she is for escaping away from the antagonist. The use of these camera angles is conventional to a thriller opening as it shows the audience how brave the female victim is as she tries to escape away from her murderer who finally murders her at the end.

The location of the house was set near the forest this is shown with a establishing shot. This use of shot allows the audiences to be afraid as the house is near a unsafe area. However the house was white and old fashion which shows the audience that the house is a place of peacefulness but because there is a forest nearby it brings fear to the audience as the wonder if anything bad is going to happen. This is conventional to an opening thriller as the audience would accept a white beautiful house near the forest as it represents danger and death.

 

 At the beginning of the scene the facial expression and body language of the female victim was cool and relaxed. Her facial expression was calm as she was talking on the phone with a stranger. On the other hand her body felt relaxed as she was leaning on the kitchen table, as she felt safe in the environment that she was in. This shows the audience that she is safe and no crime would be committed. This is conventional to a thriller opening as the scene starts of equilibrium as the female victim is safe in her house then the scene leads into disequilibrium when she gets murdered in a home that was meant to be her safe area for her to be protected.  

 

In addition non diegetic and diegetic sound was both used when the antagonist says “Look I like you” to the female victim.  After announcing that the female victim’s facial expression changed as she became confused. The sound then built tension as it got louder and louder as it represented her heart beat. The use of these sounds created confusion and panic to the audience as it made them think or imagine they were also involved in the scene and the female victim’s emotion as she became scared and terrified.

 

The use of costume for the antagonist and female victim also brings emotion and understanding toward the audience. This is because the antagonist was wearing a white mask to hide his identity which makes it hard for the female victim and the audience as they don’t know who the killer as it is conventional to an opening thriller as the antagonist is meant to dress in this particular dress code. Moreover the black long coat that the antagonist wears represents darkness as black also connotes his dark intension. This is conventional to an opening thriller as the antagonist in a thriller film would normally come out during night time wearing black to cover the bloods of the innocent people that he murders. This created an alarming feeling for the female victim to stay away and keep herself safe from the antagonist also it creates distress  as the audience would lose interest in the antagonist as he is there to destroy. Moreover throughout the scene the female victim was wearing a cream jumper which the audience would see her vulnerability as a pure, youthfulness and an innocent character. The stereotypical of her being blonde and a female shows the audience that they’re most scared and dependent as women are mostly seen or represent in this way. This is conventional to an opening thriller as the female victim would be weak. This makes the audience feel sorry for the female victim as she is unable to protect herself.

 

Slow motion was used as it captured a significant moment in the scene when the antagonist stabs the female victim. The use of this camera shot shows the audience how painful the stabbing was as. This brings tension to the audience as they become and feel sad and scared for the female victim as they also question themselves if she is going to survive. This is conventional to a thriller opening as the antagonist murders the female victim. Another editing that created emotion towards the audience was shot reverse shot. This was used when the female victim sees he parents after being stabbed several times. This type of editing was used to show the audiences the distance between her and her parents and how close she was to be saved. However because of losing her voice she couldn’t get help as she tried calling for her mum in desperation. This brings sadness to the audience as they feel panic and afraid for the female victim as she is unable to get help.

 

To complete the use of micro-elements and cinematography help create emotion and tension. All these elements together helped to create shocking and frightening scene for the audience to view. The use of cinematography showed the audience how dramatic the female victims death was and the style of thriller.