Scream (1996) Deconstruction

Opening Scene: Scream (1996)

 Establishing Shot

• Low angle shot of tree tilts down to eye level view of entire property, establishing the scene and the lack of surrounding houses, conforming to the remote location convention of a horror and also to the night-time darkness expected within a 'scary movie'.
• Shot at a public distance; emphasis of the lack of emotional connection/empathy between the viewer and the victim onscreen.
• Composition of diagonals used in the tree branches and of the roof of the house suggest that something is wrong in the scene, making the viewer feel uneasy despite the horizontal and vertical lines that suggest rest (applying to the victim's piece of mind and belief she is safe).
• Despite the diegetic sounds of insects and the swing creaking (re-enforces the uneasy atmosphere to the scene as the trees show there is little wind to cause the swing to move), there is no other noise, using the silence as a typical atmospheric device within the majority of the scene to suggest 'eerie-ness'.

 "I wanna know who I'm looking at"

• Track movement follows victim (dominant of entire scene, as temporary protagonist) down into the room at high angle making her appear smaller and increasing her helplessness.
• The scene (excluding the dialogue) is silent to re-enforce the victim's isolation within her home and as the caller delivers his line, there is a quiet non-diegetic 'pang' sound to illustrate her recognition of the unusual situation and the camera zooms into her face to show a reaction shot.
• As it zooms, the distance moves from informal to intimate proxemics, making the viewer uncomfortable, mirroring the violation of the victim's privacy as she understands she is being watched. 

  "Is this some kind of joke?"

• Continuity editing is used to make the scene appear more realistic, appealing more to the viewer's fear in relation to the victim on screen's and follows the victim as she steps backward, centering her in the frame to emphasize her reaction and it's importance to her frantic actions that follow. 
• The victim is faced at a quarter turn, making her reaction visible to the viewer without being intimate enough to create an emotional involvement between the audience and character, as is highlighted previously when the house is shot at a public distance.
• As the dialogue progresses, non-diegetic high frequency sound builds up and then fades foreshadowing the possibility of an unexpected attack.

 "Can you see me?"

• As she reaches the door, the victim is in sudden silence contrasting with the previous loud sounds of fast-paced anticipating non-diegetic sound overlay matching her pace as she runs to the door, creating unease as both the viewer and the victim are unaware of when the killer will strike.
• The only diegetic sound other than the dialogue is the victim's heavy breathing which re-enforces the idea of isolation within the situation, again being positioned below eyeline to show the victim as being helpless.
• The camera changes to an eye line match point of view shot overlooking the outer perimeter of the property through the window, causing the audience to feel the same fear as the victim and also to suggest enclosure behind the windows, acting as a barrier between the victim and the outside world.
• She is framed at the bottom left hand side of the screen, despite being the dominant character to highlight her insignificance as a character and a person, showing her only purpose is to act as a victim to introduce the film itself.