The first shot we see in Scream 4 is a mid shot showing one of the main characters, Jenny, from behind. The denotations of this particular part of the scene is her looking down the stairs over the banister and her back facing the camera. The lighting is very dark in this part of the scene. This connotes that someone else is in the house because she is leaning over the banister looking down as if someone was there. The lighting is very dark which connotes that something scary is going to happen, especially as their was no reply when she shouted her friends name.
We see the girl in a mid shot as she comes down the stairs. As soon as she begins walking down the stairs background music is played. A deep, scary tune that puts the audience on edge. Scary music is a typical convention of a horror film. It is used to make the scene more scary and put the audience even more on edge.
When she reaches the bottom of the stairs we hear a dog barking. The dog is not inside the house so therefore it must be coming from outside the house. This shows how quiet the house is as we are able to hear the barking of a dog coming from another house. This is effective because it makes the audience understand just how quiet the house is and it would put them on edge because they would probably assume something scary is about to happen or jump out.
After we hear the dog barking the shot switches from a close up of Jenny's face, in which we see her facial expression to be frightened and worried, to a mid shot where we can see an empty room. The room is very dark which makes this part of the scene more frightening because usually if there is people in a house they wouldn't be walking around in pitch black. Also, the fact that Jenny has been calling her friend and there wasn't a reply suggests something has happened to her friend, especially as the house is dark and there is music playing- the sort of music when something bad is about to happen.
The shot switches back to a close up of Jenny's face. From her facial expression i can denote that she has a scared look on her face. This connotes that she is scared something has happened to her friend.
We are then shown a high angle shot of her friend lying on the floor next to the sofa. The shot then quickly changes to Jenny who screams and rushes over to her friend. A low angle shot then shows Jenny looking over her friend and calling her name. At this point the audience probably assumes something very bad has happened to her friend because the expression on Jenny's face is extremely scared. This part of the scene is effective because the audience will want to know what has happened to Jenny's friend.
However, the shot changes to a high angle shot and we see the girls eyes open and she begins laughing. A low angle shot then shows Jenny's face. Jenny doesn't seem that surprised that her friend is actually okay. A few shots later we understand that they both play tricks on each other. They then agree to stop playing tricks on each other.
A medium shot shows the girl get up and go to the fridge to get some drinks. As soon as she closes the fridge we see a face in the distance. It is a masked face and right in the corner of the room. This is effective because it surprises the audience as they probably expected nothing else to happen just yet. As the girl goes to get crisps from the cupboard we are shown a medium shot from behind Jenny. We are then shown a mid shot of the girl reaching into the cupboard. The girl then turns to face Jenny and sees the masked figure standing behind her. She automatically is frightened and jumps at the sight of the masked figure. The shot then switches back to the mid shot of the girl who assumes this is some sort of joke being played by Jenny. As soon as the shot switches back to the masked figure, it drives a knife into Jenny's back and she begins screaming in agony. She falls with her back on the sofa and the masked figure repeatedly stabs Jenny in the stomach. This is effective because it makes the audience realise that this isn't a practical joke and it is actually a real attack. This adheres the typical conventions of a horror movie because it is extremely gory due to all the blood from the stab wounds. Most horror movies of this sort will show a lot of gore on screen. So Scream 4 is adhering to the gore convention.
A close up shot then shows the girl run up to Jenny. She then sees Jenny covered in blood. At this point she realises this definitely isn't a practical joke and begins screaming frantically. The girl is then stabbed in the arm and she starts screaming in pain. This part of the scene is effective because it shows the audience just how real this attack is because she has actually now been stabbed so there is no way this is a practical joke. She runs away from the masked figure but it catches her and stabs her in the stomach.
We then see a low angle shot of the masked murderer. This is effective because it makes the audience feel as if they are looking upwards which makes the murderer look even more threatening. We then are shown a high angle shot of the victim. This is effective because it shows the audience just how vulnerable she is.
This opening scene adheres the typical conventions of a horror movie. Typical conventions of a horror movie could be: Murder, the murderer, the victim and lots of gore. Scream 4 adheres all of these conventions. This is effective because the audience will expect to see these kind of conventions in a horror film.
A good opening to a horror film would be when something happens almost straight away-it gets straight into the story. This is effective because it will ensure the audience don't get bored and lose interest. It will keep the audience on edge right from the start.
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