The first shot of the opening scene is a close up of a phone ringing. This is really significant because it is foreshadowing that the phone will become important later on in the scene. Furthemore, it suggests that there will be a conversation on the phone between two characters that are important in the film.
The next significant shot is a crane shot moving down from focusing on a tree branch all the way down to a swing attached to it. This shot suggests that the tree and the swing will become more significant later on in the opening scene, possibly inferring that someone or something will be hung from the tree branch.
Another shot that becomes significant is a mid shot of the girl next to knives in a kitchen. This is again foreshadowing that one of the knives will be used to kill someone or that the killer on the phone will use them to kill her or somebody else.
The most significant shot after that is when the camera contra-zooms from a mid shot to the girl's face after the guy she is talking to on the phone says :"I want to know who I'm looking at." This is significant because it captures the emotion of fear and confusion on her face at the moment in the film opening. It also shows the sudden realization that she is being watched by the person that she is talking to.
Editing
The editing in this opening scene from scream is quite effective because the lack of transitions used allows the film opening to flow and the narrative is easier to understand as it is linear without the use of flashbacks.
It does have a slight cut from the woman being in the house to a shot of a tree outside the house. The other significant editing in this opening is the graphic match between the woman staring out of the window and a quick pan shot of the outside of the house. This is important because it gives the impression that she is looking around the area for the killer that she is on the phone to. It also suggests that something important will happen later on outside of the house.
Sound
This opening scene from Scream uses sound very effectively to build tension straight away. For example, the non-diegetic sound of a person screaming before the start of the scene instantly suggests that the film is of horror genre and that there will probably be many killings during the course of the film.
The next significant use of sound the diegetic noise of the phone ringing at the start of the opening scene. This infers that someone is trying to get hold of the girl in the house and engage in a conversation with her over the phone. It also infers that the phone is key to the effectiveness of this opening scene.
The most significant use of sound in this opening scene is the dialogue between the woman and the killer over the phone because most of the diegetic sound in this scene is on the phone through a conversation. The most intriguing piece of dialogue is when the killer says "You never told me your name" and then the woman responds by saying "Why do you want to know my name?". After that the killer replies by saying "because I want to know who I'm looking at". This possibly the most significant part of this conversation because it becomes clear that the person the woman is talking to is outside her house.
A further effective use of sound is when the swing on the tree is creaking. This suggests that a hanging may happen from a tree branch later on in the scene and that it may be the girl or somebody else that is killed and then hung up on the branch.
Mise-en-scene
The use of mise-en-scene is also key in keeping with the codes and conventions of the horror genre during the course of this opening scene from Scream. For example, the foreshadowing of the image of the knives in the kitchen suggests that something significant in will happen later on in the scene that will involve the knives.
The next significant use of mise-en-scene in this film opening is when the girl's boyfriend is revealed strapped to a chair with duct tape around his mouth. In addition, he also has some blood on his clothes. All of this conforms to the conventions of horror because some one's loved one is trapped and nothing can be done and also the significance of the blood on the boy's clothes suggests that he will be killed the man with the scream mask.
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