Narrative structure of Scream (1996)

The title was originally in white; signifying innocence however, you then here the sound effect of a knife cutting followed by a scream, at this point the title flashes red representing danger.
The first character we see on camera is a young blonde girl, she answers the ringing phone which is diegetic sound. The stereotype of a blonde girl is that she is naïve and vulnerable - this stereotype proves true as we soon discover.
The camera shot pans however at the front of the shot is always the knife set which our character interacts with whilst on the phone. This prop is enhanced by sound effects, foreshadowing its later use as a weapon.
The iconic phone-call is regularly used, it starts off as an innocent, everyday sound however it soon represents the sound of the antagonist as every time the phone rings we know he is on the other end of the phone.
We also hear the sound of a dog bark which is often associated with someone arriving, disrupting the scene and so this suggests to the audience that someone is outside however it is not confirmed until later.
The setting is isolated, we see an establishing, external shot of her house to reveal this. We also hear the sound effects of a swing however we do not see it yet, this sound suggests someone is present and using it. As the camera jumps to an internal shot, we see the blonde girl going around her house locking the doors, to which she has many! This also tells us that she is naïve as she has left them all unlocked up until now.
The antagonist uses diegetic sound in "turn on the patio lights...again". This connotes to the audience that he has been out there the whole time, watching her without her knowing. Within this extract there is gender stereotypes as the man is telling the girl what to do, as he is in control, during this time (1996) there was still elements of patriarchal control. We are also aware he is watching when he refers to her as 'blondie' on the phone- suggesting he can see her but it is also quite a condescending term confirming he is the antagonist.
Scream was one of the first films to use post-modernism, this was used when the characters discussed their own film genre's conventions when the antagonist says "you're not meant to ask Who is there? don't you watch horror films?".