Deconstruction of The Call

Deconstruction of the opening of ‘The Call’

At first, the screen is black, with the opening credits still displayed. The diegetic sound of a phone ringing. When the phone is answered, the voice of a 911 phone operator is heard, before a collation of 911 calls. This suggests the film genre is a crime thriller set in the US. The off-screen diegetic sound is accompanied by a bird’s eye view of a city at night, with lots of lights and cars to show the number of people 911 aims to protect. The non-diegetic percussion music builds suspense, until a close up of a phone operator’s mouth is on the screen- when the music and voices stop. As the audience see lots of phone operators, the camera pans and tracks the room (and the dark music starts again) - while straight cuts are also used to show the busy, hectic atmosphere that is involved with this job. Voices constantly overlap to emphasise this point. Just before the audience are introduced to the protagonist, there is a zoom to a long shot of the office in which all the workers are listening to calls.

           When the suspenseful music stops, the protagonist, Jordan Turner, appears on screen answering a call. Shots of TV screens framed in the foreground and her in the background create an eerie feeling as if someone is watching her. Close ups of her face and the computer screen she is using show the intense atmosphere and inform the audience of how phone operators work. The music begins again, getting louder as the calls become more extreme. As CALL DISCONNECTED flashes on the screen the music slows, which is parallel to Jordan’s frustrated expression on screen.

          However, the mood of the atmosphere lightens again when a friendly voice is heard, on the phone- one of Jordan’s friends. This calms the audience and this continues when medium shots of Jordan kissing her boyfriend are shown. Close ups provide tension whereas medium shots show the audience more and are more relaxed. As Jordan shares jokes with her colleagues in a seemingly more relaxed environment, shots of her smiling and laughing are shown.

          As Jordan answers the next call, an off-screen voice is heard crying hysterically as she says a man is trying to break into her house. Jordan’s relaxed facial expression and body language stiffens immediately and non-diegetic strings music builds suspense. This is combined with the sound of a police car speeding up and sirens in the background.