The opening scene of The Conversation begins with an aerial shot of Union Square in San Francisco that slowly zooms in. As it zooms, diegetic sounds of people talking in the park can be heard. The camera picks out the protagonist, Harry Caul, from the crowd and follows him. Caul is dressed professionally in a grey suit, suggesting he works in a legal profession. Strange screeching sounds are heard throughout the opening shot, disorienting the viewer. These sounds are revealed to be sound interference captured from a long-range microphone, showing that the camera is meant to represent surveillance technology that is a theme in the film.