The Conversation - Opening Scene - Cut / Jump shots

The opening sequence of the conversation has many different shots involved in it. The camera starts on a wide shot of the square, as it is a major set-piece of the movie, and is where the conversation takes place. The camera then moves down into the square with a slow zoom, which is done to establish the theme of ‘distance’ in the film.
The camera then starts to follow and pan the couple as they go about their conversation. The next shot is blocked so that the characters being “miked” or “spied on” disappear behind a Christmas tree and don’t appear on the other side. The camera continues to pan the couple until it begins to cut between the eavesdropping cop and the surveillance team and the couple.
This movie is primarily about hearing, not seeing and so the cut shots and parallel action of the team in the surveillance van, listening to the garbled audio and the couple walking in the square having their conversation continues to build the character of Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) as an individual who relies on hearing more than any of his other senses.