Tom's Media Portfolio
Silence of the Lambs (18)
Opening Analysis
Unfortunatey, I couldn't find a video of the opening sequence, so there isn't a video to back up my statements
The setting of the scene is a forest, a rather conventional setting for thrillers due to its allowance of low key lighting which often is used to give an unnerving feeling of the unknown around the character. The character is in casual clothing - the same as in most other thrillers - to give the feel of normality to the film, making it seem possible in reality. The costume also has a sweat patch on it, giving the effect that the character has been running for a while.
The scene is comprised of close ups at the beginning, until a certain point in the scene where the character comes across training equipment, where it transitions from a mid shot to a long shot using a zoom out. The close ups build tension as, at that point, the audience don't know what's around the character, however, once the audience realise that the character is just training, the fear that something is chasing the character is gone, and the audience isn't scared anymore. The scene also uses mostly tracking shots to keep up with the character as she runs so to not reveal anything around her, however the scene starts with a pan down to a high angle long shot of the main character to make her seem small, weak, and defenceless.
The soundtrack is in the minor key to add the evil mood to the scene, however it crescendos as the scene goes on to build tension. The diegetic sound is mostly the character's breathing as she runs which is used on the close ups of her face, shows that she is tired, and further shows that she has been running for a long time. The only other sound on the scene is the diegetic sound of the leaves crunching beneath her feet as she runs which adds congruity to the scene.
The scene, like most other thrillers, uses minimal editing, however when the character is shown on screen for the first time, the scene starts using quick cuts to add panic to the scene as the character is running. Once the audience realises that the character isn't in any real danger, the scene goes back to using long cuts since the panic is no longer necessary.
The graphics on the scene are in a bold, sans-serif font, and are black with a white outline. This is most likely used to make the credits clearly visible on the screen. Before the credits start to appear, there is white, underlined text which gives the location of the setting. The text itself is a serif font, possibly made to look like text made by a typewriter, which makes it seem professional.
The order of the credits are as follows: Producers
Main Actors
Title
Other Actors
Casting Director
Music
Costume Designer
Production Designer
Director of Photography
Editor
Novelist (Dependant on Movie)
Executive Producer
Screenplay
Producers
Director
Mise En Scene
Camerawork
Soundtrack
Editing
Graphics
