Opening Sequence

Katie, Abi, Matt and Alex

Editing

Credits and Title

The female protagonist running

Jump cuts Swipe

Match cutThe Edits

Title and Credits

During the opening scene of Silence of the Lambs the credits appear on the screen in bold accompanied by a voice over whilst there is and establishing shot of the woods.

As the camera pans down the title of the film appears again in big bold writing before disappearing again.

After we have been introduced to the female protagonist the credits continue as she tackles the obstacle course.

The Female protagonist running.

During the credits there is a close up shot of the female protagonist feet. During this close up her running is increasingly sped up. This creates a unfocused look and gives us the feeling that she is running as fast as she can as if she is trying to get away from something and is in danger. This may link to her fear and her need to run away from something or someone later on in the film.

Swipe and Jump Cuts

When the female protagonist is summoned to the office she uses a lift. The opening of the lift doors creates a Swipe effect which then leads on to the next scene of her walking to the office.

Throughout the opening scene there are jump cuts when the scene changes quickly from one location to another. For example when she is in the woods and the by the building.

Match Cut

When the female protagonist is in the office she and is speaking to the man there is a match cut. Depending on who is talking the camera will focus on that person and then cut to the other person when they talk. Another example would be when the man talks about the ID as the camera focuses on the ID just after he talks about it and then cuts back to the man.

Sound

Sounds

Birds CallingProtagonists Breathing

Pace of Music

Manner of Speaking

Birds Calling

At the beginning of the opening sequence we hear birds calling suggesting that the sequence is taking place outside somewhere, most probably in the country. This sound is important as it sets an indication of place, which is a factor that typical opening sequences contain.

The next sound heard is a woman breathing, the way that she is breathing suggests that she is physically tired and is doing some sort of exercise. As opening sequences usually give an introduction to the main character we are lead to believe that as this woman is the first character we hear she is the protagonist.

Protagonists Breathing

Pace of Music

As the protagonist starts to run faster the pace of the music gets quicker which builds tension leading the audience to believe that something bad will happen. This tension shows us the genre of the film as thrillers use a lot of tension to create an effect on the audience. Showing the genre proves that this is a good opening sequences and once the audience knows what genre the film is in the beginning, they can decided whether they would want to carry on watching the film, instead of having to watch it to the end to discover this.

Manner of Speaking

When the man in the office talks to the protagonist she responds in a formal manner suggesting that she is of a lower status than him most likely in her job. This could mean that she is forced and obliged to talk to him in this way.

Mise-en-scene

Make-up

Setting and Props

Lighting

Costume

The Mise-en-

scene

Setting and Props

The eerie feeling at the start is also shown by the building being in the middle of a clearing outside a forest with no sign of other buildings around. This could suggest isolation and an attempt to stay hidden. Lastly, the walls in the office scene are covered with photos showing that the FBI is always looking for clues as to solve the cases that they have been given.

Lighting

Silence of the Lambs starts with having an eerie mood and a sense of fear which could be echoed later in the film. The eerie mood starts in the first scene of the woods because it’s shows the tops of a forest of trees overlooking a lake with a blue, natural, low-key lighting suggesting it’s a cloudy day in Winter…

Costume

A female character is then introduced who is seen running through an obstacle course. She seems to have been running for a while by the beads of sweat on her face and the patch on her jumper. The level of fear is put in here because certain camera angles and how the camera follows the female could also show that there is a sense of loneliness because she is the only one doing the obstacle course. This is until a man shouts her name and catches up to her. He is wearing a bright vest and a FBI cap showing his importance over the female would is wearing some plain, warm jogging clothes.

Make-up

She challenges the female stereotype by being less feminine than other females in media by having a more masculine voice and not wearing a lot of make-up, but still wears earrings showing she still has a feminine personality.

Camera

Over the Shoulder

Pan Shot

Close-ups

Camera

Establishing shot

Establishing Shots

In the opening of Silence of the Lambs there is an Establishing shot which shows the audience that this scene is set in a forest. I feel that this sets the mood of the opening as quite eerie. This is because being in a forest often means you're hidden away from everyone, so you're much less safe. The eerie setting to the opening is later backed up again by another establishing shot which shows the FBI area. This creates an unpleasant atmosphere as it makes the audience question the enigma of why the FBI are in the middle of a forest.

Pan Shots

In the opening of Silence of the Lambs there is a Pan Shot which follows our protagonist through an obstacle course. I feel that this follows the action and highlights that the protagonist is athletic / trained in some way. Another pan shot is used as the camera follows the protagonist into the FBI building. This shows that she is of importance as it was fluent, suggesting that she wasn't stopped to see ID as she is well known

Close-ups

Close ups are used to highlight the important information in the FBI Building, we see this when it shows a newspapers of the antagonist, Hannibal Lecter. The close ups show the importance of this character and allow the viewer to read the headlines which give away a lot about Hannibal.

Over the Shoulder

There is an over he shoulder shot used when the protagonist is talking to her boss. This allows us to see the conversation almost from the protagonists point of view. Creating the illusion that you are following this character and reinforcing her importance in the film.