The Silence Of The Lambs Opening Title Sequence Analysis Director-Jonathan Demme Release date- 14 th February 1991 By Naomi Adams

Mise-En- Scene First image we see, is of this woman climbing up a hill. The fact she’s holding a rope suggests it’s a steep hill and is taking safety precautions, this risky behaviour adds to the thrill. It almost appears she is taking part in an assault course which she takes part in everyday. The woman is dressed in normal, everyday clothing which suggests she’s an average person of everyday. The fact she’s outside implies that she likes exploring and is used to doing these exercises, showing she’s rather adventurous and appears tough which isn’t actually typical of a female character in a thriller as usually they are the princess’ which are in danger and need saving and aren’t usually main characters. Her appearance links that she’s an ordinary person in an extra ordinary event. The atmosphere is quite gloomy and depressing as the natural light used contains a blue tint to the frame. Also as it’s very dark it shows the desolate rural area, causing us the audience to question the setting. The place seems rather isolated adding to the thrill which is typical of a thriller opening. This mans hat gives us an insight into what profession he is in. FBI is an organisation of agents, suggests he’s trying to work out a mystery, or is her personal trainer. This image of the man causes us the audience to question his character and what relationship he has with the woman. As his eyes follow her movement it suggests he’s of a higher rank and is reviewing the woman’s physical ability.

This frame shows these signs which have been pinned to a tree. It causes us the audience to question whether these words are the feelings you have to through to achieve and finish this assault course, they act as the codes of behaviour. The fact each phrase is written clearly on a piece of cardboard shows they have been handmade for a specific purpose. As each word is written clearly on one bit of cardboard each it may cause us the viewers to question whether there are clues to the feelings a character feels throughout this film. This next image shows a group of people also doing exercise. The fact they’re all wearing a black uniform suggests they belong to a group. As the woman isn’t wearing the same clothes she stands out and shows she’s a main character. This frame also suggests that because they’re all taking part in the same exercise, to the ones dressed in the same uniform it’s a ritual but for the woman she appears to be proving her strength in order to be part of this professional group of agents. These images suggests they’re taken by detectives in order to solve a case, linking to the role of FBI. First image which gives us the audience an insight as to what genre this thriller film is, suggesting that it’s a crime thriller.

Cinematograp hy Here the camera is filming from a high angle wide shot, looking down on the woman who’s climbing up the hill. This makes her seem small as she’s positioned far away, causing us the audience to focus on her. The fact a high angle shot is being used here also gives us perspective of how steep this hill is, emphasising the effort needed to climb up it. A close up shot is being used here so that we the audience can see her face properly and the fact the camera is focused closely on her shows she is a main character. This close up shot has also been used to show the reaction she is having to this workout. It shows clearly how sweaty and worn out she is suggesting that it’s an important exercise, highlighting her determination. Even though it is a close up shot, it’s still quite wide so not only do we focus on the character but also the background and realise how desolate and gloomy the setting is, making her appear isolated. Here a tracking shot is being used to show the movement of the woman and to show clearly how fast paced she is moving. The tracking shot also makes it visually interesting to watch as it causes us the audience to also feel as if we’re running along with the character too.

Another close up shot is being used here, this again makes us the audience focus just on this character and what he is looking at. This close up shot causes us to question who exactly he is and what relationship he has with the woman and it also states that he’s also a main character. A tilt movement is being used going down the tree vertically at a steady place, it’s visually interesting to watch this camera movement and causes us to feel intrigued as to what image is going to appear next. It’s restricted narrative and slowly reveals each word As the pan moves at a steady rate, it allows us the audience to focus on each word being shown at a time and question what the purpose of the words are, linking to its purpose in the opening title sequence. An establishing shot is being used here, to show the building in which each character works in. This shot is very unusual as thrillers usually use restricted narration to keep us the audience on edge throughout. However it appears to be an official building and hints to the crime element. Graphics have hinted it’s Quantico as there are many associations that it’s a centre for training FBI agents. A wide shot is used here to establish where it is these main characters are working and based in. The wide shot also allows us the audience to focus on different aspects of the frame, as they’re collecting evidence. It’s clear that these two characters are detectives as they’re dressed in a typical suit, which shows they have an important profession.

Soun d Throughout this opening title sequence, a mixture of sound is being used to make an interesting soundtrack. At the start non-diegetic sound is used. This sound has been added in the editing process as it’s a voice over. The voice over introduces the film and reads aloud the names of those who are acting as characters in the film. As the voice over introduces the film it makes us the audience really listen to what is being said in case some clues are given away which will be relevant to the narrative later on. Behind this voice over, non-diegetic sound of instruments are being used to fill in the gaps between the voice and the silences, it also helps create an eerie atmosphere which matches with the background being shown throughout this sequence. The music being played seems to be made up of mostly string instruments, this is because they create a sense of eeriness and are very sharp sounding, causing us the audience to focus a lot on the sequence. As the woman starts running and as the exercise she is taking part in gets more intense the music gets louder and higher pitched, it also gets more fast paced to match the pace in which the woman is moving at, suggesting the amount of effort she’s putting in which partially causes us to feel empathy for her. When we are first introduced to the second main character (man with FBI hat on), the sound changes to diegetic sound as he starts calling after the woman and instructing her what to do next, this shows he’s of a higher status as he’s in charge of what exercises the woman is doing. However; there’s still a faint sound of the music behind which quickly builds up once the woman runs off again, hinting that she’s in the process of training. When the sequence moves from outside to indoors, the music and voice over completely stops and instead diegetic sound of footsteps and dialogue are used to create the sense of the business of the place and to make us the audience focus on what exactly is being said, the tone of this conversation is quite orderly and gives advice in an informal tone. In the last frame, where the woman focuses on the images of crimes-which are pinned up on the detectives walls. There’s a very short silence and then the same music heard earlier is played again to cause us the audience to focus one each individual photo and to feel a little anxious as to what crimes have been committed, linking to the opening title sequence’s purpose, drawing the audience into the film and making interpretations which need to be resolved.