The opening scene of Silence of the Lambs uses various film techniques to set the tone and introduce important characters. During the credits sequence, there are shots of the female protagonist running through the woods accompanied by increasing music pace to build tension. Jump cuts are used as the scene changes location. When she arrives at the FBI office, close-ups highlight important information on a newspaper about the antagonist Hannibal Lecter. Mise-en-scene elements like the isolated forest setting, costumes and lighting create an eerie atmosphere to begin the thriller film.

1. The silence of the
lambs

2. Editing

3. Credits and
Title
The female
protagonist
running
Jump cuts Swipe
Match cut
The
Edits

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Sound

9. Sounds
Birds Calling
Protagonists
Breathing
Pace of
Music
Manner of
Speaking

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. Mise-en-scene

15. Make-up
Setting and
Props
Lighting
Costume
TheMise-
en-scene

16. 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.

17. 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…

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. Camera
angles

21. Over the
Shoulder
Pan Shot
Close-ups
Camera
Establishing
shot

22. 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.

23. 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

24. 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.

25. 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.