TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE SILENCE OF THE

LAMBS (1991)

SOUND

• The music is orchestral, in a minor key and has a looping bass line to build the tension. The music was clearly written to give a sense of worry and unease in the shots; especially whilst she is running. The music fades out to speech but comes back again when she goes indoors.

• However, the music is less tension building and more serious when it comes back in from the fade. It fades slightly and lingers whilst her and Crawford are talking, again giving a sense of unease.

• There is a heavy use of diegetic sound as well, such as heavy breathing, gun shots, running through leaves, helicopters and birdsong.

MISE-EN-SCENE

• In terms of mise-en-scene, the main character stands out in the corridors of the F.B.I. base because she is the small, female among the large men. This is shown by her costume in the shot with her (in blue) and the men (in red) in the lift.

• The obstacle course is important in opening scene as all vulnerability of the woman fades away as you understand why and what she is doing, suddenly changes from stereotypical vulnerable girl to more in control, strong woman as she is interrupted by a man wearing an FBI cap, this insinuates she is either working for the FBI or training to be an FBI agent.

CAMERA ANGLES/SHOTS

• There is an establishing shot used of tree tops. It is used to show the dark and gloomy morning and to establish the setting. This sets the scene of the clip and gives the audience a sense of ambiguity due to the low-key lighting, orchestral sound and the mist in the background.

• There is a high angled tracking shot of the main character. This shows the character to be tiny and insignificant due to the shot being poorly framed and of a high angle. The audience are made aware of how this character may be perceived throughout the rest of the film as out-of-place or weak.

• There is a medium-long shot used of a match on action shot in this clip. Significantly, this shot shows only one female character, who is looked down upon in the lift. The audience are aware of how this character is seen as so miniscule and appears completely out-of-place due to the fact that she is the only female in the lift, the only person wearing a grey, sweaty jumper and the significance of her height represents her overall characterisation.