Silence of the Lambs Opening - Gemma

In the opening of Silence of the lambs we are immediately introduced to a non-diegetic soundtrack which creates a creepy mood, this is complimented by the establishing shot via mise en scene setting of the woods which then tilts down to focus on the character running towards the camera. The lighting of the setting is eerie as it is a fogging dull light suggesting possibly an early morning in the woods. The female’s diegetic heavy breathing creates an atmosphere as it sounds unnerving especially with the non-diegetic soundtrack still playing in the background. A medium close up is used to focus in closer to the characters face and we see her looking around still breathing heavily. A tracking shot is then used from behind the character in a medium shot which gives the impression she is being followed, this then changes to an extreme long shot so the surroundings are beginning to be shown in the woods.  The camera then switches to the front of the character into a close up which shows her facial expressions. 

The females costume is a tracksuit and she is not wearing any makeup, her hair is tied back and she looks sweaty. The lighting behind the female is even darker and foggier than before which creates a tense atmosphere for the audience. As the non-diegetic soundtrack builds in tension the pace of the camera work becomes quicker which is complimented by a medium shot sideways of the characters body running from behind the trees which gives the impression that she is being watched, this camera shot is then replaced by a close up of the females feet running with the diegetic sound of the leaves crunching under her feet. 

The following medium shot from behind the character is still running but the lighting is a lot brighter which appears to be from the sun, this softens the mood of the scene and the non diegetic soundtrack complies with this as it too softens and becomes a more relaxing soundtrack. The scene is interrupted by diegetic dialogue of a man who breaks the sequence, at this point a two shot is portrayed and it is shown to the audience that the character is not in danger, the male characters costume is again a gym uniform and he is wearing an FBI cap which shows he’s important.  

The scene then changes dramatically  as we know longer see a dark creepy setting but a light busy one as the other people in the scene are all busy practising and their costumes are all black, this does represent a thriller as the dark colours signify danger. Jump cuts are used between shots to change settings and pass time throughout the sequence, a hand held camera is also used in aspects of the opening to create the scary mood to the woods.