'The Silence of the Lambs-  Opening credits Analysis

At the beginning of the opening scene of The Silence of the lambs the setting seems very mysterious. The establishing shot is off a dark spacey forest surrounded with tall trees making the area seem hidden. You are able to see the woods and the text 'woods near the Quantico' in the bottom right hand corner in the text Serif. This then leads to a vulnerable looking girl running alone. People could say that this could be seen as an old horror film opening. The opening sequence holds many Enigma codes these are questions being asked whilst watching the film, such as in this film, we ask, why is she running, why is she in the woods and who's after her? Later on in the extract you find out that she is actually doing extra police training on her own and no one is infact after her. This helps us to get an idea of the sort of character she is as it puts across to the viewer that she is hard working, determinated and wants to succeed. During the clip there is a tracking shot behind her following her running through the woods. This makes the viewer feel close to the character and as though they are running behind her. This also builds character and enables the audience close contact with the women who is running. Point of view shots are also used as the women is running through the woods as this makes it appear as though she is being chased, this helps to create suspense. At points through the beginning of the clip the camera seems to be held very steady this makes it feel more realistic as though you are the person supposedly chasing her, seeing things through their eyes.
   All of the opening credits are black with a white border and written in capitals. This could suggest things may be dark and dangerous on the inside but there is still something nice on the outside. This hints to the audience the type of characters that may appear in the film. The opening credits are in a bold font and are simple almost like newspaper headlines.This also could suggest the type of film it is going to be.
   During the opening sequence the male character runs into the scene and shouts "starling" this means we are introduced to the main female character by her second name which makes the film seem more realistic and as if we already know the character. The male character is also wearing a prop which is a hat, this shows us who the characters work for, the FBI.This helps to set in scene in the film for the viewer quickly and easily. Another prop used is signs which are attached to one of the trees. This helps to reinforce the location and where the film is set.
  As the main character walks into the building she is high- fived by another female character and is greeted by her first name making the viewer awhere of her first name, Clarice. Because of the casual greeting it shows her character gets on easily with others and she can be herself around them.When Clarice is surrounded by the other characters she immediately stands out. This is due to the height difference between her and all the other characters in the shot, she is alot smaller. This could suggest she doesnt meet certain things in the criteria to be part of the fbi or that she is at a disadvatage to the other characters. Also she is wearing different coloured clothes to the rest of the characters. This causes her to stand out as the other characters look more as though they are all part of some sort of group together. This helps to focus our attention on the her, reinforcing that she is the main character.