Silence of The Lambs...

In class we created a table looking at the opening of the well-know thriller 'Silence of The Lambs' Directed by Jonathan Demme- which included information that allowed us to see other options that are available for the thriller opening we are going to create.

 

Film Company, Distribution etc

·ORION Pictures (released and distributed)

·MGM, Film Company that funded the film- employed the directors, film stars etc...
We will need to think of our own film company to include, these act as inspiration for this.

Opening Credits

·Setting in the woods, misty, title displayed in the corner which allows the audience to locate where this thriller is situated. The font for this was a white typewriter style that we found particularly intruding and a font design we wish to use in our thriller clip. The contrast against the background means that the audience are able to read it, plus it is clear and simple, yet does not look 'boring' and un-interesting.

·'JODIE FOSTER' is large capital letters is displayed first- as she is a well known star, people will be viewing this film due to her appearance, and this is then re-enforced by her name being displayed first. As we are unable to have 'big stars' in our production, the positioning of actors and actresses in the credits is also important to consider- the order is generally- main star, 2nd then 3rd star, followed by the title of the film. As the credits appeared as the film had started, we felt this was a better approach than 'Hitchcock' used in 'The Birds' as you are straight into the action, which is what is required to keep people in our society interested.

Sequence

·The main character is running through a forest- completing an obstacle course- she wears an FBI jumper so we immediately know what job she has and can start brainstorming ideas about what her character may be like- therefore this item of clothing is very important in this opening sequence. In our own thriller clip, the costumes chosen will need to express the individual’s personality, allowing the audience into information that does not necessarily need to be spoken, adding to the mystery of the character as the audience are left to piece together the character.  The female that is running is young, petite, yet this is contrasted against the 'neutral' colours (light grey) that she wears, plus the fact she is sweaty and running through a forest on her own immediately lets us know that she is an independent character- work-orientated and dedicated to what she does. The way the characters appearance explains so much about their personality will need to be considered in our own thriller clip, as I feel this is a more interesting and unique approach than talking about the characters job etc. The audience have to think for themselves, which involves them becoming even more interested in what the film has to offer.

A shot I found particularly engaging was the close up shot of the woman’s face when she is looking at the collage of photos in the office- the camera uses a close up so we are able to engage with her emotions, yet it includes irony as she can see something that we cannot, we then become eager to continue watching as we want to know what it is she has found so disturbing, yet fascinating at the same time. This shot would be a fantastic addition to our thriller opening, for example we may see a reaction shot of someone who has found the girl dead at the party, yet the audience do not know this and are left wondering what may have happened, they are in suspense and would like to continue watching.

Compared to the opening of 'Psycho' and 'The Birds' by Hitchcock, Jonathan Demme uses a traditional setting of the woods and a character running with an immediate introduction to action, (although not as immediate as The Dark Night) ,whereas the other two films  are built up from an ordinary situation- defining Hitchcock’s style of filming.

Lauren Taylor