This is a short analysis of the entire film of 'Silence Of The Lambs' I will watch the opening on it's own and write up a deeper analysis of the opening, but I wanted to watch and analyse an entire thriller film first to get a better idea of codes and conventions throughout the film.
Discuss the ways in which ‘Silence Of The Lambs’ fits the codes and conventions of the thriller genre. Does it do it successfully?
The use of music in ‘Silence of the lambs’ fits the usual conventions of the thriller convention. In thriller films the music usually fits with the scene and the intensity of the scene, for example when the scene is tense the music usually accompanies the scene by being fast paced and gradually getting louder. This is what the music is like throughout ‘SOTL’ for example; in the opening scene the music is mysterious, and although it is quiet it still sets the scene as being menacing. Throughout the film, whenever there is a ‘normality’ scene, there isn’t any music, only diegetic sound, this is to make the normality scenes seem more realistic to the audience- this is stereotypically what happens in all thriller films, again showing that ‘SOTL’ fits in with the conventional thriller films.
Another way that ‘SOTL’ fits in stereotypically with the thriller genre is the use of camera shot types throughout the film. Some common shot types used in thrillers are; close ups of victims, tracking shots of victims or antagonists, close ups of people’s faces during tense conversation, and point of view shots from the victims or antagonists eyes. All of these shots are used during SOTL, which means it fits the conventions of thrillers, for example; when Clarice and her boss are having a conversation about what Clarice has to do, the shots switch between each of the characters faces to show their expression about the conversation, this means the audience can see how the characters feel when they are talking about Hannibal- they seem serious and worried, so the audience know that they should be scared of Hannibal. Another camera shot in SOTL that fits thriller conventions is when Clarice is in the warehouse- which is a tense, scary scene and to make the audience feel the way Clarice feels a point of view shot from Clarice’s eyes is used, enabling the audience to feel as though they are actually there experiencing it.
Lighting is another aspect in ‘SOTL’ that fits with the thriller genre conventions. Lighting is an important factor in thrillers, it can set up how the audience are supposed to feel about a certain place, person or setting; lots of dark lighting is used in thrillers, key lighting and back lighting is used lots, along with rim lighting and chiaroscuro. All these types of lighting are used in ‘SOTL’ like the second time Hannibal and Clarice meet, there is mild chiaroscuro lighting on Hannibal which makes him come across as quite an evil character, but as he is still in the light and not completely in darkness he does seem to have a different side to him- which is how the audience is supposed to see him. In the scene when Hannibal strings up one of the policeman the most significant use of lighting is used, when the police open the door they see the body clearly because of the harsh backlighting used which outlines the body and the room brightly. Each time Clarice and Hannibal meet, there are shadows on their faces and also in the settings they are in- this connotes that the storyline is mysterious and things are being hidden from us.
I think ‘SOTL’ uses conventional lighting, camera shots and music very effectively and all these aspects are used to create suspense and tension for the audience really well. The lighting sets up certain characters to be mean, kind or mysterious and also to show certain settings in particular ways for the audience, the camera shots used tell us more about characters and the story, or perhaps in places conceal information from the audience and the music sets up the scenes well, and builds suspense and tension effectively.
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