Analysis of the opening of Silence of the lambs

The film opens with an extreme establishing shot of space and stars. The titles then begin to appear on screen, with the first title appaearing from some stars shapping an O. The film then cuts into a forest simultaneously showing the titles on screen. Dead trees and a misty weather is the setting of the forest creating a negative/depressing mood. There is also sad/eerie non-diegetic sound in the background. We are then shown a long shot of a lady pulling on a rope. Diegetic sound is used at this moment as she is climbing you can hear her panting. As she reaches the top of the hill, a medium shot is shown here. You can see here facial expressions showing a concerned look, looking right then left. She then begins to run through the forest whilst the titles continue to show. She is in a quite setting and she is alone showing that she is quite vulnerbale. There is a close up tracking shot of her running; medium shots of her torso and medium shots of her legs whilst she is running. The music is still being played adding to the tension of the scene. The lady then begins to climb over an obstacle in her way. We can suggest that she is training to become a part of something, maybe a policewoman as she comes face to face with a man working for the FBI.

Analysis of the opening of Memento

The opening of memento begins with a prolonged close up of a mans hand holding a photo of blood from a polaroid camera. There is non-diegetic sounds of an eeire soundtrack which builds up tension for the viewers. The sounds are effective because they represent the event very well. This scene is held for around 10 seconds untill he shakes the photo to reveal the image. It is almost as though he has been frozen in this position, possibly even shocked at what he sees in the photo. On the other hand the delayed time in holding the photo in this fixed position may be related to the development time of the photo to fully appear. However the audience soon notices that as the time continues the photo fades into darkness until it disappears or even returns to the state of when it first comes out of the polaroid. This assumption that the audience is inclines to make is further backed up by the proceeding shots of the photo being inserted back through the camera. During this scene the titles of the film are shown in a contrasting blue colour which stand out against the warm coloured scene (blood and skin) and essentially creates a hot and cold vibe. As the clip continues, a gun, a man being shot and a bullet is shown; that's when the audience realise that the clip is being played in rewind or reverse, showing what happened from the end to the start. At this moment there may be a sense of surprise and enlightment for the audience as this is far from typical cinematography.

We are then shown the male character wearing a suit, who kills someone by shooting at them with a gun. The man then takes a photo of the scene which creates assumptions of who the man could be and his role in the movie. Non diegetic sound follows, with a extreme close up of the man. There is not much light on him as he is looking to the right which creates tension. There is then another extreme close up of the man picking up his keys and then a close up of the man. The lighting remains fairly dark in the room. There are then shots of the furniture in the room and then a medium shot of the man on the bed looking confused.

Genre - Class notes

A creative strategy used by film makers to ensure audience identification with a film which minimises the rick of financial failure.

Genre films work through cultural myths and fears by repetition, innovation and resolution.

Genres are not static but constantly renegotiated between industry and audience - a combination of familiar reassurance and new twists.

Genres feature a set of characteristics/formulae which are recognised by audiences over time.

Genres offer comforting reassurance in an uncomfortable world.

Genre functions like a language - a set of rules and vocabulary with which to organise meaning.


Films can be hybrid e.g. they span more than one genre; they might "rework" generic conventions in some way; there are many sub-genres.

Genre is ideology

71120356 Generic Conventions Niccs Task