Film Techniques In The Silence Of The Lambs

Many different technical aspects are used to create the many films people watch around the world daily. Technical aspects that include: shot framing, camera movement, editing, specific point-of-views, dialogue, music, and many more all go into the making of a film. The common use of some of these aspects in films can make up a director’s directorial style. In The Silence of the Lambs, Johnathan Demme uses all of these aspects; but he specifically uses music, lighting, and editing, to make up his directorial style.
One particular technical aspect Jonathan Demme constantly uses in The Silence of the Lambs is music. Demme uses music in the film to enhance climatic events and make it more intense. In the scene where Lector escapes from his cell the music starts off as a soft piano piece. The moment Lector cuffs the officer’s wrist the music changes to loud bass drums and brass instruments. After Lector kills the officers the music switches back to the soft piano, ending the climatic event. In the sequence following that the music sounds like an orchestra. It starts off quiet; but slowly crescendos until Lector pulls the face of the officer off of …show more content…
The use of lighting throughout The Silence of the Lambs provides an intense atmosphere throughout the entire film. The film’s character of lighting is direct, harsh, and hard; and most of it is shot in low-key lighting. This causes most of the set to be cast in shadows, which enhances the character’s features. In the scene where Clarice first meets Lector a light seemed to be directly on him from the side. To the audience this cast shadows on one side of his face, yet you could still see the intensity of his stare. In the final meeting of Clarice and Lector the low-key lighting of the shot makes only Lector’s eyes stand out. By doing this Demme made the audience focus on his hard stare and feel the urgency and intensity of the