Technical Techniques Used In The Silence Of The Lambs

A variety of technical aspects are used to create the many films people watch daily around the world. Technical aspects including, but not limited to, shot framing, camera movement, editing, specific point-of-views, dialogue, and music go into the making of a film. The common use of some of these aspects in films can make up a director’s style. In The Silence of the Lambs, Jonathan Demme uses all of these aspects in his work; three elements that stand out in this particular film are music, lighting, and editing.
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 them 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 and slowly crescendos until Lector pulls the face of the officer off of himself. The music causes the audience to …show more content…
The use of lighting throughout The Silence of the Lambs provides an intense atmosphere during the entire film. The film’s character of lighting is direct, harsh, and hard and most of it is shot in low-key lighting. 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 shooting the scene in low-key lighting, Demme makes the audience focus on Lector’s hard stare and feel the urgency and intensity of Clarice and Lector’s