Analysis of Cinematography in Silence of the Lambs
Analysis of Cinematography in Silence of the Lambs
Jonathan Demme, the director of Silence of the Lambs, and Tak Fujimoto, the cinematographer, do an excellent job in portraying almost every aspect of cinematography to make this movie suspenseful and gripping. Various motifs of camera angle, shot duration, movement, point-of-view shots, on-screen and off-screen space, and framing allow the viewer to better feel the intensity and reality of the scenes. In addition to motifs, there were certain scenes in the film that portrayed Demme’s directing and Fujimoto’s cinematography skills.
There are many different camera angles throughout the movie. They are used to illustrate the height of a character, provide more on-screen and off-screen space, and symbolize power and suspense of certain characters. For example, when Clarice was in a room full of police officers, the camera was placed at a high angle looking down at all of the officers and other characters in the room. This usually occurred whenever the setting was a large, open room with many characters. It also occurred whenever a room was entered to show the off-screen space of the surroundings. The low angle shots were used whenever the camera was behind Clarice while she was talking with someone taller than her, for instance, Hannibal and Agent Jack Crawford. These shots were also used to symbolize the power and danger of Hannibal and Buffalo Bill. They seem taller and massive which adds more effect to their presence. To add suspense, the camera is sometimes positioned with the light to cast shadows on Hannibal as he is talking with Clarice in his cell. This makes it difficult to predict what may happen next because it hides the view of his eyes and body language.
Shot durations are manipulated throughout the movie in many different ways. For instance, one moment the time setting is daytime and a couple seconds later it is either evening or nighttime. This keeps a fast pace going while moving on to the next scene. Another example is when Clarice is investigating a murder scene one minute, and the next minute she is back at FBI headquarters training. There are also long take durations whenever Demme places the camera on an important object. These durations may only be a few seconds, but they are somewhat long because the actions and movements...