full textual analysis

1. ‘SLIENCE OF THE LAMBS’
Clarice Starling is an FBI trainee, who is sent to Baltimore state hospital for the criminally
insane to interview Dr. Hannibal. A psychiatrist was revealed to be a psychopathic serial
killer. She needs to trust him in order to give clues in the search for “Buffalo Bill”. This is
a nickname given for the unknown and unrelenting serial killer, who is the main
characters of the film.
At the beginning ofthe opensequence as wellas the rest of the opensequence, Clarice is presentedas extremelysweaty,
this is obvious bythe drenchedgreysweatshirt she is wearing. Thisshows the audience that she is hardworking andher
sweatshirt alsomakesit obvious that she is inthe FBI, this makes the audience understand whyshe is completing this
intense workout and that she is of highauthorityinsociety. There is then, a highangle of Clarice doing exercise, this shows
the audience that she looks weak in this shot, she is small instature. Right fromthe beginning of the opening scene she is
made to looksmall and weaklike she is throughthe rest of the clip.
Duringthe scene where she is running,sheruns into some mist and this symbolizes her goingto something
that she doesn’t know and havingto find her way out.
There is also a close upshot of her face whenshe is running, this shows the audience that she is verydeterminedbyher
facial expression, thisalso tells us more about her personalityandwe know after thisshot that she isn’t someone whois
willing to give upeasily.
There is also a two shot of Clarice anda maninan FBI hat, this shot shows the audience that she works for the FBI and it
also makes the point that she is inferior instatus althoughher status insocietyis highas she works for the FBI whichmakes
her lookfeeble but we knowthat she isn’t byher determinationinother shots like the runningshots.
There is a low angle shot of Jodie ontop ofthe cargonet, this shows the audience that she is strong because she is on a
climbing net to convey her strength and determination to overcome the obstacles in her
path

2. After the pervious shots, there is a close upshot of the maninan FBI hat, this shot makes the audience wonder what he’s
thinking because of his facial expression, it is stern and quite serious. This makes the audience believe the man is worried
about Clarice’s character andhe cares for her, ina toughlove sort of way.
Duringthis shot she is in lift,the men are wearing red shirts whereas Clariceis wearinga grey sweat shirt,this
shows the audience that she is out of placein this shotand doesn’t fit in with the other people in the shot. This
medium shot of Claricein a liftwith men, this framingshot shows the audience that she is a lotsmaller than
the men and this makes her look frail and outof placeand the men’s facial expressions showthatthey don’t
want her there because they can tell she is out of placeas well.
At the end of the clip there is a focus pull from Clariceto Crawford, this shows us that whileshe is significant,
Crawford is equally as importantor the director wouldn’t have made us focus on him instead of Clarice.When
she is in Crawford’s officeand lookingaround there is a trackingshot, when the camera moves in on her face,
this shows the audiencethat she has seen something that she is very absorbed in something that seems to link
to the storylineor itwouldn’t have been included in this scene.
At the beginning of the clip there is a craneshot, this sets the scene for the audiencebut also fromthe height
of the camera italso makes Jodie Foster look very small when she enters the shot. There is a shallowfocus
shot when she is walkingdown the corridor in the middle of the clip,this shows us thatshe is the main
character,however the other people in the shot arenot.
Before she entersCrawford’soffice thereisascene where she talkstosome FBI agentsandthe man
to the right islookingatherlike the meninthe liftwere lookingather,thisshowsusthat a lot of
people cantell thatshe doesn’tbelonginthatareaof the academy.Whenshe entersCrawford’s
office,we cantell a lotaboutCrawford’scharacterby lookingathisoffice andhisdecorations,

3. because he hasveryold fashionedandornate decorations,thisshowsusthathe has a taste for finer
thingsinlife andthat he issmart because we can see hisplaguesandcertificatesonhiswall.