Silence of the Lambs Opening

Camerawork

• The opening shot in the clip is a close-up on Clarice Starling, and then a mid-shot of her running through a forest while the camera follows her. This already creates quite a sinister mood, the classic thriller shot of an innocent woman running through the woods, the audience right behind.
• We see her approach a large net made of rope that you can climb up, move to the other side of at the top and then climb down the opposite way, much like an obstacle course. The camera pans round and tracks her movement across the equipment. The ease of her movement and the steadiness of the camera seems very comfortable, like she's done this many times before. the camera stays still and we watch her run into the distance.
• All in the same shot, someone shouts her name off camera, but addresses her as 'Starling', and as the man who called her name runs into shot and towards her, the camera also moves in. As Clarice leaves, the man turns to camera, and the close-up on him reveals he is a member or the FBI, labeled on his cap.
• The next shot it a close-up of a tree, and the camera tips down to reveal an FBI mantra that must be taught in training- 'Hurt, Agony, Pain, Love--It'. This shows the sort of message that Clarice has been exposed to throughout her career, and what part of her character must be like. As the camera stops to tilt, Clarice runs closer to the camera and around towards the FBI offices. She is surrounded by late groups of people in training.
• A wide shot next shows a glass bridge between two buildings, and the camera zooms in so we just catch Clarice running through the bridge. 
• The camera follows Clarice through sets of corridors and her walking through a workshop, showing her in her normal, working environment. 
• One of the final shots in the first two minutes shows Clarice walking along another corridor into a lift full of men dressed in red. I think that the fact that she seems so comfortable in this setting says a lot about the environment she's used to.

Editing

• The editing is very simple, and uses straight cuts and continuity editing throughout the opening.
• It's quite low-speed editing, so nothing is too intense, and we can fully take in the setting of the story.
• The titles in the opening sequence are very bold and outlandish. I have to say that these nearly overpowered each shot, as you couldn't always see the action going on behind it. This may also be why they used slow-paced editing, so we had a chance to see what's going behind the titles.

Lighting and Colour

• The colours are quite dull throughout the opening scene. the forest, the buildings, the corridors, even her clothing is very monochrome. It makes the her training at the moment seem to not be very exciting, and so her new assignment would be an interesting change for her. 
• Outside the lighting is very natural, but inside there is harsh strip lighting, which further emphasises the dull feeling of her training thus far. 

Sound

• One of the first things I noticed about the opening is the bold orchestral soundtrack. At the very beginning it is in a minor key, which send very dramatic at first, but after she the FBI base comes into frame the music suddenly becomes major, and much more uplifted. This contrast between the sinister minor strings and the happier major key shows that she finds comfort surrounded by her work, and people similar to her. Essentially, alone, she is more susceptible to danger. 

Mise-en-scene

• We learn a lot about Clarice from this opening. The camerawork is cleverly ordered so we gradually see that she is part of the FBI. As she isn't with anyone else, she must be doing this training course in her spare time, which shows she works diligently. She climbs the apparatus with ease, so clearly she has done this many times before.When she enters the FBI buildings, she is recognised by a couple of people, so she must be liked amongst her colleagues. 
• At the end of the opening she walks into a lift surrounded by men significantly taller than her, and her grey jumper standing out from their red uniforms. She doesn't look uncomfortable in this situation, so clearly she is accustomed to an environment lead by men. This will probably give her an advantage in her work, as she is one of very few women in her workplace.