Silence of the Lambs Title Sequence Analysis

Silence of the Lambs as a title is perhaps more ominous than North by North West. Again, there are questions to be asked, such as whether lambs are a metaphor or not, and if they are, what do they stand for? Does the silence mean death? These questions are not answered at all during the title sequence, as it has a very basic, sort of anonymous styling.

It is a very long sequence, starting with text to show the location, "Woods near Quantico, VA [Virginia]". The reason for this, as we find out later, it appears to be trying to stay out of sight, like a secret military training ground, and nobody has properly documented its location. It appears instantly in basic white text, not too dissimilar from North by North West's font and styling. This quickly changes to the film's default style however, to bold, black and capitalized text, displayed firmly in the middle of the screen.

The only institutional info

We see the first bit of institutional info, which is the only one in the sequence. Just like North by North West, this goes to great effort not to reveal anything about the film, aside from the capitalization allowing for some kind of feeling of being threatened. The white outline on the text allows for it to be read on every colour, and I do not think it provides any significance on the content of the film.

The sequence itself goes for about 3 minutes, with breaks in between as to not get in the way of important details such as the (assumed) protagonist's face and the task she is performing.

The main 3 actors' names come up and disappear fairly quickly, in the same black font. Each lasts about 3 seconds, and disappears again. Strangely, the title does the same thing, almost putting no emphasis on the title whatsoever. This makes sure not to answer any questions about content, and tries to stay neutral on genre styling. It could even imply that the title is not important.

After going through a lot of the cast in the exact same style, we get to more producers and casters... in the exact same style. 

The diegetic sounds during the sequence are limited to running, wildlife, and a quick exchange of words between the protagonist and an FBI agent, Taken alone, this does not imply any particular genre, but the non-diegetic music with it creates a sense of mystery and enigma. Like North by North West, it is orchestral, but slower paced and a little more like something is looming on the horizon.