Jaws shot choices

First attack

I chose this scene to look at because it is clever with the different shots chosen to it together because first of all it starts with both characters having fun and enjoying themselves however once we see the shot from under the water looking up at the girl we realize there is something watching her being a threat. At this stage in the movie we don’t know that it is a shark yet but the change of music makes the audience feel a bit more tense and wonder what is is and whats going to happen to her. I think it is clever how the camera gets closer to her legs but then jumps to her face as she is getting attacked so we can see her reaction and her getting dragged under which our brain registers and puts the 2 clips together so we understand what is going on. As she is getting dragged around and screaming the music is dramatic to build up the effect as we don’t know if she will escape but once she is dragged under it is silent so we know that she is dead, the sudden silence helps exaggerate the atmosphere much more because somebody has just been killed by something in the water.

When the shot flicks back to the boy lying on the beach it is a very different scene because he has no idea what is going on but because it is in the middle of the other scenes we know that it is happening at the same time just at a different place s it works. It is a good technique to help tell the story as it fills in the missing gaps which we wouldn’t know otherwise.

This scene has an example of shot reverse shot when the Man looks out to sea and we then see the shark looking back before he attacks him so we know both of them have spotted each other, even if these shots weren’t filmed at the same time they flow together like they were so it seems more realistic and it tricks us into thinking it was at the same time. Shot-reverse shot is a good technique to use to make something feel more real if you cant film 2 things at the same time but it can be used to show it to be happening at the same time so our brain thinks they are looking at each other but in reality it might be looking at something completely different.

The simple film techniques that Speilberg uses throughout his films are effective to show whats going on and make the audience feel the different emotions he wants them to at different points for example when he plays the jaws music when the shark is around it makes the viewers feel scared for whoever is in the water at the time but when the first shark is captured it makes the audience feel relieved until they find out it is the wrong shark so they feel scared again. He does this by showing the characters reactions and playing different music or sounds to dramatize certain scenes more than others.

I think that Speilberg is a brilliant craftsman because of the way his films fit together and the different techniques he used however i think that because technology has improved so much since jaws first came out his work doesn’t seem as good when watching the film because we are used to watching newer films with better effects.

(i couldn’t figure out how to get screenshots onto here)