Jaws

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrEvK-tv5OI

At the start of Jaws, we see two people running near the sea. The guy at the back first asks the girl in front “what’s your name again?” and we find out her name is “Chrissie”. We can also determine that the buy is trying to chase Chrissie – maybe because they are a couple. As they are funning along the fence line towards the sea, Chrissie says she is going swimming and as they both run, they take off their cloths so that they can swim in the sea. Chrissie is first into the waters and starts swimming out into sea while the guy has only just made it to the shore. The guy wants to swim with Chrissie however he seems too short breathed and tires to swim.

The opening scene is shot during the night, just as the sun is about to go out. The dark / low key lighting which makes the scenes look spooky and mysterious. The dark connotes fear, danger and mystery. We can also hear ambient sound in the background. It is not evident that there are other people in the shot, but through the ambient sound, we can assume that there are more people on the beach.

A bit into the film, we are shown a low angle shot of Chrissie in the water as she swims. The camera also pans to keep her in focus. Generally, a low angled shot is used to make the subject seem bigger and give then more authority however it’s not in this case. The low angled long shot and pan to keep her in the shot, along with the dark lighting, makes Chrissie look vulnerable and as if something is stalking and watching her. When we are shown this low angle shot of Chrissie in the water, we start to hear music playing in the background of a piano with other instruments such as the violin. In the next shot we see another low angle shot of Chrissie however the camera is moving towards her. At the same time, the pace of the piano also increases which builds suspense and tension. When the camera get to a medium shot Chrissie under water, the shot then switches to a shot of her from above the water. We see her suddenly get pulled down for a brief moment and her facial expression suggest something is very wrong. She the get pulled down two more times in quick succession – then realizing she is in danger and she starts streaming. We then see her being dragged around on the water, frantically screaming.

The shot then briefly switches to the guy who is still lying down on the shore – oblivious to what is taking place around him. This shot is cram and doesn’t have any screaming however it still has an eerie sound playing in the background which keeps the audience at unease to play with their emotions.

The next few seconds are showing Chrissie crying for help as she is being attacked by an unknown creature. After a few seconds she is suddenly pulled down into the dark waters and we are left with no sound but the waves of the sea and the bell on the floating buoy.

We are never show the creature that took Chrissie. This makes the incident seem mysterious, as well as being scary, and also makes that audience curious to find out what it was.