Section 2: Research into examples of comparable products (JAWS)

‘Jaws’ is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. The Film follows the people of Amity Island, caught in a grip of terror due to the Great White Shark that inhabits the coastline, devouring all those it can.
Notes on the opening sequence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8SnZmUjhAA

Narrative StructureThe Narrative structure presents us with Equilibrium (Tod Rov’s theory of predictable everyday life, calm and peaceful) and Disequilibrium in the first few minutes of the film. The Equilibrium being the teenagers having a party on the beach, drinking and taking drugs, and the disequilibrium being Chrissie being killed by the shark, as it changes the predictability and calmness of the equilibrium and the film then focuses on how the narrative will form the re-equilibrium, where peace is restored.

Thriller Codes and Conventions

‘JAWS’ uses many of the thrillers codes and conventions, one being that the audience is not force-fed information, and the horror and gore of the film isn’t presented top us, it is implied as we very rarely see the shark, and when Chrissie is being Mauled by the Shark, all the audience is shown is the character screaming in agonising pain, we never see what is going on below the surface of the water, we are lead to use our intellectual engagement to realise that something is attacking her, and that one possibility could in fact be a shark.

Camera Work

• At the start of the sequence, when the camera shot is from the POV of whatever is swimming, it begins slow, and guided by the Non-diegetic Motif sound of the Jaws March, gets faster, implying that it is swimming with a purpose and that it is hurrying for something. By putting us in the POV of that character, it evokes suspense in the film, personifying what is swimming and creates an eerie and terrifying ambience.
• When the camera cuts to a shot of the teenagers at the beach, we get an XLS of the group sitting in a circle, however the circle is broken as Chrissie is removed from the group. The circle is symbolic of unity and suggests togetherness, with the circle broken, it suggests that group are not safe and are not unified by a common bond. Also the shot where the camera pans through MCU of the group talking and playing music, again suggests that there is strength in numbers, and as a group no harm can come to them, producing a false sense of security.
•  The Camera Angle and Focus is also a little distorted, emphasising that the teenagers are drunk or intoxicated with drugs. As drugs decrease the reaction, the likelihood of making rational decisions and also strips the person of their inhibitions. This will prove to be a major disadvantage when bieng attacked, foreshadowing the danger ahead.
•  The Cinematography also foreshadows certain events in the narrative. When Chrissie is running, the camera follows her at speed, however once she leaps into the water, the camera stops at the beach. As we are given the POV of the camera, we are informed that the water shouldn’t be swam in, as the camera didn’t follow Chrissie.
• When we get the XLS of Chrissie swimming in the water, she is surrounded by the ocean. This emphasises her aloneness, and that no one is around to save her, or hear her when she screams in terror.

  

Mis-en-scene

• As the film begins, we are shown a shot of the camera moving fluidly through the ocean. This automatically provides us with the information that this creature can swim with ease, also the water it swims through is rather dark, connoting grief and danger. Also as the creature is swimming through dark water, adding to the fear this creature appears to instill, as humans would find such an environment alien, and uneasy to be apart of, as this creature swims so gracefully an purposefully with no effort, emphasisng how dangerous the creature is.
• After the Jaws March sequence, the film cuts to a sequence of the teenagers all gathered around a fire drinking, smoking, laughing and playing music. This stereotypical Cliché of gathering round a fire symbolises a family atmosphere and unity. Implying that the group are safe and together, ony adds to the tension and suspense one one of the group is later killed off, presenting a 'Red Herring' where the film presents us with an event we do not expect, shocking us. 
• When Chrissie is running to the water, the shot's colours are very low key creating a misery filled ambience, foreshadowing the following events.
• We are shown a shot of a sunset. The sunset symbolises the end of someting, perhaps Chrissie's life, or rather the ending of the peace that surrounds the small town. However this is the opening sequence in the film, and the sunset, a visual metaphor for something to end, contradicts this as we only associate the sunset with an end.
• Just before Chrissie is mauled to death by the creature, we see an XLS of the ocean. This creates a sense of unknowingness, as the sea is an undiscovered form of nature, this creates an uneasy atmosphere, and it is left to the audiences imagination what could and is lurking beneath it.

Sound

• As the film begins we hear the diegetic sound of the water flow, this creates a tranquil and peacefuil ambience, refelecting the ambainece of the town. However the sound is interrupted by the Non-digetic motif of the Jaws March. This signifies that the tranquility of the town will be interupted.
• The Jaws March, possibly the most recognisable music in cinema history, the music begins slow and rather quiet, and as the camera speeds up the music gets louder and more intense, mirroring the ambience and terror that engulfs the sequence.
• When the film cuts to the scene with the teenages, the direct diegetic sound of the characters talking and playing music, creates a united and family/friendly ambience, again creating the false sense of security.
• After Chrissie has been dragged under the water by the shark, all non-diegetic music fades out, leaving us with only silence, giving the audience time to reflect on what has just happened

Editing

• At the start of the film, when we are shown us the POV shot of the creature swimming through the water, it is all done in one shot. This suggests that there is no hurry in the creature’s movements, and that it bides it’s time. However when Chrissie is running to the beach, the film cuts very quickly from her, to the drunken boy several times at speed. This creates a contrast between characters as Chrissie appears to be in much of a hurry, and is excited and eager. Also, this presents Chrissie as a vulnerable character as she isn’t careful, she is impatient and energized, proving to be her downfall laterin the sequence.
• We are also presented with a shot reverse shot when Chrissie and the boy catch one another's eyes, creating this sense of the 2 characters meeting.

Character Profiles

• Chrissie: Chrissie is presented to us as an archetypal victim in horror/thriller films, a female, sexually played, seen in underwear in the first few minutes of the film. Also presented as bait, as she is the first character to be killed in the film, and the fact that she is wearing white underwear, suggests her innocence and purity, as the colour connotes a such.
• Jaws: The creature is presented to us as an antagonist through the music and cinematography, also a powerful predator who preys on the weaker characters such as Chrissie.