Jaws Opening Scene Analysis

The opening couple of minutes of the famous film jaws which is directed by the well known number one director Steven Spielberg is very disturbing and edgy. Jaws is a horror film all about a deadly shark that is swimming around the beaches of Amityville a small island in America. The first couple of minutes of the scene is very joyful and happy as we meet a group of teenagers who are having a good time together on the beech at night around a fire. Then the camera focuses of a girl and boy who seem to be getting on very well she runs off for a swim and the boy follows her. as i said up until two minutes in the mood is very positive and happy but as soon as the girl approaches the ocean the mood changes into an uncertain mood a mood which makes the audience wonder what is going to happen. they do this through the use of music or non digetic sound. to create a happy atmosphere fast pace music is used and then to create a scary, creepy atmosphere the director changes the music in the background and slows down the pace and pitch so it is very slow deep music which gives the feeling on the audience that something really bad is going to happen. when the action starts to happen the director uses something called dramatic irony, this is when the audience knows something which the character them self do not know. this is used when the girl is in the sea we know that there is something in there with her because a point of view shot is used in the water but she does not know this she believes she is perfectly safe and on her own in the ocean. this creates tension in the audience and puts them on the edge of there seats wondering about what is going to happen, this then makes the audience want to watch more into the film. Short fast camera shots are used within this scene this is when the shark attacks the girl. these camera shots are used to full effect and tell the audience that this scene is fast and intense.