Tension And Suspense In Steven Spielberg's Film Jaws

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Jaws Essay Jaws, directed in 1975 by Steven Spielberg was a great film that made audiences barely hanging on the edge of their seats. In this revolutionary thriller, a great white shark is terrorizing people residing on an Atlantic resort. As more evidence of shark attacks keep popping up, police officer Chief Brody played by Roy Scheider is put to the task to ease the situation. Within this movie, there are many interesting camera shots that create tension and suspense. These shots help set a mood towards the audience. Out of the many great camera shots in this movie, I have picked out three that I’ve found the most interesting. The first shot I will depict takes place in the beginning of the movie. A young teenaged girl tells a boy to go swimming with her. It is either taken at night or very early morning. By this time, it’s very dark. The darkness already sets the tone. As in most movies, darkness symbolizes terror or horror. There is a camera shot of Christy, the teenaged girl, floating in the ocean. As she is waiting for the boy to come swim with her, a suspenseful song is playing. It is Jaw’s famous theme that signals that danger is near. In a medium-long shot of Christy, the shot is taken from the shark’s point of view directly underneath her. It’s taken from a very low angle.…show more content…
Chief Brody’s realization of a shark attack is shown through this shot. It catches the audience’s attention through making the background seem larger. This vertigo effect creates a mood of shock and uneasiness like someone’s stomach is dropping. Prior to this shot, it shows a kid being attacked by a shark. This dolly shows Brody’s reaction. It is a medium-close up shown at an eye-level. Emotions such as being worried and suspense is created through this shot. It makes the audience realize the gravity of the situation. Some kid is dying, and panic is in the air. All of this rushed straight to Brody with this

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