AS G321: Film Opening Deconstruction: Jaws (1975)

Jaws

Summary

"Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel of the same name. In the story, a giant man-eating great white shark attacks beachgoers on Amity Island, a fictional New England summer resort town, prompting the local police chief to hunt it with the help of a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter. The film stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, Robert Shaw as shark hunter Quint, Richard Dreyfuss as oceanographer Matt Hooper, Murray Hamilton as Larry Vaughn, the mayor of Amity Island, and Lorraine Gary as Brody's wife, Ellen. The screenplay is credited to both Benchley, who wrote the first drafts, and actor-writer Carl Gottlieb, who rewrote the script during principal photography."

Jaws n.d In Wikipedia Retrieved 10th November 2016 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaws_(film)

Production

"In 1951, the producer Darryl F. Zanuck hired Brown to head the story department at Zanuck's studio, 20th Century-Fox. Brown eventually rose to become executive vice president of creative operations. He and Richard D. Zanuck, Darryl's son, left Fox in 1971 for Warner Bros., but the following year they set out to form their own production company.

The caper film The Sting (1973) starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford was a Zanuck/Brown "presentation". Thereafter, the pair were credited as producers or executive producers of more than a dozen films, including the courtroom drama The Verdict (1982), directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Paul Newman; the science-fiction Cocoon (1985), directed by Ron Howard; and the comedy-drama Driving Miss Daisy (1989), directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman. Driving Miss Daisy won four Academy Awards, including the Best Picture award.

Without Zanuck, Brown went on to produce films including the drama Angela's Ashes (1999) and the romance Chocolat (2000).

He and partner Zanuck were jointly awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1990 for their achievements in producing films including the horror thriller Jaws (1975), directed by Steven Spielberg."

In Wikipedia Retrieved 15th November 2016

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_D._Zanuck

Production's of note include:

The Sting (1973): Directed by George Roy Hill. Distributor: Universal Pictures. Budget: $5.5 million. Gross: $156 million. 

Alice and Wonderland (2012): Directed by Tim Burton. Distributor: Walt Disney Studios/Motion Pictures. Budget: $150-200 million. Gross: $334.1 million.

Distributor

"Universal Studios (also known as Universal Pictures and formerly Universal Film Manufacturing Company, and also simply referred to as Universal) is an American film studio owned by Comcast through the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal.The company was founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour. Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States, as well the world's fourth oldest (after Gaumont, Pathé and Nordisk Film). Its studios are currently located in Universal City, California and its corporate offices are located in New York City. Universal Studios is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America and is one of Hollywood's "Big Six" studios."

Universal Studios n.d In Wikipedia Retrieved 18th November 2016 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Studios

Timeline

00:00 - 00:05: Opening credits begin, "A Zanuck/Brown Production" is displayed in white, bold capitalised letters. The Jaws original music starts to play quietly in the background. (described as classical song for fear and suspense). The screen is black.

00:05 - 00:10: The background sound slightly increases in volume as the next credit is displayed in the same font and colour. At this point the audience are intrigued to see the increase in pace and intensity.

00:10 - 00:15: The screen then cuts to an underwater shot of the ocean floor where the camera imitates a sharks movement. This suspenseful music picks up is pace and a deep sounding instrument is played as the 'Jaws' title appears with a slow fade. It is shown in thick, bold, white writing with very sharp edges. The letters are capitalised and are displayed in the centre of the screen.

00:15 - 01:00: The camera continues moving forward through the oceans weed as the cast credits are presented in the same font and style. The classical music reaches its highest volume and sharp sounds known as a dramatic sting which emphasises worry and fear. The film opening ends with a quick cut transition to the first scene where the music suddenly stops and the tense mood changes.

01:00 - 01:40: The camera pans to the beach where a group of teenagers are having fun and drinks. Two characters are shown as the camera uses the 180 degree rule.

01:40 - 02:40: The two characters run to the water as the camera gradually follows them. The girl takes off her clothes and jumps in the water however, the boy falls over while attempting to jump in so just lays on the sand.

02:40 - 04:30: The soundtrack builds up as the shark gets closer to the girl before it attacks her. When the shark begins to forcefully pull the girl under water she begins to scream however, since she is isolated no-one can hear her. The scene finishes as the girl is pulled beneath the ocean leaving the scene in complete silence. 

Film Deconstruction - Jaws Analysis:

In this section I will be analysing certain areas of the film opening in depth to see how the director portrays the horror genre and draws the audiences attention. The certain areas I will be focussing on include:

1. Setting - Lighting/Setting and Colour
2. Motifs/Reoccurring Imagery
3. Costume/Makeup
4. Effective Transitions/Camera Movements/Shots 
5. Credits/Typography
6. Music/Sounds 

Once I have fully deconstructed the film opening against these 6 areas, I will be further concluding my analysis with feedback from our focus group and discussing what I will be taking from this deconstruction further onwards in my main task. 

Setting Analysis

The opening of film begins with an underwater shot

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) follows a familiar narrative trend in regards to its opening. The film follows a linear nature meaning it has a distinct beginning and end and is in a logical order for the audience. Spielberg draws the attention of the audience by providing a ‘hook’ during the film’s opening scene. 

The opening titles initially start with an underwater camera lurking underneath the muddy waters, trying to take on the movement of a shark itself. The camera is placed by the floor of the ocean suggesting to the audience the deceptiveness and danger of what is beneath the surface. The ocean weeds are very dull and dark coloured, again creating an eery atmosphere, the way the camera moves through these weeds shows that the shark is hiding itself from prey. Further to this, the director may have decided to open the film with an underwater shot so that the audience can imagine what it would feel like being in the waters not knowing a shark may be beneath you. This creates an uncomfortable feeling for the audience therefore, will help them to understand and empathise with the characters later on in the film.

The film continues to the next scene where the audience see a group of teenagers having a good time on a beach. many of the characters are smoking and drinking therefore are intoxicated. It is very dark out therefore, indicating it is very late at night and not many people are around. From this we can gather the group of teenagers are unaware of the potential dangers they could face by being close to the sea late  at night. Particularly with films within the horror genre, the audience can anticipate a tragedy from looking at the setting of the scene and the characters in it. 

Further into the scene, two of the teenagers run away from the group to get closer to the sea where the audience can ensure danger is about to occur. 

The girl (Chrissie) is shown in a shot from below the water that reinforces the evil that lies beneath, which was clearly demonstrated within the opening credits. Once the shark attacks Chrissie the camera is placed at a long shot at a low angle to show the large area of sea. 

The setting which the director has filmed the scene in, emphasises how scary the sea is and how much danger each person is in whether or not your with a big group. 

A gif made to show the mysterious ocean and Chrissie before she gets attacked

Lighting/Colour

Overall, the opening scene has low key lighting to reflect the typical scenery for a horror film. The fire within the first scene is potentially added as it is an element and connotes warmth and safety. This is particularly effective as the audience may infer that the character furthest away from the fire which symbolises comfort, may be the first to get injured which ironically occurs. 

As presented in this screenshot, Chrissie is sitting the furthest away from the fire

The camera pans out when Chrissie runs past the fence, the lighting is very low and not much colour is shown for example, the surrounding grass looks fairly damaged and dull. In addition, the fence that acts as a barrier between the ocean where the shark is lurking looks very weak and easily breakable. This again offers an uncertainty from the audience, as the characters are moving closer to a very unreliable part of the beach.

A gif to show how the fence acts as a weak barrier between the ocean

Generally, the opening of the scene is very dark with little light being given out from the fire and the moon. This lack of lighting is very common within the horror genre as it creates the dark atmospheric mood needed to keep the viewers on the edge of their seat. This is because, viewers will naturally associate low key lighting with dangers, as both the characters and audience will be restricted to what their eyes can see, making the characters in specific more vulnerable to threat. 

Motifs/Re-occuring Imagery

Throughout the opening scene the alcoholic drinks could possibly be inferred as a motif as it signifies each character being intoxicated therefore, not in full control or understanding of their surroundings and the insecurities. 

Such behaviour is relatively common in most films of the horror genre because young adults who underage drink or get involved with sexual activities may be punished in the film which may involve getting attacked by a shark for example. This is therefore, presented in Jaws where the young girl Chrissie who skinny dips in the ocean at night unfortunately dies, the over representation of alcohol suggests endangerment to the audience.

Further into the scene when Chrissie jumps into the ocean, the buoy is the only other object shown in the waters. This may be particularly significant as a buoy is an anchored float therefore, can keep someone afloat during danger. The buoy is shown in seven shots throughout the opening to indicate safety for Chrissie when she is being attacked which can  cleverly change the audiences perceptive about the scene.

Costumes

The film was released in 1975 therefore characters costumes differ significantly from the present day. However, we see Chrissie taking her clothes off before she reaches the water which is a significant part of the opening scene. This then means Chrissie is fully naked when entering the water which can possibly reinforce how powerful the shark is as she is very vulnerable at that point in time. 

Theorist Claude Levi-Strauss suggested that all narratives had to be driven forward by conflict that was a result of opposite forces such as good vs evil. In regards to this scene, Chrissie the human personifying ‘good’ whereas the shark being ‘evil’.

Camera Shots/Angles/Transitions

Underwater Shot

Many different shots are used throughout the opening and the camera shots are specifically chosen so that they relate to the narrative. As mentioned in the previous section, the underwater camera follows the speed of a shark and together with the music create the alarming image that the shark is hunting for something larger than a fish. 

The group of teenagers are then shown sitting on the beach showing a normal setting. The 180 degree rule is then used when the camera shows a medium close up of both Chrissie and her love interest. The audience may gather that the two characters may like each other due to the appearance of them being closer than they actually are through the cameras placement.

180 degree rule used to show each of the characters 

Once the camera pans out we can see that Chrissie is relatively distant from the group and warmth from the only light source (the fire). The couple then separate from the group and a long tracking shot is used to show them running along the fence between the ocean and the ‘safe spot’.

The yellow circle highlights the buoy

As Chrissie jumps into the ocean a long shot is used to show the scale of the water. This shot is particularly interesting as it allows the audience to see the buoy in the background which turns out to be re-occuring object as mentioned in the previous section.

The camera cuts between the two characters showing the distance between them, ironically the boys intoxication saved him from possibly being attacked by the shark. Next, the camera cuts to the point of view of the shark below Chrissie, this creates much suspense for the audience as they know it is there however, she doesn’t. Once the shark attacks, the camera movement is very restricted as they want this to be the main focus. The camera is placed just above the water which is very effective as it highlights her rapid movement as well as allowing the water to be forced onto the camera to show how powerful the shark is. 

            Gif to show the placement of the camera to make the audience feel uneasy 

Gif to show the contrasting settings

The shots continue to regularly cut back to the boy laying on the beach who is oblivious to Chrissie’s attack. The contrast in lighting between the two settings may suggest that the boy is safe from the shark as light from the sunrise/sunset is given out in the top corner of the shot.

Finally, the last shot that is shown is a long shot of the silent waters which looks undisturbed and still. This shot may have been used to emphasise how powerful the sea is and how helpless the girl was during the attack. In regards to the shark, the long shot may have been used to reinforce how well hidden it is as there is no evidence to show anyone was in danger. Overall, this is an effective opening for a film of the horror genre and draws the attention of the audience immediately where it continues to keep the suspense continuous.

Final long shot in the opening scene

Credits/Typeface

The opening of Jaws begins with presenting the production company, distributors and the title of the film which are shown over the iconic soundtrack. The font used is very basic and bold as well as the colours being a basic black and white keeping to the horror convention of dull colours preparing the audience for a mysterious atmosphere. 

Music/Sounds

The music begins to play to create an unsettling atmosphere

In the opening of Jaws, the music is very significant and creates the suspense and mystery needed for a film within the horror genre. The tempo of the music particularly fits in well with the camera movements for example, when the underwater camera speeds up as if the shark has hunted its target, the music greatly increases in volume.

The music suddenly stops when it cuts to the next contrasting scene of the teenagers at the beach. Many diegetic sounds are heard of people laughing, playing music and communicating, not knowing the dangers of the waters. 

The next scene is where we hear dialogue between the two characters as they run towards the ocean, this creates a connection between the audience and these characters. As she jumps into the sea we hear more diegetic sounds such as water splashing.

As the camera cuts to the sharks point of view then back to the long shot of Chrissie, the familiar music continues as the shark is very close which helps to build suspense. When the shark attacks the girl we hear screaming and panicking, Spielberg chooses to cut between this shot and the boy to show that he cannot hear her screams showing her isolation.

Chrissie screaming and panicking before she gets pulled underwater

Focus Group

Amy: I think it is very dramatic and tense just before the shark attacks therefore, draws the audiences attention. However, when the shark begins to pull her side to side, it looks a little fake and not similar to what a shark may do, as it would just pull her underwater. 

Rebecca: The opening is very eery and dramatic which certainly draws my attention to watch the rest of movie. The way the director has made sure the scene is dark and hard to see at times adds a lot more thrill for the audience which is perfect for this genre. 

Isabel: I like the way the director has incorporated a shark attack within the opening and not shown it later as it leaves the audience scared of the water for the rest of the movie. 

Francesca: The mise en scene is well thought for the opening of the movie which helps the scene to feel more real for the audience.

What I have learnt

The opening of Jaws is very powerful and effective where Spielberg uses many camera techniques. Within the main task my peer and I will film, I will be attempting to incorporate low lighting and colour so it ties in well with the horror genre. Another aspect that I particularly found interesting was Chrissie's isolation when being attacked, this creates a tense atmosphere for the audience which is very important for a film opening of the horror genre.