Film deconstruction- jaws

Film deconstruction- Jaws

Mese en Scene-
Location

• The location in which the scene is filmed is very isolated with the only humans present being the couple who enters the water
• The image of the sun setting creates a calm, idealistic environment which contrasts to the devastating scene to come of the girls death. This is effective is it enhances the impact the death has on the audience making it seem all the more shocking
• In addition, the calmness of the water is used to create this peaceful environment to emphasise that contrast
• You can argue that the image of the sunset symbolises the end of her life; just as it sets as she is being attacked

Hair and makeup

• The girl has her hair down and clearly shows she has not made and effort with her appearance showing her innocence. 
• Furthermore, her makeup is very minimal which emphasisers her venerability and naivety. This, in turn, makes her death more tragic to the audience

Clothing

• However, the fact that the girl is in nudity after being pursued by a boy can suggest that she is promiscuous which may be a reason why she ends up dying
• Furthermore, the nudity may suggest she is even more vulnerable as she doesn't have anything protecting her from the dangers in the water

Sound and Music- 

Diegetic sounds

At the benign of the scene the digits sounds consist of the couple talking and laughing with each other which sets a positive mood and adds a sense of realism. Then as the girl enters the water, there are very minimal digits sounds with the waves crashing being the only sound present. You could argue that this creates a slightly eery and uncomfortable atmosphere. We then hear her breathing and shouting to the boy whilst in the water which promotes a positive atmosphere. During the attack there is minimal non-diegetic sounds as the sound of her screaming as this is what the audience is meant to focus on. This panicked screaming connotes terror, fear and utter desperation to stay alive.  

Non-diegetic 

The main use of the non-diegetic sounds in this scene is to play in the position of the shark and build the tension. The girl creates many diegetic sounding in the water but this is followed by the non-diegetic sounds from under the water of a slow and eery noise. As the camera becomes closer to the girl the sound builds up and becomes quicker, perhaps indicating something bad is going to occur. At the time where she initially gets hit by the shark we hear a high pitched noise of a string instrument which is commonly used at the most intense moments to build fear. Towards the end of the attack we hear the high pitched background sound which builds up the fear until the girl is pulled under and all the sounds are eliminated leaving just silence which effectively emphasizes the tragedy of her death. 

Lighting-

• Very naturalistic which makes the death of the girl even mire tragic in order to create a bigger impact on the audience
• This also makes the characters seem very naive and innocent as they are unaware of the danger of their surroundings
• Hoever, the scene is shot in the late eveing so there is little natural lighting left giving a darker view which arguably creates a more sinsiter atmosphere  

Camera techniques-

• Whne the girl is in the water, there are many shots of the girls head quite close up giving the impression that the audience are in the water with her
• At the begining of the attack the camera is placed beneth the girl and is under the water. This is done to mimick the position of the shark so the audience has the view that the shark has. This works together with the music as rhis is where it begins to build up.
• This underwater shot pans sideways and follows the girl swmming filmed with a hand held camera giving the impression that the shark is stalking the girl
• we then breifly see a wide shot of the surface of the water when we can see that the girl is isolated and alone emphesising her vunerablility
• At 51 seconds the camera returns to the underwater low shot, looking up at the girl however this time it is a lot closer which increases the tension and fear of the viewer 
• The camera is unsteadily getting closer and closer to the girls body representing the shark preparing for its attack  
• We then see a shoulder shot eyelevel to the girl on the surface of the water which is efctive for the beginign of the attack fro the shark
• At 1:00 we then see a close up shot of her face to highlight the fear and terror she is feeling 
• Following this we see a still shot of the surface of the water which is effective as the girl is frantically being dragged iinth water from one side of the shot to the other
• The camer then cuts to the boy who is lying asleep on the beach shore showing the helplessness the girl has as she is ultimatly alone in the sea
• The next shot is lower withing the surface of the water so we can see several splashes from the sea slightly concealing the girl actually being attacked but the audience knows that she is due to the distruption in the water
• The rest of the attack is filmed using a more unsteady camera more like a hand held camera to represent the unsteadyness of the water emphesising the climax of this scene. 

What I have learnt from this deconstruction-

• The importance of music within scene and the power it has to portray a specific emotion to the audience
•  The effect sound can have to build up tension and how it compliments each camera shot