Analyse the ways Spielberg uses the camera to create meaning in the film ‘Jaws’

This is the first screen shot from the beach scene of ‘Jaws’, the reason for this being my first screen shot is because it is the establishing shot. Spielberg has used this specific type of shot to set the scene. In the background we can clearly see that it is a very hot sunny day and the beach is full of people, this has been done because it makes the viewer believe that everything is calm and happy although we are aware that this may turn to mayhem.

The second type of shot that Spielberg has used is a long shot, this has been used to show the audience that the sea goes out a long way and that at this point is not very busy. The calmness of the sea is also important in this scene, because we see the sea as being calm and gentle it makes us assume that everything is fine and it also tells us why the characters at this point aren't panicking. Spielberg has specifically only shown one person at a time in the sea, this is to represent the isolation and naivety of the character and to also make it more tense when watching them.

This is a tracking shot, this shot is important because it enables the audience to identify that there is not a lifeguard on the beach which at this point means nothing, however we can also assume that this will be a problem in the nearby future. When we watch this scene, it is unlikely that we will acknowledge the missing lifeguard, however Spielberg still includes it so that we absorb it when we watch this scene. In this shot we can also see the juxtaposition between Brodie and the other characters. We can tell by Brodie’s expression that he is on edge, the hand near his face is also a connotation of being tense and nervous which is the opposite of how the other characters are looking in the background as they look like they are enjoying themselves and are happy.

The first shot is a full body shot, this shows the audience the body language of Brodie and from this we can see that he seems to look relaxed and in his element, we then quickly cut to a mid shot of Brodie which enables us to see him in a closer depth and we can see that he looks slightly more observant and on edge. The shot then changes to a close up of Brodie’s face and a shallow depth of field is used so that we only focus on his facial expressions rather than his surroundings. The close up allows us to see his expressions in more detail and it is clear that he is very focused on what he is looking at and trying to be calm about it. The shallow depth of field can also tell us that what we are seeing on Brodie’s face is important and that is what we should be analysing.

The first shot is a two shot of Brodie and a man, it shows us a clear conversation between the two but we can also see that Brodie is uninterested. The shot then switches to an over the shoulder shot, in this shot we are shown that Brodie’s attention is on something else rather than the man talking to him. The shot then changes to a point of view shot so that we can see what it was Brodie was looking at. It is a woman in the sea that Brodie is worried about, he is anxious about everything going on in the water and not interested in anything else.

The over the shoulder shot gives us three layers to look at. In the background we can vaguely see children playing in the sea, however this is slightly blurred to enforce that it is something that Brodie should not be acknowledging but he is more focused on that than the old man infront of him, this is because Brodie is more bothered about the children’s safety rather than what the old man has to say. In the mid ground, we can see that the old man is trying to talk to Brodie, unaware that he is not very interested. And in the foreground we can see the back of Brodie’s head, although we cant see much, we can still see that he is clearly looking in the direction of the children playing in the background.

The shot changes to a wide/long shot of the children playing in the sea just to show us in a deeper depth what Brodie was looking at. The children are playing and having fun so we are at this point wondering about what is to happen next and why Brodie is so anxious.

This is a point of view shot from the sharks perspective, Speilberg has used this in a very interesting way because it shows us of where the shark is going to before it happens, the view of the children's legs makes us as the audience anxious and tense because we know that something bad is about to happen. The non-digetic sound of the jaws song is very significant, this music is played as soon as jaws appears and this adds to the tense effect. The shot then changes to a wide shot where we can see in the distance the boy getting attacked.

Contra zoom is used as soon as the boy gets attacked, the contra zoom is an unsettling in-camera effect that appears to undermine normal visual perception. It is used on Brodies face, it tensifies things as it looks like things are moving forward when actually they are moving backwards. From Brodie’s face you can see he is not only shocked he is also disappointed that he did not stop it sooner.

This shot ends the whole beach scene. It is just a simple shot that tells us that the boy has been killed. Although noone says it, we can assume it by the fact that his lilo has been washed ashore, ripped apart and blood is surrounding it, the boy is also nowhere to be seen.