Research Task- Lisa Walden (Jaws)

The two musical notes during the opening title sequence are well known and create a sense of fear in and of themselves. The unsteady camera action and movement give the viewer the Sharks eye view of the underwater scenery. 

Sound

• As the Shark theme increases in tempo and volume the suspense is heightened in the knowledge that the victim is close and about to be attacked. 
• The only sounds heard as Chrissie takes a dip are the gentle clang of the bell on the bouy and the lapping of water as she bathes. This is broken by the sudden grab from underwater by the predator.  

Lighting

• Warm colours and low lighting give atmosphere to the beach party and as Chrissie leaves and runs across the dunes the silhouette effect with the fence against the dusky sky adds scale.
• While she takes a moonlight dip the camera views her from beneath portraying the eyes of the shark. We see only her silhouette here, with a light sea-like brightness. It appears to be lighter from the sharks perspective and then when the camera switches to above the ocean we are met with the darkness of the sky yet it is still light enough to picture the attack.

Mise en Scene

• Both the clothing and the layout of the scene have great meaning in this thriller opening- We see that for the period that Chrissie has her clothing on, she wears very casual clothes, her hair is also very simple giving us an image that she doesn't really make much of an effort, just simple beach hair. This 'rough' image look is often used in thrillers, perhaps her being more lower classed and more likely to go for a daring midnight swim.
• There doesn't appear to be much decor or indoor furniture features due to the opening being set on a beach, however the oldened fence and weedings on the sand still add to the atmosphere creating a derelict dangered feel. If it had been chose to be shot on a modern, first-class beach it would be a little unbelievable that such a dreadful attack would happen there.

Editing

• The editing in the first sequence appears to be very soft at the start, showing peace and fun between the youth, however when the attack begins to occur we see shots from the sharks perspective and shots from what Chrissie sees and how she's being dragged around.
•  As we get to see the underwater monster rising for his pray we automatically know what it must be, without this it wouldn't feel too much like a thriller. This creates much more of an atmosphere for the audience, leaving them with an on-edge feeling.
• There don't appear to be many close-up shots during the duration of Chrissie's death, just long-shots so we are enable to see that the area is derelict with no people, but her drunk friend around. As it was shot in a dark environment it makes it easier to view shots from a long distance instead of close-ups as they could be hard to identify, due to the low lighting and dark water around.
• Often in thrillers it's important to focus on the characters facial expressions and emotions to see how they react to something (this also creates suspense), however when it's shot with dark lighting it makes it easier to picture what it happening when shot from a long-shot or birds eye view.