JAWSFilm Analysis (Opening Two Minutes)

The opening 10 seconds of this film confirms many of the codes and conventions of horror films. The lighting is low and dark and the characters are shadows. A character falls over, which is a common horror movie convention. The scene is very dark and the camera is underexposed. A two shot pan carries throughout.

The pair continue running along what appears to be a fence line, with some dialogue between the two. It is apparent they do not know each other, as the boy asks for her name. He then says slow down, and states that he is not drunk – indicating that they had been drinking before hand. The camera cuts from two shots to mid close ups throughout.

The couple continue running, and then begin to take their clothes off, it is suggested to the audience that they are going swimming. You still cannot see their faces as the scene is very dark – night time. The impression is given that nothing is going to happen giving the audience a false sense of security.

A sudden cut, shows the boy falling down the hill. This suggests to us that he is actually drunk and therefore out of control. This creates tension for the viewer as then they are wondering what is going to happen. Still the scene remains dark, but the filmography is effective in that you can see the sun rising in the background. This suggests the time of day and creates a hermeneutic code for the viewer – what time is it and why are they there now?

However, the girl continues running into the sea – suggesting she has not realized he is not coming and that she is focused on swimming. This causes the viewer to ask why does she want to swim and where is she going. The scene continues to be underexposed, with no non-diegetic sound added. A mid shot shows the girl running into the water.

We then see the girl swimming away from the shore, this suggests she is actually going somewhere.

The camera then cuts to the boy, shouting to her, he is telling her that he can swim as well, but then to himself says he cannot walk or undress himself. This suggests that he is out of control of his body. We are still unable to identify either character which makes the audience still question who they are.

Another cut shows the girl continuing to swim, this time from a slightly different angle but allows the audience to measure how far she has gone compared to before. This continues the hermeneutic code the audience is asking themselves, of where is she going to. The under exposed show makes it hard to identify the girl, adding an effect of mystery.

Cutting again, the girl is shown to be in the water still, with a close up on her face. However we cannot see it, only the outline of her hair. She is sighing, as if she is relieved to be in the water. She shouts to the boy to come into the water with her, to which he replies “take it easy”, and then falls into the sand trying to take his shoes off.

The camera cuts, and non-diegetic music begins to play. We can now see underwater and the outline of a the girl swimming through it. As the scene moves on the music becomes louder and creates tension. The lighting in this shot is lighter – probably to show the audience that it is underwater, and we can see the surface and where the light is reflecting.

Another cut shows the girl above the water again.

An extreme close up of the girl shaking the water off her hair with a smile on her face shows us that she is enjoying being in the water, it suggests she feels freedom and safety in the water as she is so happy to swim in it. However another cut shows the view from under the sea again. The music becomes more tense. This goes towards the uses and gratifications theory – it is affecting the audiences emotions.

Suddenly, she is shown above the water again – her facial expression happy and then she appears to be tugged from underneath the water. She begins to be pulled further into the water and then completely pulled in. She is breathing heavily throughout the scene, with the non-diegetic tense music playing throughout.

The camera pans to show the girl being dragged through the water, the scene becomes incredibly tense for the audience and creates a hermenuetic code as to what is going on and why is the girl being pulled underneath the water in such a way.