Jaws Scene Study

 One scene that stuck out to me was the get out of the water scene. This is after the first shark attack, and no one really knew about the shark. Everyone is in the water and Chief Brody is very focused on the water to see if the shark is at the beach. A group of kids go into and then all of a sudden the shark attacks a kid and blood emerges in the water, which puts the beach into a panic. Everyone runs out of the water and then it turns out the shark killed a kid. 

There were a few moments in this scene that stood out to me. There are a few shots where people are talking to Brody, but he seems to ignore them. They are just in his way of watching the waters.

These types of shots sort of represent all the obstacles in the way of Brody trying to make the beaches safe such as the mayor not closing the beach, Brody's fear of the water, etc. It just seems as if he has so much in his way. The unique camera angle helped to add some suspense because the audience had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. There were a few moments that also in a way teased that something was going to happen like a girl screaming while playing in the water. 

Another shot that stood out to me was the shot where we saw the point of view of the shark as it was almost stalking its prey. 

The POV shot of the shark creates even more suspense because the audience knows something is going to happen. At this point, the audience gets this feeling that the shark is just deciding who to eat, and the people in the water don't know what is about to happen. From this angle, the audience also gets to see the swimming movement that attracts the shark to the swimmers. The sound that is used in the scene also adds to the suspense as it gets more and more intense as the shark gets to the kid's legs. 

The last shot that stuck out to me is when we see Chief Brody's reaction to the shark attack in the water. 

The camera movement used in this scene worked really well. The zoom and camera movement on Brody’s face emphasizes the panic and fear that Brody gets when he sees the aftermath of the attack. Brody goes from a somewhat relaxed state quickly to a state of fear, which we can see when the camera goes from a medium to a close-up shot. In a scene with not a lot of camera movement and change in zoom, the use of it in this moment enhances the scene even more and adds to the emotions of the audience.