"Jaws", directed by Steven Speilberg.

Essay by Si1708College, UndergraduateA, August 2005

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Steven Spielberg grips the audience by using an up temp range of music and camera shots to make Jaws as heart stopping and thrilling as we all know it is. Jaws the film is set in 1975 and tells the tale and daunting adventure of when a shark enters the bay on the American coast and attacks innocent children and adults giving Brody (sheriff) an extra worry on the 4th of July.

The opening sequence prepares the rest of the film telling where, when and who. These important questions are answered in the beginning of the film. It contrasts two main and important happenings together: the beach party where drunken young adults mess around having a cool time with their fellow friends however this blissful party soon turns sour as a shark attacks. Killing an innocent young girl as she shows off in the water in front of one of her boy friends who later falls asleep on the sand watching the stars.

These two goings-on are drawn together and work well as the different kinds of music are combined. The music shows the mood and nature indicating when the shark is around and not around and if or when it is going to consume a living thing. As the shark pulls closer and closer to the girl swimming the music quickens and the camera shots become more jumpy showing the view of what the shark can see this is leading up to the first attack. Steven Spielberg has really set the scene well as the opening sequence is one of most important scene in the film as it establishes what's going to occur throughout the motion picture.

Music controls everything in a film especially in Jaws as it shows both relaxed moments and shocking thrilling moments. The sequence builds...