Jaws Essay - Film language for Effect in Opening Sequence'

Explore the use of film language for effect in an opening sequence to a thriller. How does the director engage the audience? – Jaws

The scene starts with a wide shot of teenagers huddled around a campfire; they’re smoking and drinking which shows their recklessness and carefree nature. The camera then tracks two people running away, Chrissy and Cassidy, as they are running away from the safety of the group and the fire, the audience assumes that they will be the first victims this is because a common theme of thriller/horror films is teenage murder.

Spielberg uses a wide shot as he is tracking them running towards the water, to create a sense of isolation, as they are the only people in shot. Spielberg also uses a lot of back lighting and chiaroscuro, which means Chrissy and Cassidy are just silhouettes, which increases the tension in the scene as the audience can’t see any features of either character. The only sound during this section of the scene is diegetic, from them talking and the atmospheric sound from the sea. This creates a feeling of fear, as all seems calm and peaceful but the audience knows that something is going to happen.

As Chrissy swims out to sea, Spielberg uses an extreme-long shot to show the vast expanse of water that surround Chrissy, showing that she is truly isolated and no-one can save her, this is enforced by a cut back to Cassidy on the beach falling over, unable to get in with her. As soon as the music starts to play, it cuts to a point of view shot, from under the water. This creates tension as its moving closer and closer towards Chrissy, but the audience doesn’t know what the threat is, except it is dangerous as the music gradually gets louder and louder as it gets closer. The scene then cuts back to a wide shot of Chrissy above the water with no indication of any danger, it then cuts to a close shot of her face. This is the first time we see her features, she is smiling and laughing completely unaware of the danger underneath which creates tension as the audience is fully aware of it.

As the shark gets right next to Chrissy, the iconic ominous tune starts to play. The next sequence shows the shark tugging her underwater and Chrissy screaming and thrashing trying to escape, from the wide shots above the water, the audience still can’t see the shark creating the sense of fear as they are unaware of where the shark is. On the close-ups of Chrissy thrashing, the camera stays fixed on a point and she is constantly moving around the frame, this is terrifying as you feel as it a spectator watching her death unable to do anything about it. The scene then cross-cuts back to Cassidy, resting on the beach; this scene is juxtaposed with shots of Cassidy on the beach to give the impression that he might be able to save her. As the scene cuts to the beach again the music stops, when it next cuts back to the sea, the music is louder and faster, showing the contrast between the peaceful beach and the terrifying sea.

The next time we see Chrissy she is holding onto a ringing buoy, which is normally used for safety, but the audience knows that nothing can save her now. She is pulled down again and all nondiegetic sound stops leaving only the atmospheric sound of the waves creates the image of peace. This also creates a sense of terror and shock for the audience as they know that under the water lays a dead Chrissy and the deadly shark. The scene then cuts to a shot of Cassidy lying down, completely oblivious to the murder of Chrissy. The scene then cuts back to a terrifying wide shot of the sea, the same one used before when Chrissy was being pulled under, but this time there is only the sea and silence, which represents the stillness of death and the vast emptiness of the sea. The only sound in the rest of the scene is the ringing buoy which is ominous and ironic as the buoy normally signifies safety but at this point it is showing where Chrissy’s dead body is lying.

To conclude, Spielberg is able in the opening scene to establish Jaws in the thriller genre and create a mood of fear and terror that reoccurs during the rest of the film. He manages to involve the audience via the build-up of tension which keeps the audience on the edge of the seat. He manages to do this by the now iconic point of view shots from the shark’s perspective under the water looking up at a helpless Chrissy; this means the audience never see the shark at all during this scene.

Editing Techniques - Bourne Supremacy

Bourne Supremacy - Escaping in Naples

Many editing techniques are used in this short three minute clip, with the entire scene shot in high speed. When the scene opens the first editing technique is an eye line match of Bourne’s passport, then there are several shot reverse shots and two shots while he is being interrogated.  These shot reverse shot’s show close-ups on each of their faces. After he takes a phone call the first of many cross-cuts is used, to show that everything is happening at once. As Bourne takes out the other two people in the integration room, the scene changes to a very high speed with a lot of quick changes. These quick changes include a series of close-ups on the phone that Bourne is coping the SD card from.

The next main editing technique used is a continuity editing, as we see Bourne enter the car park, but we didn't see him leave the building where he was being held. Once he gets into the car there is a cross cut between Bourne in the car and a group of people in a large room. An eye line match is then used so the audience can see a woman whom a man is looking at, whom is clearly very important. For the rest of the scene, it is constantly cross cutting between Bourne in the car, the interrogation room and the women. This is done to show that this is all happening at once, as the women is talking to the man in the interrogation room and Bourne is listening in. The three different places are each only shown for a couple of seconds in each shot and then it cuts to different one. In all of them there is a close-up on each of their faces.

Editing Techniques - Psycho

Pyscho - The Famous Shower Scene

Many different editing techniques are used in this famous scene. The first of which is an eye line match of the piece of paper Marion was looking at. As she walks into the bathroom there’s a series of close ups, one of the toilet, the door as she’s closing it, her back and finally legs as she gets into the shower. After she begins to wash, another eye line match is used, this time showing the shower head, that Marion is using. This section of the scene is all shot in low speed, as although there are quite a few cuts they are all quite far apart and all slow paced.

As the man opens the shower curtain the scene immediately turns into high speed, the first main editing technique used here is a shot reverse shot on the man and Marion. These are used continuously throughout the rest of scene, to show the action and the reaction of the man continuing to stab Marion. There is also a large amount of close-ups used here, showing all the different parts of her body while she is being stabbed. The sound here is synchronized with the action of the stabbing and her screaming. After she had been stabbed, the scene cuts back to low speed and then moves in on a close-up on the drain, with her blood pouring in. The scene then fades to her eye and zooms out.

Opening Research - Kidulthood

Kidulthood Opening Sequence

The scene opens with a close-up on a ball in a muddy playground, then quickly cuts a series of close-ups on several groups of people, showing all the different social groups in the school. The close-ups on these characters show that they are important to the story as they are all shown in the first sequence. The rolling movement of the camera when showing all the different groups gives the impression of chaos, or a human eye watching all the different groups. The director uses whip-pan when changing between shots to give the chaotic feel. It then cuts to shot of a close-up on a drill this is closed-frame which gives a contrast to the open-frame setting of the playground, another contrast between the shots of the drill and the playground, is that in the playground everything is chaotic and noisy, in the shots with the drill the opposite is occurring as every movement is precise this tells the audience that, this going to be important later in the story as it is a contrast to the main part of the opening scene.

When we cut back to the drill for a second time we see the man operating it, the camera stays on a close-up of his face for longer than anyone else, this strengthens the idea that the drill and him are going to be important to the story. When the camera cuts back to the playground, we see all the people we saw before talking, from their accents we can tell they are from South London, in this sequence there is a  mixture of close-ups and long shots when looking at the different groups. The music behind the entire scene is eerie, as if it was a horror movie, this is not what you would generally expect from a shot of the playground, this sets the tone of the movie.

Opening Research - Collateral

Collateral Opening Sequence

The scene start with an open frame inside an airport, it is very crowed and busy, which you would expect. The camera switches shots of two men walking towards each other both shots start as a mid shot and slowly become close-ups. The sound during this point manipulated as the background noise is turned down whereas the footsteps of both men are greatly enhanced. When the two men collide into each other the sound becomes atmospheric as you can hear everything going on around them but the sound of the briefcase hitting the floor is greatly enhanced and along with the close-up on the briefcase the audience knows it's importance.

After the men walk away with the others briefcase there is an over the shoulder point of view shot of Tom Cruise's character while up beat, pulsing music begins to play in the background. Now a montage begins showing close-ups on several  items in the taxi-depot these include newspapers, the taxis, people doing crossword puzzles, eating or repairing their taxi. These give us an insight into the life of a taxi driver, which helps you connect with Jamie Foxx's character whom you see when the camera tilts up after a close up on him doing a crossword puzzle after the montage ends. As he is wearing glasses and not doing the same thing as all the other cab drivers by doing a crossword puzzle, you get the idea that he is smarter than everyone else and there is more to him than meets the eye.

After he climbs into his taxi, the scene becomes closed frame. The first thing he does when inside is start to spray the windscreen and dashboard and check that the taxi is working this shows us he is clean and respectful, further establishing him as intelligent this is shown via a series of close-ups on the different sections of the car. As soon as he closes the taxi door, the atmospheric sound from the depot stops, which is telling the audience that this character has just entered his 'own little world' away from everyone else. He also puts up a picture and stares at it which shows to the audience that, that picture is his dream and will be relevant to the story at a later point. To end the scene, the camera stays on a point while he drives away.

Opening Research - The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight Opening Sequence

The Dark Knight opens with an establishing shot of the city, the camera then slowly zooms in on a building. A window is being broken by two men in clown masks, these are the first characters we see in the film and as they are wearing clown masks and loading a gun, we associate them with fear. The scene then cuts to a long shot of a man on the side of the road, and then zooms in on the mask, which we already know signifies a 'bad guy'. The sound when the scene cuts to the bad guy gets increasingly tenser as the camera zooms in on the mask, this could be a hint that this man is the leader. When the car arrives to pick him up, the tense music stops allowing us to cut back to the two men in the office building.

We see the two men zip lining down onto another building from above as the camera tilts down onto of them to create a scale of how dangerous this plan is. It then cuts to three men in the car with one of whom we expect to be the leader. Here we hear to first lines of dialogue, though we don't see anyone's face as they are still all wearing masks. The two men in the front of the car are both talking about the leader of the plan, there are several close ups on the masks which shows the audience how creepy they look as the mouths don't move when they speak, this is done to scare the audience. The scene then cuts to the two men on the roof also talking about the leader of the plan who is called 'The Joker'. They don't know much about him, so he is shrouded in mystery.

The three men then run into the bank, shooting to signify that it is a robbery, the sounds of the gun fire is significantly enhanced to give the impression of actually being there. The camera is constantly moving at this point and pans between the different men as they all handle different people, this gives the impression of how chaotic the plan is.

The scene then cuts again to the men on the roof, after a close up on the alarm we see both men are in shot but the man at the back is slightly out of focus. When we cut back to the men on the roof again we see the man at the front being shot, this shows that these men are not to be trusted as he then runs off with the dead persons tools.

As we see him running towards the vault, the music suddenly becomes much louder,tenser and has a stronger beat, this tells us that we are nearing the climax of the scene and it is now building up to a surprise. It then cuts back again to the men in the banks but this time it shows a mid-shot of the bank manager looking around, this tells us that he is going to do something. The scene then cuts back again to the vault with a panning shot looking at a large metal door. After a few seconds it, it then cuts back to the men with the hostages, and one of the men with a clown mask explains why they are giving them grenades to hold, this creates tension as one of them could blow at any moment, if someone lets go. The scenes then constantly change between the two locations, these very quick changes disorientate the audience as makes the scene more chaotic and action packed.

As the camera cuts back to the men in the main room of the bank, we have a close up on the bank manager, who unlike everyone else is not scared, we establish a connection with this character as he is standing up to the 'bad guys'. We then hear a loud gun shot and glass breaking as he shoots one of the clowns. The camera then moves out on a dolly as the bank manager is going after the men. The music at this point is becoming louder and louder and the beat is increasing. More very quick changes follow to show that everything is happening in parallel. As we cut back to the man opening the vault, another clown runs in, this shot is very similar to the one on the roof before, with it being a two person shot and the man at the back slightly out of focus, so the audience is expecting him to be shot.

The scene ends with the two remaining men standing around the money, it is at this point that we hear the man whom we expect is the leader speaking for the first time. It then does several reverse shots of the two men talking to each other, with close ups on there faces. During this the music is almost silent but when the bus bursts in, it is again enhanced to scare the audience.

Favourite Films/TV

My favourite films in no particular order are: 'Dark Knight', 'Avengers', 'Back to the future', 'Silence of the lambs', 'Empire Strikes Back', 'Jurassic Park', 'Halloween', 'Godfather', 'Alien' and ' The Matrix'. I love all these films because when watching them I have a smile on my face the whole time, and in my mind that is normally when you know you love a film. (Not with 'Halloween' though as that would be slightly strange!)

I also watch a large amount of TV shows, some of my favourite include: 'Breaking Bad', 'Game of Thrones', 'Hannibal', 'Scrubs', 'Firefly' and 'The IT Crowd', I could say a lot more but the list would be far too long. All of them are brilliant in almost every aspect.