Analyse the ways spielberg uses the camera to

By James Barker

ANALYSE THE WAYS SPIELBERG USES THE CAMERA TO CRATE MEANING IN THE FILM

JAWS.

• The first shot in the scene is an establishing shot. This is used to establish the location so the audience can identify where the new setting is. In this case it is a beach

The sand and sea immediately show that the new scene is on a beach

The swimming costume has connotations of the sea and water which could add unease as we know that there is a shark

• In this shot the camera tracks across the beach. Spielberg has incorporated a close up and a long shot so we can the foreground mid ground and background in this case to highlight the concern and potential problem.

The close up identifies the look of concern on the sheriffs faceSpielberg has

also used a long shot so that we can see the for back ground which is an empty lifeguard seat In the mid ground the amount of people on the beach

highlighted the potential disaster which is minutes away.

In this shot Spielberg has switched to a shallow depth of to add emphasis to what's in the shot.

Shallow depth of filed to add emphasis to the characters face.

Because of the sallow depth of field the audience can now see the concern on the sheriffs face. This is a medium close up

In this shot people walk across the shot. This is a deliberate technique by Spielberg. This is because it adds to the tension of the shot as the sheriff can not see what's happening.

The camera also captures the splashing of the water. This adds to meaning as it could attracts the shark that the sheriff fears.

This camera shot is called a point of view shot. This allows us to see what one of the characters can see. In this case we see sheriff Brodies view of the lonely person in the water but also how his view is blocked by the other character in the shot.

This is also a long shot as we can see the person right in the background to add meaning and tension

• By doing this Spielberg has made the audience see all the parts of the shot clearly giving us a wider shot.

This is a over the shoulder shot because it is over Brodies shoulder and we can see what he is looking at.

The kids playing in the sea have been positioned deliberately as the shot is also a layered long shot This shot is a layers over the shoulder

long shot as it has three layers to it.