Thriller notes pt 2.



this blog is posted late because we had no phone line for over a week.


Today we watched the film "Jaws" and made notes on all of the following categories.
Narrative structure:
Linear, flowing, follows what happens in a normal structure and shows us whats happening in the naturla order.
Equilibrium is used when the are having a party on the beach.Howver dis-equilibrium is used when the shark is attacking the woman.

Thriller codes and conventions:
Transformed city is one of the main conventions used in the opening sequence, the safe beach, crowded with friends is turned into a dangerous place when the shark attacks
Partial vision is used in the introduction a few times, when the camera uses the eye level shot we cant tell who we are, this creates the question and answer model too.
The question and answer model is used when we are questioning the fate of the teenage girl “whats happening to her?" "does she survive?"

Camerawork :
At the very start of the opening sequence we are given an eyelevel shot, seeing what the shark is seeing, this creates an unsettling view for us as we dont know who we're following, or why..
there is a tracking- mid shot of the teenagers as the camera slowly tracks through the party. This puts us in line with the characters,and because we are in an over the shoulder shot we get the impression that we shouldn' be there, as if we're peering in, this makes us think, as the audience " should the teenagers be here either?"
We are given a close up of the drunken male to show his importance.
a high angle shot on the teenagers makes them look vulnerable or weak, as if something bigger is watching them.
There is a low angle shot is then used when the boy falls, maybe to show us him losing his power over her?
A long shot establishes where the girl is compared to the drunken, passed out boy.
a low angle shot is then used while the girl is swimming, however is used nconventionally as is doesnt show her being powerful to us.

Mise-en-scene:
The party on the beach is shown to us to be a safe place and there is no urgency between the characters.
The scene however, is very dark which creates partial vision, makes us feel as if something is in wait in the darkness.
Sound: non-diegetic music is used, a piece which later became a very famous piece of music.
There is a diegetic sound from the bell of the bouy... maybe to replicate the sound of a toll bell, symbolising death.

Editing:
The first scene is a very long take which could show whatever we are following is in wait.
When the drunken boy and the girl are running a shot/reverse shot is used to show sexual tension. A long take is also used in the underwater scene at the beginning. A cross cut is used between: underwater and the beach party, this could mean that it's changed to a safe area, knocking the audience's balance off guard.
Graphics:
during the intro,there is bold, white font which makes the credits the centre of attention.
the name Steven Speilberg is bright white and larger than all the other credits so that it is " in your face"