Tension and Suspense the Novel and the Opening Scene of the Film Jaws E

Tension and Suspense the Novel and the Opening Scene of the Film Jaws Peter Benchley wrote "Jaws" the novel before it was made into a film directed by Steven Spielberg. "Jaws" is a thriller with the main aim being to build up suspense and tension. In the novel Peter Benchley uses many variations of language techniques to emphasise important points that build up suspense. He also uses sentence and paragraph structure to affect the reader in many different ways. Steven Spielberg on the other hand uses different camera angles and shots alongside lighting effects to create atmosphere and tension. In the background he uses music and sound effects to add to the dramatic visual images he creates. Finally Steven Spielberg uses specific dialogue to show the victims feelings and emotions. At the beginning of the film the soft, relaxing underwater noises of communicating sharks instantly sets the scene and creates the feeling of being deep underwater. The familiar beach sounds have a calming effect, which immediately lulls the audience into a false sense of security. The black screen that appears at the start of the film doesn't provide the audience with anything interesting to look at so the focus is strongly on the soundtrack. When the opening credits appear, the contrast between the bold, white credits and the plain black screen really stands out. The white credits could symbolize the innocence and vulnerability of the victims against the black, evilness of the shark. As the credits start to roll the first note of the chilling "Jaws" music is struck. The peaceful aquatic sounds are abruptly interrupted by the slow, deliberate minor strokes ... ... him and Chrissie really creates atmosphere. Every time the camera switches to the boy the audience is reminded of how frantic the atmosphere around Chrissie is. The contrast of these two opposite atmospheres makes the attack seem far worse in the film than in the novel. I think that the film involves the audience more than the novel because the use of camera shots can bring the audience close to the action. The shark's eye view is a very good shot and ultimately brings the audience into the middle of all the panic and confusion. It also build suspense as the audience can see exactly what the shark can see and when the shark is advancing towards Chrissie's legs they know exactly what the shark is aiming for. When the attack is going on the close-ups at water level make the audience feel like they're in the water.