Research into sound. Miss Miller

This post is about sound and how it is used in the film 'Jaws' directed by Stephen Spielberg and released in 1995. Sound is used in all films as a way of enticing the audience. In thrillers, sound is used to create an intense atmosphere and plays a critical role in how the audience feel. Sound creates another element of real life into films as well so the audience feel more captivated.

The first sound technique used in this clip is the sound of the sea. The sound of the sea is continuous throughout this clip and connotes the fact this film is based at sea. Giving the audience a clue that the film is based a around a shark, This gives the audience a clue that a shark is bound to show up and leaves the audience 'on the edge of their seat'. The name giving to a sound that matches the image on screen is called a parallel sound.

The next sound technique is a non-diegetic sound at 60 seconds. A non-diegetic sound is a sound that is added in the editing stage. This is usually a backing track or a piece of music made to complement what is going on in the shot and makes the film feel a lot more real. In jaws I believe the sound makes the shark seem more scary. In this clip, we hear the famous orchestra piece played over the top of the scene to put the audience in suspense. As the shark grows closer, the sound becomes more intense and fast paced. This makes the audience shocked, surprised and in suspense. The tension of waiting for when the shark attacks creates enigma.

Another technique used is on screen sound at 0.28 seconds. This is when you can see and hear where the sound is coming from. The on screen sound is the swinging lantern in the boat, we can not only see it, but also hear it. The fact that we can only hear that shows that there is a element of silence and the sound is like an old creaky noise. Silence and old noises are conventional of a thriller film as it adds suspense to the audience. The audience will also wonder, once the noise stops, is something going to happen? Adding to the tension.

The final sound technique is a diegetic sound at 0.11 seconds. This is when we see the main character using dialogue to communicate with his shipmates. The purpose of using this dialogue is to pull the audience into a false sense of security. The characters talking normally connotes the fact that this could be an everyday situation. The audience can relate to this as it looks like a normal fishing trip. This can also bring the characters and the audience closer together. This technique used is conventional of a thriller as leading people into a false sense of security can create more of a fright and leaves the audience more in suspense.

This clip shows Parallel, non-diegetic, diegetic and on screen sounds to build an idea of a killer shark into one of the best thrillers of all time. I believe that without the sound in this film, it would not be were it is today as the sounds made in this film create unbelievable suspense. Jaws has showed me that you can create a really intense thriller film just through the sounds that you hear.