The opening scene of Jaws takes place on a beach at dusk, where a woman goes for a swim alone in the calm sea. As she swims further out, the camera shows her perspective from below the water, making her seem vulnerable. Another shot shows her swimming far from shore as the sun sets. When ripples appear in the water near her, viewers realize she is in trouble from an attacking shark. The scene ends with her body washed ashore.

1. Detailed opening sequence analysis – jaws opening scene
The setting for the opening scene is what seems to be a sunset, its is quite dark
and the sky is grey. The setting is a beach and shore line where a woman
decides to have a swim in the sea. In this scene the sea looks carm and is
reflecting the cold dark grey colour of the evening sky. There is very soft music
that plays right from the start of the film/ scene there is also sound added such
as when she jumps in the water and when she swims. The woman is panting
which shows a race towards
the sea
This shot is a fast moving shot as it follows the two people running towards the
shore line the camera zones in to a body shot on each individual along the way.
The girl who is at the front appears to be talking to the man at the back who
seems to not be as enthusiastic as the girl and appears to be following the girl
to wherever she is going as he asked ‘’where are we going’’ which she replies
‘’swimming’’ she appears to be in a hurry and wants to get swimming as soon
as possible as she is removing items of clothing as she is running.
There is a long shot pointed at a steep hill as the man in a rush to get to the girl
stumbles down the hill and appears to have been knocked out this suggests
that if anything goes wrong in the water with the girl there will be nobody

2. there to help her or run for help. Unaware of the situation the girl dives in and
i think this is where the viewers realise that there might be something is near.
The first scene shows a low levelled shot pointing up at a woman running
towards the sea the shot is in a panning motion and it follows the woman as
she goes down to the shore. The camera seems to move with the woman so
far along the beach as she is running to the sea. The rear shot comes in at 4 sec
and it is a snap transition to it. She is running in front of her friend which
suggests she can’t wait to get in the sea and swim and must not have any
knowledge of sharks in them waters
The second shot is a static shot of the woman with the camera on higher
ground than the woman. She is running down to the water. The woman looks
like a shadow against the dark blue sea. This again suggests a carm night where
her and her friend are going swimming without any fear.i believe the intention
they have is that they are both going in the sea at first because on the opening
run he says ‘’im coming im coming’’ and removes some items of his clothing
The next shot is of the woman swimming further into the sea the camera is
positioned away from the swimmer and is focused pointing across the level of

3. the water. It is in this shot that you seen a boyd that is going to play a part in
the following shots. The woman is clearly not worried about her friend that has
not joined her in the sea.
The next shot is a mid shot of the swimmer paddling around with the sunset in
the distance this suggests that the swimmer is in the sea at night and that if
anything happens to her the person that she is with can’t do much to help. This
camera angle also helps to set the scene and the time. It in in this shot that the
swimmer notices the position of the sun.
The next shot is of the swimmers legs with the camera below in the water
there is some light music playing suggesting there is nothing happening or
about to happen in this shot. There is a spot of white light where the swimmer
goes into so that the camera can pic the swimmer up. I believe this shot shows
how vunrable swimmers are in the sea and I think this shot is one of the most
scary shots they could use because it makes the audience think that there
could be something attack then at any second

4. It goes to what seems to be another shore line shot looking out at the
swimmer long range position. This gives a idea of how far the swimmer is out
from the shore line and how carm and peacefull everything is I believe it is in
this shot that the audience could have a idea that there is something about to
happen soon because of the length of the movie so far (44 sec) and because of
the nature of the film and that fact that the woman is out there in the sea on
her own
This is the moment where the viewers notice that there woman is in trouble
and there is something wrong I believe that because of the film and its
meaning and what it’s all about that the viewers will now know that there is a
shark attacking the woman. The camera is placed not too far away but enough
away so that you can see the ripples of the water and the boyd that the

5. woman is using to try and keep herself up. I believe this shot sets the mood for
this setting in the film and what occurs here will make the viewer think a
certain way about the storyline of the film e.g. where her or not there should
be people allowed to swim in the waters and the knowledge that the viewer
has been given that there has been a shark attack here will give them a opinion
and get them involved
This is where the scene ends with the person laid down on the beach ready for
someone to find the camera is pointed down at the body.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7acI5z9vyok
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrEvK-tv5OI