Jaws has been memorable since its release in 1975, but most of its success is due to the magic of editing, which helped hide mechanical defects of production while heightening suspense, and its iconic music, both of which cemented Jaws’ position as a blockbuster. Though the concept of the titular creature becomes obvious shortly after the film beings, the crazily large man eating shark remains mostly unseen throughout the film. Unfortunately, the technology was not available to construct a large realistic shark, so rather than come off looking absurdly unrealistic, the choice was made to leave the image of the shark up to the editors, who were left with horrible raw footage of a floating barge, and transformed it into something the viewers were genuinely afraid of.
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These techniques are what made viewers afraid of the shark. We obviously knew that the shark wasn’t real, but the technical aspects fooled us into believing that dark, vast open body of water contained a goliath man‐eating beast.
Jaws also owes a copious amount of its success to its outstanding musical score, which contains one of the most recognizable themes in history. The music was what truly prodded at the fear of the viewers throughout much of the film where the shark isn’t shown. John Williams, who frequently partners with Spielberg, composed the score by starting with a simple two note tune, which would eventually become the iconic theme that is remembered to this day. Williams said the theme was “so simple, insistent and driving that it seems unstoppable, like the attack of the shark.”3
Music is an important part of any film, as it is used to subconsciously guide our emotions and help our brains guess what may come next or not be caught completely unaware.
Music was also used to cover up budget setbacks. Without the use of digital editing or computer generated imagery, or even without a passable mechanical
2 Freer, Ian. "Jaws Filmmaking 101." Empire. N.p., 18 Oct. 2015. Web. 11
These techniques are what made viewers afraid of the shark. We obviously knew that the shark wasn’t real, but the technical aspects fooled us into believing that dark, vast open body of water contained a goliath man‐eating beast.
Jaws also owes a copious amount of its success to its outstanding musical score, which contains one of the most recognizable themes in history. The music was what truly prodded at the fear of the viewers throughout much of the film where the shark isn’t shown. John Williams, who frequently partners with Spielberg, composed the score by starting with a simple two note tune, which would eventually become the iconic theme that is remembered to this day. Williams said the theme was “so simple, insistent and driving that it seems unstoppable, like the attack of the shark.”3
Music is an important part of any film, as it is used to subconsciously guide our emotions and help our brains guess what may come next or not be caught completely unaware.
Music was also used to cover up budget setbacks. Without the use of digital editing or computer generated imagery, or even without a passable mechanical
2 Freer, Ian. "Jaws Filmmaking 101." Empire. N.p., 18 Oct. 2015. Web. 11