Summary: The Importance Of Suspense In Jaws

A quick cut reveals a close-up of a drowning body flailing underwater as blood enters the screen. Another quick cut exposes the tense protagonist as he begins to process what the viewer already knows. As his understanding of the situation grows, his panic seeps off the screen and into the real world; this is the climax of the second attack of the infamous “Jaws shark” from the 1975 blockbuster, Jaws. The second attack scene has a unique ability to create a substantial impact on the viewer because of the suspense that the previous quick shots create prior to the scene’s climax; however, the suspense and emotional impact are sustainable because the scenes following the climax of the attack prolong the vulnerability of the viewer’s emotions by …show more content…
The use of this angle allows the viewer to feel a part of the action, especially when it is accompanied by the use of subtle camera movements to keep the action in the frame, as it is in the Jaws second attack scene. When the viewer is able to feel part of the action in an intense scene like this, the suspense and vulnerability are increased. Furthermore, the scene uses eye-level angles for almost every shot which draws the viewer’s attention to what is most important. For example, in the scene after the attack, when everyone is running from the water onto the shore, the camera continuously stays at eye-level even when the point-of-view and shot changes; however, instead of creating confusion, the consistency of the angle, accompanied by the cut, adds to the sense of continuity and understanding of the chaos. This technique adds to the suspense and vulnerability created throughout the scene because it helps put the viewer into the action while enhancing one’s overall understanding of the scene. The quick cuts that are bolstered by the consistent use of the eye-level angle are further bound together by the intricate character blocking that subtly controls how one views the