Steven Spielberg is one of- if not the- most successful filmmakers of all time. His first big hit (and the original “summer blockbuster”), Jaws, provides ample evidence for why Spielberg is such a master of his craft. In its opening scene, a young girl coaxes a young man into chasing her into the ocean. She excitedly runs up the beach, undressing as she bounds through the sand. The boy staggers behind her, eager to keep up with this attractive girl, but is struggling. He stumbles and calls for her to slow down. When he tries to pull his shirt off, he tumbles down a hill. From this we learn that the boy is clearly drunken (even though he tells the girl that he isn’t), though he’s excited for the opportunity to skinny dip with a pretty girl. The girl is excited too and is reveling somewhat in letting the boy chase her. It’s a fast paced and frenetic scene.
How and where the camera moves tells us a lot. As the camera cuts between shots of the girl and the boy, it moves quickly along with them via tracking shots, adding to the exciting pace. The camera moves left to right, giving a false feeling of safety. However, the camera is behind a fence. The fence not only separates the camera from the young couple, but from the ocean and the dangers lurking within it. When the young man rolls down the hill, a tilting shot is used to highlight his fall. The camera follows the man’s drop from the upper right side of the screen to the lower left. This right-to-left approaches subtly implies that danger is on its way. These techniques are just a couple small reasons why Spielberg is a leading creative force in Hollywood.
Sam's Screen 