Before the second attack takes place the camera jump cuts from the protagonist’s view of the sea and the protagonist. This helps to build suspense as the audience will be focusing on who will be the next victim. The director uses ‘fake attacks’ to scare Brody which as a result reflects to the audience. This would create more fear for the audience whilst the second attack happens because of the suspense built. For an example, when Brody is scanning the sea front, there starts a series of ‘fake’ attacks such as: the young girl screaming and her presumed partner or family member picks her out of the sea, and when Brody picks out a dark figure moving under the seas surface and it ends to be a male presence in a dark swimming cap.
The director uses a lot of music throughout the film, such as the ‘shark music’, the radio on the beach, the young boy singing and the peaceful harmony played in the first scene. Spielberg uses the music so there are different moods set amongst those in each scene, which as a result sends those moods to the audience. When the ‘shark music’ is played, the audience become scared and start to wonder about who the next victim shall be. The radio on the beach indicates a happy atmosphere, but the various jump cuts in the scene make the audience think about who the next victim shall be.
The director uses also various things to show what damages it can do, such as the book of sharks, which Brody is reading to gain information on sharks, and when Hooper and Quint are talking about there various different encounters with sharks and the scares they have gained would make the audience feel petrified of sharks. This creates suspense as the audience would be more scared of the shark.
Tension is created through out the film, through such things as fear of the unknown; the director creates this by not letting the audience view the shark for over an hour of the film. Spielberg also creates fear through this technique because he has not used a mythical character but a real type of monster. The director creates tension by having the first and second attacks close together to keep the audiences focus on the shark and to keep the fear of the shark within the audience’s minds.
In the duration of time between setting the scene before the attack and when the actual attack takes place, the director builds up the tension through diegetic music which creates a happy mood amongst those in the scene. The director also uses a completely ‘packed’ beach to show the impact there would be amongst those if a shark did threaten Amity islands waters. Before the third attack happens a ‘fake’ attack is drawn into place, as everyone in the scene who had entered the water rushed out as the shark ended to be to youths playing a joke on those of whom were lifeguards, shark control or just extras of which were in the water. Though just as the audience settle down a young girl who is standing by the sea painting screams ‘SHARK’ and people come running toward the seas edge and immediately the audiences attention is drawn to Brody’s son of which is in the ‘pond’ in he’s boat with his friends. This would scare the audience into thinking that Brody’s eldest may be the next victim of the shark. After the attack takes place Brody’s eldest was made into a state of shock, this would help to scare the audience as they may believe that he was injured by the shark and as a result killed. Before the final attack the three characters (Brody, Hooper and Quint) are sitting having a good time laughing, joking and drinking that when the shark starts to smack into the side of the boat they do not notice. This would build tension as dramatic irony is set in the scene, then as they start to notice as the boat is filling with water the head up to the upper deck were Quint starts to harpoon the shark with barrels and the shark dives under the watery depths once again as Brody, Quint and Hooper are left with a long wait. When the shark re-appears amongst the midst in the morning then starts the tension again because at first only the audience can see the light attached to the sharks back. As the boat starts to go under the water the shark boards the ‘Ochre’ the boat starts to tip a Quint slips and starts to kick the shark and as he cannot stay up on board any more Quint slips into the mouth of the shark, this would create fear amongst those in audience as the blood starts to raise into the characters mouth. Before the shark is killed there is a definite form of fear between those in the audience as they will be fearing for the life of Brody and as the gas cylinder falls into the sharks mouth and shot by Brody, this would create a quick shock of horror as the audience would have been expecting something different from the characters, but the tension built created a perfect end for those in the scene of whom were left and as Hooper appears from the depths of the water tension is released as the two friends are reunited.
In my opinion of the film the scariest moment was when the shark was obliterated because of the tension built from the non-diegetic music and the features of those in the scene and the end was un-expected from those in the audience. Although the tension was built up for that ending the various parts that built up the tension were also scary such as when the shark tried to attack Hooper and when the attack on Quint took place.