Sound In Jaws

In the beginning of Jaws we hear diegetic sound which is sound you would hear if you were there, this sound is the sound of the boy and the girl talking. The long shot of Chrissie running has off screen sound of the boy. Diegetic sound can be on or off screen. There is also the sound of heavy breathing from Chrissie, this is still diegetic however, it was most likely added in later to enhance the film. Only having diegetic sound at this point creates a higher contrast when we do have non-diegetic sound later, and also the audience are beginning to think that something is about to happen as there is only talking.

At around 48 seconds we can begin to hear the bell in the background faintly, this begins to warn us of something however, it is barely noticeable.

At 1:15 we hear some non diegetic sound which is quite light and sounds like bubbles rising to the surface of the water, we could say this was the shark. This is suggested from the use of camera angles as we can see the girl’s body from a low down shot and we are under the water. This music is not very scary itself but put with the images builds tension. At 1.75 the recognisable motif of the Jaws theme starts playing. The low sound from the tuba suggests something edging closer and the increasing sound also increases tension and scares the audience. The contrast of the bubbles which are quite high and the low tone of the tuba also work’s well to make the sound quite menacing and sinister.

We also hear Chrissie screaming very loudly which comes quite suddenly making the audience jump, this also contrasts against the other shot where the boy is sleeping on the beach. There is non-diegetic sound here but it is one high pitch note being played rather than a lot when Chrissie is being murdered, this makes it quite eerie, also we cannot hear her from where he is making her very isolated and the cut to him makes us feel very helpless and there is nothing that can save her.

She is dragged under the water after a lot of screaming which leaves the audience shocked. We then cut back to the boy who is still asleep; we can hear off-screen the diegetic noise of the bell still ringing which before foreshadowed the shark this ringing and the lapping of the waves are rhythmic which again are very different to the frantic screaming and splashing of the girl. This rhythm helps give back the feeling of control but also acts are a reminder of what just happened.