Cinema would not be the same today without the influential work of Steven Spielberg, with his take on horror – 1975’s Jaws – serving as a prime example. The film casts a spell – that of fear. Among the multiple factors that contribute to its influence, the sound design is key. The tension is provoked  not only by what you see, but by what you hear as well. They coalesce to create an experience that prevented an entire generation from wanting to go near the ocean again. The sound design was effective enough to earn the film an Academy Award not only for Best Sound, but also for Best Original Score. There is one particular scene that proves the film to be award-worthy – the ‘Get Out Of The Water’ scene. It is the scene that, for many, fully encapsulates the effectiveness of the film’s sound design, in addition to Spielberg’s visuals. They combine to create an extremely tense experience, despite the simplicity behind the techniques. Culture Reporter Alex Abad-Santos went as far as to refer to this scene as “one of the best in movie history” (1).

The clip opens, and what we hear at first is the sounds one would normally hear on a beach during a summer’s day: chattering, splashing – families are enjoying themselves. In other words, the film is relying on diegetic sound to establish the relaxed mood of the scene, a mood that proceeds to be effectively upsetted by the sound design. As someone is conversing with the film’s lead, Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), we hear a woman screaming nearby. By having these two layers of sound overlap, the viewer feels the sudden surge of paranoia that courses through Brody as well. Even after it is revealed to be a false alarm, the paranoia remains. This in part was built from the chilling opening scene, and effectively continued through this moment. The false alarm only adds to the anticipation for the horrors that will inevitably follow. This would not have been possible if not for the choices made by Spielberg and his sound designers.

Their choice to use overlapping sound layers to create tension is utilised again less than a minute later. A child is singing The Muffin Man to himself. At the same time, a young man is calling out for his dog, who has mysteriously disappeared. These layers, contrasting with the background noises of children splashing around in the water, create an eerie tone. Before long, the background noise fades out, as does the singing, allowing the fact of the missing dog to stand out. The moment of silence that follows allows the paranoia to morph into legitimate tension. By silently focusing on the abandoned dog bone in the water, the film more-or-less confirms the dog’s fate. Over a minute of ambience has passed, and the audience is already anxious. Spielberg decides to only use the sounds of the beach to set the stage for the horror that comes in the form of non-diegetic sound.

John Williams’ iconic, Oscar-winning score is a master class in suspense. Much like the film’s use of ambience, the simplicity of the main theme proves extremely effective in building tension. On paper, all we see are two notes played repeatedly. What we end up hearing has become the epitome of suspense. The sound builds in resonance and menace as the camera zooms further in on Bruce the Shark’s unsuspecting victim. The contrast with the calm sounds of the water continues the sense of eeriness even as the orchestra slowly takes over. The sound effectively becomes the shark, eliminating any need for Spielberg to show it in-frame. Even so, once it is distantly in-frame, the score briefly becomes second priority. The diegetic sound takes the wheel as the camera shows people on the beach reacting to what’s happening in the distance. The fear and alertness that suddenly fills these people has already been earned on the audience’s part, preventing the score from being necessary. However, it swiftly returns as we cut back to underneath the water; back in the shark’s brain. We watch as the child is gruesomely torn apart, with the music generously informing us that there is no saving him. The score reaches its maximum pitch as we cut back to the parents desperately calling out to their children. In other words, the shark’s presence has overtaken the beach, replacing the cheery ambience that previously permeated. We now hear children screaming for their lives; parents running towards the shore. Williams’ score plays like a siren. Chaos has invaded the beach – conveyed perfectly through a harrowing combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sound layers.

The heavy layers slowly fade out as all of the children are returned to shore, which seemingly provides the audience with a moment of relief. This feeling proceeds to shatter, however, as the camera and audio focuses on the mother of the sole victim, calling for her son. The scene ends with a shot focused only on the flattened floatie and blood left behind from the attack washing up on shore. All we hear is the peaceful sound of waves – allowing the audience to mourn the child’s death before transitioning to the next scene.

Suffice to say, this scene on its own would be enough to prove the influence of Jaws. It has everything: the ambience, the lived-in characters, the subtlety, the iconic score and, most importantly, the suspense. Despite never capturing a clear shot of the shark itself, the seamless intertwining between Spielberg’s visuals and the sounds created by designers John R. Carter and Robert L. Hoyt, along with the amazing John Williams, manage to conjure up the shark’s presence all on their own. Writer George Morris claimed that the film succeeded to the extent it did because it “showed audiences the type of excitement they couldn’t get anywhere else” (2). The spectacle was unlike anything they had ever seen up to that point. Its mega success speaks greatly to the potential effectiveness of subtlety in film – something that would not have been possible without the top notch sound design.

Reference List/Bibliography

(1) Abad-Santos, A. 2015 “Why the Jaws beach scene is one of the best in movie history” Vox, 30 Mar  https://www.vox.com/2015/3/30/8311209/jaws-breakdown-beach-scene

“Analysis of Jaws Essay” bartleby research https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Analysis-of-Jaws-F3VDG2YVC

DeMarco, L. 2015 “Jaws’ 40th anniversary: 40 reasons why Steven Spielberg’s movie is the ultimate summer blockbuster (photos)” cleveland.com, 18 Jun https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2015/06/jaws_40th_anniversary_40_reaso.html

Golding, D. 2022 “From Jaws to Star Wars to Harry Potter: John Williams, 90 today, is our greatest living composer”, ABC News, 8 Feb https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-08/composer-john-williams-90th-birthday/100811254

Kermode, M. 2015. “Jaws, 40 years on: ‘One of the truly great and lasting classics of American cinema’” The Guardian, 31 May https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/31/jaws-40-years-on-truly-great-lasting-classics-of-america-cinema

MacKay, R. 2020 “45 years on, the ‘Jaws’ theme manipulates our emotions to inspire terror” The Conversation, 27 Apr  https://theconversation.com/45-years-on-the-jaws-theme-manipulates-our-emotions-to-inspire-terror-136462

(2) Morris, G. 2020 “Creating a Genre: ‘Jaws’ and the Modern Blockbuster” 1 Jun https://www.gmorris.co.uk/post/creating-a-genre-jaws-and-the-modern-blockbuster

Murray, N. 2014 “Jaws and the sound of dread and wonder” Dissolve, 8 Jul https://thedissolve.com/features/movie-of-the-week/649-jaws-and-the-sound-of-dread-and-wonder/

Rennie, D. 2020 “REMEMBERING BRUCE, THE MALFUNCTIONING ANIMATRONIC SHARK THAT MADE ‘JAWS’ A HORROR CLASSIC” Bold Entrance, 15 Jul https://boldentrance.com/remembering-bruce-the-malfunctioning-animatronic-shark-that-made-jaws-a-horror-classic/embed/#?secret=mJmcu4nVLn#?secret=a20RpwzngU

Shields, M. 2020 “Jaws’ and Genre: The Horror of an Unseen Threat” FSR. 6 Nov https://filmschoolrejects.com/jaws-horror-movie/

Stephens, D. 2021 “For Better & For Worse: The Legacy Of Steven Spielberg & How He Changed Cinema Forever”, Top 10 Films, 16 Apr https://www.top10films.co.uk/63417-for-better-for-worse-the-legacy-of-steven-spielberg-how-he-changed-cinema-forever/

Waxman, O. 2020 “Why Hit Movies Are Called Blockbusters” Time, 7 Feb https://time.com/5776406/blockbuster-meaning/