Jaws Sondtrack analysis (Hooper In The Cage)

The 'Hooper In The Cage' scene from the 1975 hit film 'Jaws,' is one of the most popular scenes in the movie. It depicts one of the main characters 'Hooper' who is trying to hunt the killer shark by going into the water in a steel cage, armed with only a harpoon or stun stick of some kind. Unfortunately things don't go to plan and he ends up being devoured by Jaws instead. While this scene may not contain all the elements used within a soundtrack, it is a perfect example of some of them.

The first sound technique used is the change in amplitude. At roughly the 0.19 mark of the clip we can hear that the Jaws theme is slowly getting louder and louder, increasing the tension of the scene. This tells the audience not only that danger is right around the corner but also that Jaws is getting closer to Hooper. The theme gets louder and louder until we see the shark coming towards Hooper through the murky sea water. Instead of straight away attacking, Jaws instead goes around the cage and swims out of sight while the amplitude of the theme decreases along with the tension. The Leitmotif decreases to a silence once again at around the 0.50 mark, leaving the audience on the edge of their seat waiting for what happens next.

Another element used within this time frame is the Jaws theme itself. This is called a leitmotif and is used to tell the audience about a character when they appear without having to say a word. In this case the leitmotif tells us that Jaws is a danger and should be feared whenever it is around, once again building tension whenever the short musical score is played.

The next element used is an L cut. This is when the sound from one shot carries onto the next, such as dialogue or music. The L cut in this scene takes place around 0.25 when we cut to the scene above the water to the other characters on the boat while the Jaws theme continues. This tells the audience that while Hooper, who is underwater at this point, is about to encounter the shark, the other people on the boat are completely unaware of the danger. This three second shot can be a really simple yet powerful way of telling the audience about how hopeless the situation is for Hooper as the other characters won’t be able to do anything until it is too late.

The third element is the use of high and low pitch sounds during the initial attack. While Jaws is trying to break through the cage, almost all of the music is raised to a much higher pitch. This not only helps shock and surprise the audience with the sudden change in pitch and volume, but also activates a subconscious instinct deep within all humans. This is known as the 'Fight or Flight' instinct, which back thousands of years ago, would allow us to make split second decisions about whether we should fight the danger or run away from it. While we may no longer use this instinct as often as we used to, it is still part of our subconscious that can be activated with certain cues in sound. These techniques are often used within horror movies in order to shock the viewer further when something bad happens.

The use of low pitch is used throughout the scene but is first used around the 0.19 mark when the leitmotif begins to play. This is used in order to tell the audience that danger is approaching. However not all leitmotifs warn of danger as they are meant to tell us about a character, and not all characters in a film are considered evil or bad.

Finally the last main element used is dissonance. This is used at 2.06 when Jaws finally breaks through the cage and attacks Hooper directly. This type of scene would normally contain screams of pain and cries for help. However considering almost this entire scene is set underwater, we are unable to hear these sounds. This is why the sudden loud dissonant sound is so effective here as it tells the audience to be scared for the character as he is in great danger and fighting for his life. The sudden shock also once again activates the fight or flight instinct.

Foley Recording Plan

1) Draw at least 3 individual technical diagrams on the attached sheet of how you will set up each of your Foley sounds on the Foley floor.

(see attached diagrams)

2)  Whilst making your recordings, please take some photographs to show how you set up your Foley floor.

Shaking a cup full of broken plate bits

Some of the objects used to create to Foley sounds

Me using said props to create a 'thump' sound effect.

(Ditto)

3) Thinking back to what we covered in lesson (and looking back at the PowerPoint my Blog)  when recording your sound effects how will you ensure that you get a good, clear recording? (positioning microphones / recording location / monitoring and controlling of recording levels via UV meters) fundamentals of decibels (dBs) / background noise

when recording the Foley sound for the scene, it is best to record in a quiet room with minimal echo. This way there will be minimal feedback when the sound is being recorded, also if you record in an outside area the microphone may pick up background noise (e.g. lawnmowers, cars etc.) It is also recommended that that the wire that connects the microphone to the recording device has been secured so that it doesn't move around when recording, otherwise the microphone will pick up any movement to wire makes and distort the sound.

4)What type of microphone will you use and why is this an appropriate microphone to use / how will it help you to get the best recording?

For this recording session i will be using a Shotgun microphone. Unlike a traditional microphone that you might see a TV presenter use, the shotgun mic is more suited to picking up sounds in the direction that the user points it. This is because of its design, having a flat receiver at one end of device. This allows the sound to enter the microphone in a 'funnel' shape rather than a traditional dome shape, allowing a much more direct an clearer sound.

This is useful to my Foley work as i only want the microphone to pick up the sound effect and nothing else. While this microphone doesn't completely block out all other sound, it does make the overall recording go much smother allowing ease of editing.

5) when recording what issues do you need to be aware of and how will you safeguard against these (i.e. background noise, acoustics?)

When recording anything, whether recording just the sound or a visual image as well, there will be multiple issues and problems you will encounter. For this task I will be taking multiple precautions in-order to prevent issues such as background noise and interference from happening. I will be recording these sound effects inside the colleges sound studio, which has been fitted with insulation on the walls to prevent both echos and outside noise from interfering with the audio.