Jaws: Still Image Analysis

This is analysis of the above poster.

Genre

- Obviously a horror / thriller. We can see this by the shark directed straight up at the swimmer.

- The swimmer is portrayed as being helpless and unaware as the sea looks deep and there is nothing to hold on to.

Audience

- The audience would be for people who like the horror / action / thriller genre.

Mise-en-scene

Lighting - The dark black contrasts with the light sea and white above it. We don't think the poster would have so much effect if the entire poster was white.

Location - The sea is a threatening place for humans as they can easily drown, and can't see what's underneath the water. This location is used for these reasons. It makes it seem more scary.

Performers - The shark is faced directly up at the swimmer. If it was coming from the sides, the swimmer may have more chance of swimming away. The person is swimming directly above the sharks mouth, to create a more horrific effect.

Costumes - The swimmer isn't wearing much. This makes her more vulnerable and helpless.

Colour

- The title, 'JAWS' is written in red, which is normally associated with danger.

- The white and black text and picture contract with eachother, making each feature stand out as if it's bold on the picture.

- The shark's mouth is black, which makes it threatening, as if the swimmer is going to dissapear into the darkness.

Visual Codes

Composition: The entire poster is very central, making the shark the focus point as it is inline with the swimmer and all of the text. The word 'JAWS' is obviously associated with the shark as the image portrays the shark as having huge teeth. The text at the bottom of the page has barely any character spacing, which makes it less eye catching and turns the readers attention to the image in the middle. The text throughout the poster is bold, which makes the shark look more powerful.

Framing: The seperate image in the middle of the page with the large text is what the reader will see first.  

Denotations

- Obvious ideology from the image is that the helpless, unaware swimmer is about to get eaten by the shark.

Connotations

- The sea is extremely deep, making it more threatening.

- The swimmer has nothing to hold on to for safety or anywhere to swim to.

- Thick red code makes teh shark look powerful and threatening. Capitalised text in the image is used in all the areas of danger, however, up in the sky where everything is safe from the shark, the text is less bold and threatening.

Semiotics

- The sharks teeth are huge. This shows how dangerous the shark is.

- The sea is also very deep, which creates a sense of danger.