The scene in the council chambers is bookended by two signs: the first, an offer of a reward; the second - in the movie's briefest single scene - a prohibition against swimming. A man, who bears a passing resemblance to author Peter Benchley, holds one of the signs in close up so that the audience can read it and Deputy Hendricks can hammer it into the sand with a mallet. Further down the beach in the background similar signs are being erected in what is clearly a concerted community action.
The wording of the notice (NO SWIMMING HAZARDOUS AREA BEACH CLOSED by order Amity P.D) tellingly avoids any reference to the shark, and one can't help but think that Larry Vaughn had final say on the text - just as when interviewed later, he will use language to downplay the threat with a reference to injured bathers. The light is fading from the sky as the beach signs are put up, and there's something about the gathering darkness and the wind that ruffles the clothes of the police officers and the volunteers that is slightly unsettling. It also serves to provide a temporal transition to the next scene, where the sun is setting on the horizon as Brody confronts in picture form what he will soon be facing in real life.
