"Isolated figures tend to be heavier than those in a cluster. Sometimes one object can balance a whole group of otherwise equal objects." Indeed, here, an impressive crowd of clueless and scared people is balanced out with a single confident person, Quint. In this shot, Spielberg puts him in the position of dominance that juxtaposes him with the other people in the room and therefore "distributes weights harmoniously over the surface of the image".
Although "the area near the top of the screen suggests power, authority, aspiration," this is not the case here. "In some instances, the top area is simply the most sensible area to place an object (when the person's head is logistically at the top of the screen)". Indeed, with the red spots in the background, we know that the Sheriff is not in power here- the shark is. The red spots of blood in the ocean are the dominant in this shot. They attract our attention due to their brightness that contrasts with the overall greyness of the shot. While "the dominant is often movement itself", in this shot, the Sheriff's movement doesn't attract our attention as much as intrinsic interest. The audience knows that the blood is dramatically important, so it assumes dominance in the picture.
In this medium shot, we can see an example of classical composition. Here, Spielberg knew that it would be psychologically appropriate to keep this kind of composition because of Quint's importance. He is telling a fascinatingly terrifying story so our attention is obviously on him rather than anyone else in the boat. Also, "the central portions of the screen are reserved for the most important visual elements" is a rule that works here.
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