This past week’s episode of Pretty Little Liars, titled
Father Knows Best, is about the father-daughter dance that takes place and all
the drama surrounding it. Each of the four girls has their own daddy issues:
Aria is mad that her dad won’t allow her to see Ezra, Emily’s dad is in the
military and has just dropped the news that he is being sent back overseas,
Spencer is still recovering from finding out that her dad had an affair with
Allison’s mom and that Jason is her brother, and Hanna’s dad is just too busy
with work to come. Nevertheless, all four girls end up making an appearance at
the dance, demonstrating the theme that family and friends are important above
all. I also noticed the importance of lighting in this episode. In several of
scenes, it is dark and there are a lot of shadows making it much more sinister
and creepy. In contrast, in the happy
scenes, there is often a natural, bright light, adding to the cheerfulness. Whenever
A appears in an episode his or her face is always in the shadows, hiding his or
her identity, making the show much more suspenseful.
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In this episode of pretty little liars besides the great use of lighting to make the show suspensful. Another film technique that is used is camera work. In this show the director uses a mixture of shots but when there is a dramatic type setting it is a close up of the girls faces to show the emotion they are feeling. Another moment where the use of close up is when someone gets a texted message from A. and when that happens its a jumps movement. Also when the camera is focused on a person if someone is near the camera they're not as clear. Although its sometimes reversed in which the person closest to the camera is focused and those furthest away are unfocused. Then when the characters have conversations the camera either switches to face the character is speaking which is the method of subject perspective. By useing this method it makes you feel more involed by making you part of the conversation. This episode also uses a mixture of panning and tracking to follow the girls as they movie through the scenes. The angles used in the scenes are mostly flat except when there are the rare moments where one of the characters have a low or high angle on them to show either there weakness or strength. This camera work in this Tv series helps the director give the show more depth and intensity.
ReplyDeleteThe most recent episode of Pretty Little Liars, “If Dolls Could Talk”, warmed my heart and scared me half to death in the same hour. Given, I do not take to romance and easily as I scare, but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The shifts in atmosphere from total romance to complete terror kept the episode interesting. The atmosphere was a result of the lighting, sound, and mis en scene. The romantic scenes occurred between Aria and Ezra. A classic tale of forbidden love, the two first met in Ezra’s office where they could hide away. The lighting had a yellow glow to it and made the entire room look warm. The music was soft and dreamy, with passionate lyrics of love. The objects around the room included a bookshelf, photographs, mugs, artwork, etc. For an office, the room could not have felt more homey and delightful. This romantic scene was frequently juxtaposed with the frightening doll shop. Porcelain and voodoo dolls are creepy to begin with, but the added mood made me cling to the person next to me. The shop was extremely dark, and the existing light was cold and dusty. The music was slow, without lyrics, and suspenseful. The mis en scene included dolls hanging upside from the ceiling, broken dolls, a creepy old woman, and a “gifted” young boy who seemed to know things he shouldn’t have. And just to twist the knife in the wound, the last we see of the doll shop is a doll’s voice repeating “follow me, end up like me” only to lead the girls to Ally’s murder scene made with dolls. These two extremes created mood swings that would keep any viewer on edge and enjoying every moment.
ReplyDeleteI also watched this episode of Pretty Little Liars, and I think the producers of this show do a good job, tying together a theme within each episode that corresponds with the mystery of the actual show. In this episode the theme had to do with valuing family and friends. Being in high school there are so many distractions, and in this episode of the show there was a school dance for fathers that none of the girls wanted to attend, but ended up anyway. Each girl had their own drama within the episode that made them not want to attend this dance. But at the end they all ended up going and it fit in with the actual plot for the show. They all realized how important family actually was because you never know when they could be taken away from you. Iv been noticing in many of these episodes if you watch the shows more carefully you can pick up on some important themes that are directed to the age group that watches the show. For example in a episode a couple of weeks ago there was an episode revolving around bullying. Bullying has become a big deal in school districts across the nation and it is not a surprise that this was featured in an episode. The producers bring relatable issues to the age group watching and incorporate this into the show so viewers can relate more, and keep watching it. The show is based off of a mystery and the themes behind it just make the show better.
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