Long Island Medium

  I recently watch an episode of The Long Island Medium titled “Long Island Romance”.  The episode opens with a shot on a tree’s branches blowing in the wind and then the camera pans over her house, where she will be meeting with a couple.  The music in the background is eerie to reinforce what the show is about- talking to the dead.  Theresa is speaking of her feelings on skeptics as the couple pulls up into the driveway, to reinforce the fact that these people are skeptical of what she says she can do.  Theresa’s commentary is then followed by the man she will be reading’s commentary- to fill viewers in on the thoughts of everyone involved in the reading before it actually happens.  As the couple sits down and begins joking with Theresa about “Googling” themselves, the music changes from eerie to playful, as the couple laughs with Theresa.  As Theresa continues to tell her client an abundance of personal things about himself and his lost loved ones, the music becomes more upbeat as the client starts to believe the power she says she has is real.  During the conversation, the shots go back and forth between the commentaries of the clients and the actual conversation.  This use of shot order allows viewers to understand what the clients were feeling during the conversation.  The camera constantly zooms in on the faces of Theresa’s clients as they receive her news.  It then zooms out to a medium shot of the table, the couple, and Theresa. All these techniques heighten the emotion of the conversation for the viewers.