Bookend Imagery in BtVS

[lostboy_lj]

Hailing from a background in painting and commercial art, I think I tend to pay a lot of extra attention to the composition of shots in films and TV shows.  I don't think the attention is either undue or completely subjective - I've worked with art directors, and have a good sense of the kinds of conversations that lead to visual decisions - but I

Comments

[lostboy_lj]

Thanks! You know, whenever I see your user name, I think of the bookend in "Pangs", when the camera shifts to Buffy's point of view.

[rebcake]

Huh. Is this the episode that begins with "And they say one person can't make a difference" or does it go straight to the digging?

[lostboy_lj]

This is the last shot of the fourth season Thanksgiving episode, "Pangs", where Xander accidentally lets it slip that Angel had been back in town.

[rebcake]

Yes, but how does the episode BEGIN? The other end of the bookend? I don't always have the beginnings as clear in my mind...

[lostboy_lj]

The episode starts with a stranger walking through a wooded area looking vaguely scared (he turns out to be a vampire).

[rebcake]

I had to look it up, but yep it's the "one person" bit, which makes the closing shot feel like a visual pun on the teaser.

[lostboy_lj]

Hmmm. I'm not sure if we are talking about the same episode. The one I was talking about starts with this image:

[rebcake]

Back again! See, this is what I mean about knowing the text, but still finding new things! Buffy's verbal exchange with the vamp you have pictured ends with her saying, "And they say one person can't make a difference" before the camera pans to Angel hiding in the bushes. Obviously, there are lots of individuals who make a difference, not least Buffy herself, though it's arguable whether Angel makes any kind of positive difference in this episode. By going behind Buffy's back, his main effect is to cut her off from her team, albeit in a minor way. When the camera switches to her perspective at the very end, it highlights her realization of her isolation within the group. Without this shot, the episode would end with the impression that the group all pulled together to defeat their foes. True, but not exactly...

[lostboy_lj]

Ah, I see now. Sorry, I wasn't really understanding what you said before, but it makes total sense now. Yeah, the teasers in general (not just the first shot, but everything leading up to the opening credits) mapped back to the endings too, both visually and textually. Well, at least, the really GREAT episodes like Pangs did that, adding to the "roundness" of the storytelling that I found so compelling.