So3 Eo8 - Effy

Episode Overview

Effy is at the lowest point, but this time there’s no older brother at home to notice; and home life has deteriorated so much that it’s even harder than ever for her to communicate. Katie takes every opportunity to rub in her superiority and highlight the fact that Freddie is her man, and Effy is to keep her hands off. She invites Effy to a party in the woods, but Effy has to drive, and Cook is not welcome. As they all head off, the car strains with tension - as secrets and rivalries build. Their paranoid state increases when they have a frightening run in with some poachers. Freddie manages to lighten the mood, and as they arrive at the campsite, they recover themselves and start to have fun. Effy finds some magic mushrooms, and they experiment. Katie’s jealousy of Effy returns, as Effy becomes the centre of the action. The fun and excitement intensify, that is until it becomes clear someone has been tampering with their stuff. Hearing gun shots, they realise someone is charging towards them. The atmosphere darkens and any fun they were having disappears in an instant. It turns out to be Cook who gatecrashes the little party and reveals some more dark secrets within the group. Later, Effy encounters with Katy and knocks her out with a stone, letting her lie there bleeding. She is so high on drugs she cannot distinguish it from reality and instead takes advantage by getting with Freddie. She uses her heart and not her heard, a bad decision when she wakes up in the morning to find the consequences of her actions sinking her life to an even lower state than before.

Camerawork

I am going to analyse a short clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwhwNzcXq9c, talking about camerawork in this episode.

The scene starts off by establishing the location at MCU, showing a sign with Gobbler's End on it. This follows on from a previous scene, telling us they have arrived at their destination. The camera crabs slowly and cautiously to the right where Effy stands staring into space at MCU. This is so the audience can see her expression in detail, which is a confused and uncertain one. The camera keeps moving until Effy is on the screens left and we can see the other characters behind unloading the car. When Katy walks past we can clearly see Effy at MCU with a slightly irritated look, so we can see the tension between the two characters. Effy stays completely still as the other characters walk past her, but the camera stays still with Efyy, not daring to follow anyone else. This way the audience knows that the episodes focus is on Effy alone and the camera is following her actions and reactions.

We then cut to a VLS overlooking a slight open space in the forest. Behind a fallen tree we can see the characters walking across at a distance, from right to left. The camera begins to crab in the same direction as the characters, very slowly and cautiously. It is as if the camera is hidden behind the trees and is stalking the characters - the movement has a creeping feel about it. The camera begins to turn to the right as the characters begin to walk towards it, confirming this secretive approach to the camerawork. The audience is distanced from the characters, and get a sense of spying on them, invading on their tight little world of problems. There is also an impression that someone else could be lurking, watching the group from the cameras point of view, unsettling the audience and making the whole scene seem quite uneasy.

Next we cut to a two shot of Freddie and JJ at MS. They are walking towards the camera, which is backtracking at their pace as they speak to each other. This gives them power over the audience so the audience focus on what they are saying. The camera is handheld so it is slightly shaky and moves with the characters. This is up close and personal with the characters in contrast to the previous shot, so the audience get a sense of being right inside the group as well as being on the outskirts watching (this is significant as it turns out to be Cook who sneaks up on the group later on in the episode, and he is the outcast watching from outside the group). The audience is close enough to the characters to see their expressions in detail as they speak.

Then we cut to the same shot but of Thomas (a few paces in front of JJ and Freddie), using a handheld backtrack as he walks. He is at MCU so we see his reactions clearly as Freddie tries to talk to him. Freddie walks over to him but remains at MS despite the shot being a two-shot, so we are not as close to Freddie and focus more on Thomas, who is significant to this conversational scene. A slight short/reverse shot is used just as Thomas stops and turns towards Freddie, signifying conversation, as we cut to over Freddie's shoulder with Thomas at MCU. We then cut back to the same shot as before, the whole time maintaing the free-moving and slightly shaky feel to the scene for realism and to be able to personally interact with the characters. Having said that, there is not too much camera movement, and it is all quite still and dead, perhaps like the characters feelings (there is alot of tensions and broken relationships). The whole scene works to make the audience feel awkward and creates a hostile atmosphere within the group, where danger might be lurking on the outside.