S1, Episode 12: "Prophecy Girl"

Season One of Buffy The Vampire Slayer concludes with the episode "Prophecy Girl", in which Buffy goes to fight The Master despite a prophecy predicting her death. Director Joss Whedon develops the narrative in similar fashion to the first episode; through the use of camera-work, music and costume.

Near the beginning of the episode, we get a slow-motion shot of Buffy rolling away from a vampire, whom she proceeds to kill with ease. This camera shot helps develop character by showing how much Buffy is in control of the situation and how she has become a very confident and able vampire slayer. This idea is important in developing the story because it will emphasise the power that The Master must have to dominate Buffy later on in the episode. The usage of slow-motion shots to show control is in no way unique to BTVS; it has been used in countless action films, from "Die Hard" to "Mission Impossible", to show intricacy and control in fight scenes, and Whedon uses this technique effectively to portray his character Buffy.

CAMERA-WORK: The slow-motion in Buffy's fight at the
beginning shows her control over the situation.

As with the first episode, Whedon uses the film score to convey emotion to the audience. Mid-way through the season finale, Buffy rejects Xander when he asks her to go to the "Spring Fling" with him. Xander leaves, and as Buffy is sitting alone on a bench the background noise of people's chatter fades out and the only sound is sad piano music. This is a subtle yet effective way of showing the audience how Buffy's emotion has drowned out all other noise as she realises she's alone as the vampire slayer. This idea of Buffy realising she's alone and must do her duty as the slayer is important in helping the audience understand her decision to go and fight The Master at the end of the episode. Fading background audio and music is a commonly used technique to convey emotion in the drama genre, and Whedon's use of it in BTVS helps define it as a genre-crossing series.

FILM-SCORE: The piano music after Buffy rejects Xander
conveys Buffy's emotion to the audience.

The showdown at the end of the series sees Buffy venture underground to fight The Master, the evil leader of the vampires who is over 600 years old. In this scene, Whedon uses costume symbolically to help the audience support Buffy on her quest against evil. Buffy is clothed in a long white dress, which stands out in the dark tunnels of the underworld. This portrays Buffy as good, light and pure in contrast to The Master, whose black clothing signifies evil, badness and impurity. Light and dark symbolism is common in film and TV shows, where white can be associated with "heavenly" characters whereas evil always lurks in darkness. Whedon uses the audience's understanding of these conventions to help progress the narrative.

COSTUME: Buffy's white dress in the final scenes
brings a theme of "Good Vs Evil".

Joss Whedon uses a variety of narrative features to develop the character Buffy and progress the story to the audience in his first season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.