Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a programme in the comedy/horror genre. This genre has distinct conventions all of these are displayed in BTVS. There are the strong horror elements that you would find in a straight horror film or series. These are the moments that make the viewer jump, for example two characters bumping in to each other or sudden attacks on the main characters. There are also the gory or horrific moments such as the revealing of a monster or a murder taking place. As well as these character and plot conventions there are story and visual conventions that are followed. On the visual side there is a lot of darkness in horror productions and often special effects for the monster. The story lines of horror productions regularly feature lots of mythology regarding the monster usually but sometimes also for the principle characters and settings.

The comedy element of the programme follows the conventions of comedy/horror films , such as "Scream". The characters do take their situation seriously but often laugh at how ridiculous their situation is. The characters also have a knowledge of horror films and other media that you would not find in straight horror pr

Buffy The Vampire Slayer is an enjoyable programme that employs may conventions from several genres. It will, I believe, remain popular into the future due to its methods of mixing serious issues (such as drug use in the episode "Go Fish") with pure entertainment.

The special effects employed in this episode are fairly basic. There are computer animated shots when a vampire is killed at the beginning of the story and the eyes of the mask that cause the trouble glow red. Other effects include the Zombie make-up and the facial make-up of the daemon. These are all important to the story as they define the characters, for example the make-up makes the zombies appear dead.

In this episode, all the interior shots are filmed on constructed sets except the for coffee house scenes which appear to take place on location. The exterior scenes in this episode are a mix between location shots and back-lot constructions. The roadside scenes are film outside but on a constructed set, as does the back-alley fight scene. The exterior scenes at the school (the dream sequence and the establishing shot) are filmed on location. This is because the school is such a large building it would be far too expensive to construct.

oductions. The lack of a laughter track allows the drama and comedy to blend easily.

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