Opening

Sequence:
Pretty Little
Liars

By: Elizabeth Brown

Opening Sequence

Genre/ Theme: Technical

Codes
Camera shots

There was a total of 10 shots in this opening sequence. They are the following
First includes eye with mascara
Second is lips with gloss being applied
Third is high heel shoes being clipped
Fourth shows hair being curled with curling iron
Fifth shows nail polish being applied to fingernails

Sixth shows hand covering the eye and then we see the eye is closed after the hand moves away
Seventh is hands crosses across the chest
Finally we see a casket being closed over the body and then the camera is angled upward to show a mid
shot of four girls, then it zooms into a close up of a girl with one finger up to her mouth shushing us
These camera angles all dont allow the viewer to see the entire face of the girl applying make-up. This
makes her more mysterious and

Genre/ Theme: Technical

Codes
Sound
Non diegetic music

Creepy music that sings two can keep a secret if one of them is dead

This emphasizes the casket and causes the viewer to wonder who has died

Guitar strumming in the background

Singer is a bit choppy with words and makes it scarier and more nerve wracking

Creates a nervous and curious viewer

Genre/ Theme: Technical

Codes
Miss
En
Scene
Dark clothes, all black

Emphasis on the makeup and feminine items such as nail polish, lip gloss, and
curling iron
Creates a feeling of nervousness because of the dark lighting surrounding all these
make-up applying shots

Genre/ Theme: Technical

Codes
Editing
Fast paced editing however because of the music, it feels slower and more haunting

Cutting from scene to scene, each only lasting a second or 2

Genre/ Theme: Visual Codes

The typography is very girly and curly
The whole opening has a very girly feel to it and doesnt seem very male centered
The show seems like every other show with gossiping girls when they got a secret
in the song, however the dark lightning and extreme close ups give it a more serious
feel than break ups or relationships
The ending coffin scene made it seem like they were dressing up the girl that was
dead since she had the same fingernail polish on as the fingernail painting scene. It
made it seem as if they were trying to cover something up by making her look nicer
and by making themselves look nicer
Make-up seems to be a mask and a way to hide the truth

Narrative Codes: Propp

4 characters only, however the dead girl seems to be the main focus
The 4 are the main characters, however they look guilty and it makes the viewer
wonder if they did something extremely bad

Narrative Codes: Todorov

Equilibrium - their make-up seems to be hiding their secrets; its as if theyre
putting a mask on

Narrative codes: Levi- Strauss

Binary opposition exists in the Audience: Responses
No eye contact from four girls; looking away guiltily until the close up and the girl
shushing the audience- causes the reader to hint at something weird going on at this
funeral
Nobody but them is near the coffin and theyre standing close together as if to
protect each other
Theyre attempting to act normal, however look guilty instead

fact that the audience is unsure as to whether or not the 4 girls are good or bad so
protagonist / antagonist
Good / evil

Audience: Responses
No eye contact from four girls; looking away guiltily until the close up and the girl
shushing the audience- causes the reader to hint at something weird going on at
this funeral
Nobody but them is near the coffin and theyre standing close together as if to
protect each other
Theyre attempting to act normal, however look guilty instead

Audience: Targeting
This is mainly a girl TV show
The opening shows only 4 women and no males. Although it is creepy and
mysterious, it seems as though theyre uncovering secrets and thats more girl
related than male related
Pre-knowledge- knows that a girl died that all of them knew and knows how they
know her and the whole story
New audience- hints at a death and the involvement of these four girls