EXCLUSIVE:PPL Director Talks Emotional Scenes & Dance Parties on Set! 

Season 4 Episode 19: “Hot for Teacher?” This particular installment, in which Ezra convinces Aria to spend the weekend with him at a remote cabin and ultimately becomes Spencer’s prime A suspect, was fast-paced, suspenseful, and utterly creepy. Well get ready, dolls, because Tripp Reed, the creative mastermind responsible for shooting all those tense scenes, is following up his directorial debut with even

nail-biting drama in PLL 5×17: “The Bin of Sin, which airs Tuesday night (January 27th) at 8/7c on ABC Family!

Naturally, as fans of his work — he’s contributed significantly to the production of web series such as

Dating Rules from My Future Self Season 2

starring Candice Accola — we reached out to Tripp to set up an interview and he was more than happy to chat with us. And let’s just say the imaginative storyteller did not disappoint! Not only did he provide us with plenty of scoop about the upcoming plot and our beloved characters, but he also shared amazing insight about his profession and bringing a script to life.

Check out our exclusive Q&A with Tripp right below!

Alloy Entertainment: How did your experience on set this time differ from your directorial debut?

Tripp Reed: The first time was certainly special and an experience I will never forget. But this time around, I was a much more comfortable and relaxed. The cast and crew all remembered me and were incredibly welcoming. Jonell Lennon, whom I became friends with the previous year, wrote the script for “The Bin of Sin” so it was exciting to collaborate with her.  She’s a great writer who is so passionate about her craft and working with her made the experience even more rewarding.

Alloy Entertainment: What are some of your main responsibilities as director?

Tripp Reed: My job as a director is to bring the writer’s words that are on the page alive on the screen in a timely and efficient way.  During the pre-production phase I have numerous meetings with various department heads to ensure that we have all the required props, wardrobe, make-up, special effects and sets that we will need to film the episode.  The writer, Jonell and I comb through the script and discuss the intentions of the scenes and how she views the character’s motivations.  PLL has a rich mythology and a large cast so part of my job is to make sure I fully understand what has been happening in past episodes and what the writers and show runners are setting up for the future. Once on set I guide the actors through their performances ensuring that the subtext and intentions the writer has envisioned are coming through. Ultimately it is the director’s responsibility to stay on schedule and get the necessary visual elements that the editors will use to cut the episode together.  In post production, I work closely with the editor and the post producers to make sure the visuals, the performances, the music and the special effects all work together in the scenes to accomplish what we tried to capture on set. Overall, it is a wonderfully collaborative exercise that challenges you creatively.

Alloy Entertainment: Last time you were in Rosewood, things were

different! In your opinion, which character has changed the most over the last year? Were you shocked by anyone’s storyline?

Tripp Reed: From where I left off the previous season, I’d have to say I was most surprised by the progression of the Ezra / Aria storyline. I didn’t know how the writer’s were going to keep them together after we targeted Ezra as the prime A suspect. As a visiting director I don’t know all the plot twists and character arcs the writer’s are planning so it is great fun to come back and see how they shifted the story lines.

Alloy Entertainment: Which Liar would you say has the WORST NIGHT EVER in “The Bin of Sin” and why?

Tripp Reed: Each of the PLL’s really get put through the ringer in this episode which makes it hard to say who had it the worst. That said, it is also what makes the episode so thrilling to watch.

Alloy Entertainment: The promo shows a lot of harrowing scenes involving A, pipes, and steam. What can you tease about these action-packed shots?

Tripp Reed: This was a fun script to get as a director because there were a lot of opportunities for creating action, drama and suspense through visual storytelling. As usual, the PLL’s want answers but as we know, their determination to get to the truth can have dangerous consequences and this episode is full of danger, both real and perceived. In terms of a tease I’d say wear a sweater, things get a little chilly in this episode.

Alloy Entertainment: As a director, what was the best part about working on this episode? The greatest challenge?

Tripp Reed: Working with the actors and collaborating with Jonell and the show runners was definitely the best part. They are all such professionals and they care so deeply about their characters, their scripts and the relationships, you feel very fortunate to have been invited in to play in such a unique club. Some of the action set pieces were definitely a challenge. As a director you want the scary and dangerous moments to feel as real and authentic as possible but you have to be incredibly safe and mindful of the fact that for every one moment in the final cut cover that same moment five or six different ways. Sustaining the energy for those scenes and getting everyone to buy into your vision is challenging but ultimately very rewarding when you see the finished product.

Alloy Entertainment: You worked with so many talented cast members on this episode, including Keegan Allen, Ashley Benson, and Roma Maffia! Did anyone’s performance in particular really impress you?

Tripp Reed: There were so many great scenes in this episode so it’s hard to pick just one performance that stood out. However, I thought Ashley [Benson] killed it in this episode; I was really proud of the scenes with her and Troian [Bellisario] as well as her poignant moment at the end of the episode with Tyler [Blackburn]. Lucy [Hale] and Ian [Harding] have an incredibly moving scene in Aria’s living room and I was definitely shocked and pleased with the raw emotions they brought to the material. It was also really fun and rewarding to see Shay [Mitchell] kick some butt then turn around and deal with the budding emotional stuff at work.

Alloy Entertainment: Are there any awesome behind-the-scenes stories you can share with us? We love to hear them!

Tripp Reed: We had some funny moments when we were shooting the actions scenes in and around the freezer. In one particular moment, Shay got so scared she screamed for dear life and practically jumped out of her shoes. I also remember when we were blowing wind and smoke into the freezer Lucy and Troian busted out their favorite Michael Jackson moves and let their hair go wild in the wind.

For more behind-the-scenes photos, clues, and weekly updates on

, follow Tripp Reed on twitter at @Tripp_Reed for more updates and behind-the-scenes shots. And be sure to catch new episodes of PLL every Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC Family!

*WTF. CHECK OUT A’s MOST TERRIFYING MOMENTS!*

“I’m still here bitches and I know everything.”-A Dealing with the death of one of your best friends and having to attend her funeral would be hard on anyone, but add on the stress of realizing you also now have a crazy stalker? This was just the first of A’s many tricks.

Photo Credit: Pretty Little Liars/ABC Family

When you go shopping, things you tend to worry about affording all the nice accessories you want to be and whether those jeans flatter your bum or make you look stout. However, Spencer’s issue that day was finding a snake in the dressing room. WTF.

\'A\' was right when he/she revealed that someone wasn’t going to make it to the end of line -- and that person happened to be Garrett. Even though we were relieved to find out it wasn’t one of our girls, we were horrified for Aria when A trapped her in a box...right next to Garrett’s corpse!

When you get mad at someone you either don’t answer their texts or make a few snide comments in their presence. A, however, deals with problems differently -- as proven when the bitch ran over Hanna with a car!

Poor Dr. Sullivan was just doing her job when she was counseling the Liars. Unfortunately, A wasn’t pleased and decided to send her a message by trashing her office.

Did we get transported to The Twilight Zone with Talking Tina? What is up with those creepy dolls? These mini doppelgangers of the Pretty Little Liars were used to torment them multiple times.

A is everywhere, even in your morning cereal. When Emily went to go the most important meal of the day, she was reminded to always be on the lookout for A.

Where the hell did A get human teeth? Instead of just sending the girls the teeth in a box, A just got creative and make a necklace. How cute! Not.

Remember that time Mona and Hanna tried to contact the spirit world to ask about Alison? So does A, and decided to leave Hanna a little flashback present.

A took it a whole step further when she made Spencer think Toby was dead and send her a funeral program. Don’t mess with our Spoby.

We waited so long, only to find out it was a pig. Even though we were waiting for something like, I don’t know, a human body, it was still creepy to see a dead pig in the back of Wilden’s car.

Sometimes staying after school sucks. But, that took on a whole new meaning when A started chasing Emily through Rosewood High, all while blasting loud music over the PA system and trying to break into the room she was hiding out in.

A seems to REALLY have it out for poor Spencer, and that was made apparent when the ruthless text revealed that he/she was digging a grave for Spencer’s body. Um, how sweet?

Theo is a television enthusiast/digital editor at Alloy Entertainment. A conspiracy theorist at heart, this Greek gal is constantly on the look-out for horcruxes and is still trying to make sense of Lost Season 6. All in all, she enjoys freshly brewed iced tea, ancient poetry, and Whedonverse. Follow her musings on entertainment at @theodorag13.

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