Taken Trailer Analysis

TAKEN TRAILER ANALYSIS:



The film Taken is of the action adventure genre and stars Liam Neeson as the protagonist of the movie. This is a unique selling point of the movie, as he is highly popular with audiences, due to him appearing in other action films. The target audience of Taken is young adults, who are predominantly male.

Sound:
One of the sound types that we can hear in the trailer is diegetic. An example of when this is used is the dialogue when the protagonist is speaking on the phone. The tone in his voice when he speaks is fearless and with a lot of anger, which is a conventional representation of the protagonist in an action adventure film. The dialogue is also effectively used when the daughter is screaming and crying as she is being dragged away by the antagonist. This shows to us that she is fearful of what is happening to her and so the audience can empathise with her. The non diegetic soundtrack is used to intensify the action involved in the movie, due to its low tempo and loud volume.

Editing:
Slow motion editing is used to highlight the close relationship between the father and daughter in the film, when they hug at the beginning of the trailer. Also, the two characters are given the prevalence in the trailer, so the audience can empathise with them and their father-daughter relationship. A flashing cut is used to transition between certain scenes of the trailer, to indicate the film involves drama and tension. Several fast pace cuts are also used in the combat scenes in the trailer, to highlight the intense violence in the movie.

Mise en Scene:
The use of mobile phones by the two protagonists of the film shows to us that although the characters are a long distance away from each other, they can communicate with each other. The film's predominant location is the city of Paris, in France. It is conventional to see large cities as the setting of action adventure films, due to them being known to the audience, as well as being urban areas. The costumes of Liam Neeson's character and the antagonists of the movie are common representations of costumes for action adventure films, due to their colour and style.

Camera:
One shot type that we can see used effectively in the trailer is a birds eye view of the Eiffel Tower and the streets of Paris. This indicates to the audience the film's location and setting.
Several two shots are used of the father and daughter in the opening shots of the trailer, including an over the shoulder shot. By looking at this, it tells the audience that they have a close family relationship between each other. One type of camera angle that is seen in the trailer is a low angle shot of Liam Neeson attacking an antagonist of the film. The effect of this shot is to make his character have more control and authority in the scene.