Film trailer analysis - Taken

The Purpose of a Film Trailer• A trailer is one of the many forms of marketing for films. It is one of the first forms of

marketing that will be released during the production of a film, and presents the film’s genre and what you might expect from it when the film is released.

• The trailer is able to present the film as being part of a certain genre through uses of things such as mise en scene, editing and cinematography techniques. These things are used to create and display genre conventions that help advertise the film to the target audience and make it clear to those watching the trailer what genre the film is going to be.

• Another way in which it could reach out to its target audience is the actors and actresses it shows in the trailer. Certain actors and actress will have dedicated fans which will see films simply because they are in them. The inclusion of actors who are known for certain genres, e.g. Jason Statham is known for Thrillers and British Gangster dramas, will also help create a sense of what genre the film is.

• The use of actors that people recognise will represent the target audience as it gives them something to relate to as well as a form of escapism, as suggested in the Uses and Gratifications theory by Blumler and Katz

• Finally, Trailers will try to provide a unique selling point for the film, which makes it different to other films in the genre.

Taken Trailer

• Taken is a 2008 Thriller starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen.

Camera

• The trailer uses the convention shooting format of most trailers and films within the thriller genre, having many short takes and action shots. However, this trailer also has some shots at the beginning that help establish the story and characters for what’s going to happen to them in the movie. These shots are longer and are not action shots.

• After the company screen, there are shots starting at 0:10• There is a mid shot of Liam Neeson’s character as he gets out

of a car and is called at by his daughter, followed by a shot over his shoulder as he hugs her

• There are then two shots from 0:14 to 0:17 that use 180 degree rule and involve Brian and Kim talking in a café. She is telling him about her plan to go on Holiday to Paris with her friend Amanda

• It then cuts to a different location as the diegetic voiceover from Kim continues, and she begins to explain what the plan Is for her holiday. There are three shots at the airport of Kim’s mother smiling, Brian holding up a camera and a mid shot of Kim and her friend as a photo is taken of them. These shots run from 0:17 – 0:20

• 0:20-0:21 – Aerial panning shot of Paris

• 0:20 – 0:23 – Twentieth Century Fox title card shows, very short takes of a plane taking off flash in and out.

• 0:23-0:27 – A shot that zooms into a phone on a bag, followed by two shots displayed at once that show Brian and Kim on the phone to each other.

• 0:30 – 0:39 – Two camera shots at once showing Kim telling Brian there are people there and Brian Getting out his phone tapping equipment

• 0:39 - 0:43 Three short takes that show Kim Getting under the bed and telling him she’s there.

• 0:43 – 0:47 There are lots of short takes that are edited into a three camera style layout, which end when Bryan tells her she’s going to be taken.

• One shot shows a close up of Kim, the other a close up of Bryan and the other the movements of the kidnappers

• 0:47 to 1:01 Mid shot of Byran talking to the kidnappers on the phone with very short takes of someobody being electrocuted, Kim being taken and a kidnappers face that are cut in.

• 1:01 to 1:17 – Bryan’s voiceover continues, with many very short takes on screen that show Bryan planning to find her and fighting people.

• 1:17-1:22 It switches back to the multi camera format, showing Bryan talking to Kim’s mother and one of his friends about how long they have to find her.

• 1:22 – 1:35 It cuts back to the midshot of him on the phone threatening the kidnappers, and there are lots of very short takes of Bryan fighting and chasing people.

• 1:35 – There’s a midshot of Bryan in a city as he turns around slowly to face the Camera.

• 1:36 – 1:39 – It cuts one final time to his phone conversation with the kidnapper, which is now a close up shot. The trailer footage cuts as the kidnapper says “Good luck” to his threat to find and kill them if he doesn't get his daughter back

Editing

• There are some longer shots at the beginning, however, as the Twentieth Century fox Presents text appears, there are flashes of very short takes that have been edited over the screen. This is shown at 0:20 – 0:23 seconds

• There are three occasions through out when several camera shots are shown on the screen at once, which Display different characters perspective of the situation that is happening all at once.

• At 0:20, the voiceover from Kim that she began in the previous shot is accompanied by a panning shot of Paris, which is shown as she mentions going there.

• In the scene leading up to Kim being taken, there are white flashes that cover both cameras as the shots cut out. This has been added to build tension

• In the shot at 0:55, which shows a close up of hands as somebody shakes in a chair, the frame rate has been decreased to create a sense of tension and Drama in the shot

Sound

• Throughout the majority of the trailer, there has been non diegetic music added in. There are a total of three pieces In the trailer. The first ends when the kidnapping scene starts, and was used to create a sense of happiness before the dilemma of the movie happened. The second piece is ambient and plays throughout the kidnapping to build tension, and the thirds is featured during the shots of people fighting and creates a sense of action.

• Throughout the second half the trailer, there is almost consistently the voice of Brian as he threatens the kidnappers over the phone. This sound is continued every time the camera cuts to a shot of him on the phone. It ends with him saying he’ll find them and kill them, which sets the genre and tone of the film.

• After this, the person on the other end of the phone replies “Good Luck”, which also sets the genre of the film.

Mise en scene

There are many things shown In the scenes which create a sense of what genre the film is to attract a target audience. For example, there are shots which cut in throughout that are set In a dark setting and show Fights and chases.

Throughout the trailer, dark colour pallets are used which tells us it’s likely a Thriller

• For example, during the shots when he is on the phone talking to the kidnappers, the colours and very muted and there is very little lighting apart from some low key lighting on his face. This present is as a tense and suspenseful film, and therefore likely a film in the Thriller Genre.