Taken - Action

The first shot that we see of this trailer is a long shot of Liam Neeson which is one of the main characters throughout the film. This is important for the target audience to recognize him as he is one of the unique selling points of the film, he has been part of successful films and so people would recognise him for this. The shot quickly changes to a close up shot of him hugging his daughter which suggests comfort and safety which suggests that it is not part of the codes and conventions of action films as violence. This is also suggested by the setting around them as it is brightly coloured.

There are continuous shots fading in and out as there is a voice over still telling the story of what is originally in the film. The shot quickly pans out to a high angle shot of Paris and the famous building of the Eiffel Tower which is an iconic building that people would instantly recognize. The shot then jumps to a shot of both Liam and his daughter talking together in a low and sad tone as if she was patiently pleading with her father but then this quickly changes to a scene of them as the airport. Quickly, the shot cuts to Liam Neeson looking into a camera and as he is about to take the shot and the shot flashes, the screen cuts to black and then a title jumps up on the screen saying ‘20^th century fox’ which is a popular production credit to most films. This would be easily recognizable as the audience would have possibly seen it when watching other film trailers or the film.

The camera shots changes quickly, fading in and out of different close up shots and then cuts to a shot with two different setting on the screen which shows the audience how the characters are talking to each other and so it makes us feel like we are in part of the film. This is effective as it makes it more realistic for the target audience. The camera continuously fades into a full screen of one character and then cuts to a shot of the split screen. In one of the split screen settings, we see the bottom of someone’s legs and feet which creates enigmas for the target audience such as who is that? What do they want? The shots then get fast paced as it continues with the split screen. This creates panic for the target audience as we see a close up of the girl and we get to see the emotion on her face. The screen shows flashing lights as if to represent the fast movement of the characters and the shots that are being displayed.

The audience then see continuous flashing split shots which then we see the bottom of the legs and feet again which creates tension for the target audience. The camera then shows the girl being pulled out from under the bed and we see the emotion on her face as scared and frightened. There is diegetic sound when the girl screams. This makes the audience sympathize with her as she is presented as an innocent and vulnerable girl. This represents the stereotypical views of teen age girls in films. The edits of the camera shots show fast paced images representing flashbacks which creates an atmosphere for the audience and makes them to want to continue watching the film.