Taken Analysis

{Here is the link to the trailer http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0936501/}
In the film Taken titles appear throughout the trailer not with the film’s title but with institutional information such as “20th Century Fox presents” and "Europa Corp." which are the official trademark logos for those companies, this also gives an air of excellence since 20th Century Fox is one of the five major film studios.

In the next instance where we see the title it appears in a binary opposite of a black background with white representing, through Claude Levi Strauss’ theory, that there may be opposites featured in the film such as good vs evil, Europe vs America, law vs criminals etc. In particular the binary opposite of USA vs EU would be particularly appealing to American  audiences due to the fascination America has with Muslim countries, and it seems no coincidence that the kidnappers, although it takes place in Paris, are from Albania (which is  a Muslim country).  In this instance we presume that the blissful family set up is about to be disrupted by some sort of evil. However, what is rather innovative/inventive about this full screen title is the way in which it is presented.

We first see Liam Neeson in a medium close up with a camera in his hand and as he presses the camera’s shutter in order to take the picture, there is an edited white flash representing the ‘flash’ on camera that then quickly changes to a negative filter put over the original Neeson shot. And it then flashes to the full screen title. To further dramatize and accentuate the events there is a sound effect of a thunder crash edited over the top which creates expectations that something bad is going to happen to the girl now that she has gone to Paris and is no longer in the safe hands of her father. Although we are not shown what this may be, creating an enigma code.

The film’s title only appears in the end part of the trailer and only once throughout the entire trailer. This is quite a conventional theme in thrillers, unlike in Rom/Com’s and Comedies. They don’t appear several times they only appear as it reaches its climax, leaving quite an ambiguous feel to the trailer and again enticing the audience to find out how or whether the girl be saved. The font type used for the title is the same as in the previous title with it being san serif very thin but quite stretched out. The use of sans serif and the thinness almost makes it seem like a typewriter and as though his daughter being taken is a story that could just as easily be printed in a newspaper. However, in this case the transition in which it uses to enter onto the screen; unlike in the last one where they used the camera flash in this case it cuts from a close up of Liam Neeson on the phone with the person on the other line saying “Good luck” there is then a straight cut into a full black screen where the letters "T A K E N" appear from the camera onto the screen one by one.

An empty dial tone can be heard in the background which could represent why the letters come in individually. As the main star’s names of the film appear each with their own full screen title it changes to a smaller font but retains the eroded/militaristic styled font. The titles themselves flash and jerk to represent the distress and confusion that is caused by the kidnapping of the daughter. This style of movement and the colour connotations of black and white are extremely common to the thriller genre and immediately the audience associates these techniques to the thriller genre, giving an instant style and appeal. It helps to quickly establish the atmosphere and nature of the film without it being so blatantly obvious. The ending on the empty dial tone and the challenging tone of “good luck” makes the audience question whether or not these people have outsmarted Liam Neeson and that in fact he may never find his daughter again, enticing people through enigma codes to hook the audience.

In adherence to Propp’s character types Taken does include the majority of the conventional character types expected to be in a thriller, minus one. Obviously the hero is Liam Neeson, and this is utilized to show off his star status in particularly as he is known for his action typed hero roles such as in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Schindlers List, and most recently The Grey etc.

The hero character type is evidently essential to a thriller genre since the basis for  the plot is the fight between good and evil. However, interestingly in this one, the main ‘villain’ is not established, we see Liam Neeson fighting and shooting lots of people but it is never actually established who the villain is (with the added knowledge of knowing the film you understand that there isn’t really one villain and in fact there are several villains working in collaboration in one large criminal organization). This comes as quite an anomaly in thriller films as it usually expected that the hero and the villain are quickly established in order to create the rivalry between them. The fact that there is no immediate villain established could create a USP for the audience since most films do include a hero and a villain and the fact that the trailer doesn’t show who the villain is, creates intrigue and mystery for the audience.

Another strongly associated character type for the thriller genre is the ‘damsel in distress’ and although in this case it is not the love interest for the hero there is still a loving desire to have the ‘damsel’ return home safe. The character of the ‘damsel in distress’ is represented, in the trailer at least,  in rather conventional terms, in that the hero's daughter is portrayed as helpless, vulnerable and in need of rescuing.

Also in the trailer there is a dispatcher in what we can only presume as Liam Neeson’s friend, who informs them that they have “96 hours until they never find her”, therefore as a Propp character type he is the dispatcher and the character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off. Although he may at first seem as though he is the donor/helper but by providing him with the knowledge of how long they have until they find her, it would be seem appropriate for him to be titled as the dispatcher as it fuels Liam Neeson to therefore go and look for her.

There is also the hero's wife/mother of the kidnapped girl, who by the shots with Liam Neeson and the smiling non-verbal codes that we see of her suggests that it is quite a close knitted family who clearly care significantly about their daughter, particularly emphasised when the mother breaks down and sobs at the thought of never finding the daughter. Again this character would fall into a 'damsel in distress' character type, relying on the hero to save her daughter and she is also a love interest for the hero, due to the past relationship. 

From the American accents in the beginning we presume that they are in America however through the character’s dialogue and the long shots of the Eiffel tower that the film will switch between America and France. In the shots of Paris we see the Eiffel tower surrounded by brightly coloured buildings and blue sky, which is sort of misleading since this seemingly idyllic place is actually the place in which the girl is kidnapped. Thrillers are also often set in well known international or 'exotic' locations and the use of the Eiffel Tower immediately signifies this. 

The utter contrast between Paris and America suggests that there is a binary opposite between the places themselves i.e Europe vs America but also the contrast in cultures also. The fact that there is the difference in where they both are is further distinguished by the use of editing two separate clips of them both and putting them on the same one with a black line between them to emphasize that they are apart. I could be seen as a device to attract a wider audience and show the lengths our hero is prepared to take/travel as well as being a typical action and thriller convention. It also evident in the contrast in lighting before she is kidnapped and is having a nice time in Paris there is a relatively low contrast high key lighting used to show the exciting adventure the girl is undertaking. However after she is taken the lighting then changes to more low key high contrast lighting (chiaroscuro) to emphasize the deadly, serious and shady nature surrounding the kidnapping.

Initially the editing pace is rather slow but this could be due to the fact that it there has not been a disruption in the trailer yet (Todorov’s theory). However as the threat of never finding their daughter sets in the editing pace increases drastically to reflect the panicky nature of their ordeal and the need for action. This acceleration of pace as the disruption occurs is both a trailer convention through Todorov’s theory as well as very distinct to the genre of action/thriller, obviously the editing is faster in the action side of the genre and the relatively slow editing is representing the drama aspects of it.

The fast and somewhat non-linear collection of clips after the disruption occurs is also a trailer convention used through Barthes hermeneutic code. The shots used in the trailer differ as it progresses. At the beginning there are generally more long shots and establishing shots used in order to establish the various character in the film to the audience. However as the ‘drama’ and ‘tension’ intensifies there are ever more increasing use of medium/close ups of Liam Neeson and of him shooting people, we don’t actually cut to a close up of any of the people he is shooting at, the shots are very much focused around Liam Neeson’s character. This could be due to the fact that Liam Neeson’s character through Propp’s character types is the main focus of most action and thriller films and since there is not a single individual villain they can only really focus on Liam Neeson in order for the audience to understand the narrative and genre appeal of the film.

At the start of the trailer there is no sound bridge used from the production logos to the actually frames, and the first sound we here is a girl shouting “Dad!” accompanied by a medium shot of Liam Neeson this immediately gives us an insight into who those characters are. The dialogue is used to both establish the context and the characters but also to create the narrative for the story and give us an insight into what’s happening. This dialogue is  diegetic although with the overlapping sound bridges and dubbing over a series of shots it acts as a non-diegetic voice-over and provides narrative exposition. For example when the young girl says “a weekend away in Paris” it cuts to an establishing shot of Paris.

Accompanying the characters dialogue during the first part of the trailer there is quite melancholic and ambiguous chore-esque type non –diegetic music, which juxtaposes the seemingly happy event of the daughter’s birthday. This music is perhaps a warning or fear that something will happen to the daughter whilst she is on the trip to Paris, the music immediately gets the audience unnerved and on edge. As the girl arrives in Paris the dialogue and sound effects such as the phone ringing are all very diegetic, but beneath there is a low/deep note in a similar atmosphere to the previous music. When the girl is kidnapped it is the pivotal moment in the film so it would be expected to have a massive orchestra playing with a fast paced drum in the background however in this, it remains melancholic and quite laborious which in a way makes it seem more real and chilling. As she is pulled from under the bed it does reach a sort of crescendo but the music is really not the focal point at that time. In addition to sound, at the end of the trailer there is a sound effect of a 'thud' to further reinforce the title and as the institutional research flashes up on the screen e.g "Coming Soon" there is a sound effect of the girl breathing heavily with a heartbeat sound effect in the background, creating an atmospheric ending and keeping the audiences hooked through what could be perceived as mundane information.

Whilst Liam Neeson is still on the phone to the kidnappers the music then raises in volume slightly and there is a legato type piano solo playing which in atmospheric terms matches the previous ones. Dubbed over the top of the orchestral piano music is very up-beat rock music that gets progressively louder and faster as the “action” climax of the trailer arises appealing to a wide audience, both the male audience (perhaps almost teen audience) through the action and the older spectrum of the audience for whom the drama and relationship elements are of primary importance. As the titles and institutional information comes up there is a deep heavy breathing placed over the top of it to leave quite an ambiguous and chilling end to the trailer and also to entice the audience.

From the trailer it is evident that this is aimed at a more male audience as well as them being between 15-40, since the younger spectrum would probably appreciate the violence and action whereas the older spectrum would probably approach the politics and emotional aspects to it more. The audience would probably also be quite mainstream and enjoy similar films if not films with Liam Neeson in also, they are probably very masculine, but due to the political/emotional and dramatic edge to this film it is also possible that a female demographic could also be likely. It may also entice the female demographic in because of the unknown fact as to whether she will return; it is more than likely she will but the trailer does leave the question open for debate. This film is based around a familiar structure and a somewhat out dated girl is kidnapped, man rescues her they live happily ever after. Some may say that that is where the films weakness lies, however it does have a USP in that there is more than one villain, there are several and the enigmas in the trailer's portrayal of the villains and events may attract the audience to come and see how events are played out. The  fear of losing a child also has a very strong dramatic impact and has an emotional pull on an audience.