Textual analysis of the trailer for Taken (2008)

1. Film trailer analysis - Taken

2. 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.

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

4. 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.

5. • 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

6. • 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

7. • 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

8. • 0:20-0:21 – Aerial panning shot of Paris

9. • 0:20 – 0:23 – Twentieth Century Fox title card
shows, very short takes of a plane taking off
flash in and out.

10. • 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.

11. • 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

12. • 0:39 - 0:43 Three short takes that show Kim
Getting under the bed and telling him she’s
there.

13. • 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

14. • 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.

15. • 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.

16. • 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.

17. • 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.

18. • 1:35 – There’s a midshot of Bryan in a city as
he turns around slowly to face the Camera.

19. • 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

20. 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.

21. • 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.

22. • 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

23. • 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

24. 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.

25. • 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.

26. 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

27. • 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.