A film which matches the genre of our movie trailer and conventions explored.

1. FrancisEvdokimov
TRAILER – TAKEN.
1. Camera,(shotsize,angle,movement) –
The openingshotof the trailer;we witnessaman
holdingapresent,givingthe audience the
interpretationthatthismovie revolvesaroundthis
character. A mediumshotisusedinorder forthe
audience togainunderstandingandbecome familiar
withthe character. Afterthisshot,a close upof the man and his
daughterisshowninorder to presenthislove andaffectionforher,
and showsthe value of thissignificantpersontohim. A quickslow
motionedithasbeenusedtolongout the hug,once more givingthe
impressionof howvaluedhisdaughteristohim. Duringthe scene in
whichthe daughteristaken,the audience are shownspecifically
close shotsmainlyof the daughterandthe fatherin whicheffectively
showtheirnonverbal communicationandreactiontothe eventtakingplace.Thisiseffective asit
createsa tense andunstable atmosphere forthe audience andtheyare made to feel asif theywere
experiencingthe same situation.
2. Lighting
The lightinginthistrailerhasbeenusedveryeffectivelyinordertocreate suspense andan
atmosphere.The filmtrailerstartsoff withbrightcoloursandall roundfront lighting.The front
lightingportraysahappy,calm andpeaceful environment,whichiscomplementedbythe NVC(Non-
verbal communication)of the characters,showingsimilarexpressions. Howeverthe lighting
drasticallychange,causingamuch more tense anduncertainatmosphere.Thisisshownwhenthe
maincharacter takesa picture of hisdaughter,incolour, whoisat the airportand leavingonholiday
withpossiblyherbestfriend, andasuddenflashof Blackand white appears.Thischange incolour
questions‘whetherthatwill be the lasteverphotographof hisdaughter?’ Or‘the dawnof bad
eventstocome?’.Howeverthe flashof black andwhite mayalsorepresentthe cameraflash,once
more givingthe ideathatthismay be the lastphotographtakenof the daughterwhenshe wasin
safe hands,butnow leavingthe country,nolonger. Whateverthe meaningof the change inlighting,
thisscene tellsthe audience thatnolongeristhe daughtersafe andinthe near future something
bad will happen.The colourblack inthe flashof blackand white mayrepresent asintimidating,

2. FrancisEvdokimov
unfriendlyandunapproachable because of the poweritexudes. Thereforgivinganinsighttohow
thisnice holidaymayturnsour for boththe maincharacter and hisdaughter.The blackgivesof the
feelingof unfriendlyandtravellingtoa foreigncountry,the daughterandthe antagonistare far
away fromeachother to be able to helpinanyway. Thisissimilarlydone withthe nexttwoshots,
once more givingthe viewthatthismay be a holidayof hell forhisdaughter. The plane isalsoshot
so that itlooksfar awayand isgoingthe differentdirectionfromthe cars,signallingthere isnoway
back nowfor hisdaughter.
Settingandprops -
The settingof thismovie isbasedformajorityof the time inFrance.This isdone because the
daughterof the formerspy wasinvitedtoa holidaythere butbecomesavictimof an organisation
whosell girlsasprostitutes.Inthe trailerwe donotspecificallyknow exactlywhere mostof the
movie unfoldsapartfromobviouslybeinginFrance,shownbythe Eifel tower.Howeverthe movie
trailerdoesrepresentthe settinginascary manner,bypresentingthemindarklighting,mostlylow
keyand underside. Propsare alsoveryeffectivelyused.The cameratowardsthe start of the trailer
as mentionedbefore,gave the image that,thatmay be the last picture of her,and creatingthis
tragic mood.Thiskindof message wouldbe stronglyreceivedbythe audienceastheywould
understandthatbad thingswhere goingtohappentohisdaughter,andthat the picture takenmay
be the lastone of heringood healthorevenalive. Otherpropssuch asa gunare usedwhichmay
highlighthisformercareerandthe level he will gotofindhismissingdaughter. The gunalsoshows
that he is nota force to messwithandthat takinghisdaughterinthe firstplace was nevera good
idea,notthat the protagonistsknew.The phone inthe scene where the daughteriskidnappedis
alsoveryeffectiveinshowinghowlittle informationandaphone call can helphimtrack downthe
protagonists.The phone call alsocreatesaveryfrighteningatmosphere asthe audience receivea
pointof viewaspectof the situationshe isin.Therefore the phone isaveryeffective propwhich
createda highclimaticatmosphere.The phone isalsoaverybigparty inwhichthe antagonisthas
confrontationwiththe protagonistinwhichthe formerspypresentshimselfasa man notto mess
withand fullydeterminedtofindhisdaughterandthe kidnappers.The confrontationhasalso
become a well-knownspeech,familiartoall.
3. character action

3. FrancisEvdokimov
Character actionisverywell actedoutby the characters inthistrailerinorder togive an insightto
theirrole andthe type of character theyare e.g.vulnerable,soft,determined…Fromthe start of the
trailerwe receive the understandingthatthe daughterisa fathersgirl,andthat the fatheris very
protective of her,thereforeshe beingvulnerablewithouthim.The fatheralsobeingaformerspy
seemsmuchmore composedinthe scene inwhichshe isabducted.Asseeninthe image,herNVC
showssignsof stress,fearfulness,andvulnerability.Howeverthe fatherisseenmuchmore
composed andreadyinthe fact that these nextfew momentsare the mostimportantforhimto
have an understandingof whathe will be upagainst.The fatherisalsoseenasa verydetermined,
toughcharacter willingtogoextreme heightsinordertoreach hisgoal of findinghistakendaughter.
Thisis seeninmostpart of the trailerandespeciallyhispersonalityandcharacteristicsare shown
whenhe pointshisgunand screams“Where isshe?”clearlyshowinghisdesperationand
unwillingnesstogive upinthe searchof hisdaughter.Hisactionsalsointhe movie trailerare shown
to be verystrong and passionate inthe sense thathe will gothroughmanyobstaclesandlife
threateningactionstosave hisdaughter.Thisisshownina quickshotof a huge explosion,which
signifiesthe heightof hisgoal andwhetheritwashim whosetit off or anotherobstacle.

4. FrancisEvdokimov
4. Costume andmake up
As seenonthe right,the costume forthe daughterisa
redcardigan and a floweredpatterneddress.The colour
redmay symbolise thatshe isininsecure andis
vulnerable todanger.Thiscanalsobe impliedthroughthe
floweredpatterned,asitmaybe seen‘soft’andnot very
masculine.Once more the flowersmayalsorepresentan
easytarget,as flowersthemselvesare notstrongplants.
The flowercan alsobe a representationof herself,being
goodlookingbutrathersoft andinsecure,needing
protection(father). The formerspyhoweverstartsthe
trailerdressedcasual/smarttoportrayhimself beinga
retiredformerspy,andthe costume mayrepresenthow
he is relaxedandnotinthe businessanymore.However
as soonas the kidnappigscene occurs,we see a whole
differentcostume chosen.Asseenonthe right,he wears
all black,darklycolouredcostume.Blackimpliesself-
control and discipline,independence anddetermination,
givinganimpressionof authority,leadershipandpower.
Thissuccessfullyrepresentsthe characterwe will latersee
inthe trailer.A mandeterminedtofindhisdaughter and
will goto extreme lengthsinordertodo so.Black colour
alsoinfersthe unknown,andthisbeingthe case forthe
protagonistsastheyare unaware of hispast,and
capabilities.
The audience alsogeta glimpse of the antagonistscostume duringhissearchforhisdaughter.This
costume he once more wearsblack colouredclothingbutaleather jacket.Leatherjacketsimplya
tough,hard man,and someone nottomesswith.
Leatherjacketsalsoconnote tobikers,andbikersonce
more have thisrepresentationof beinghardmen,who
youwouldnotwant to standup to or get inthe way of.

5. FrancisEvdokimov
5. editing(pace transitions)
In thismovie trailerwe getaglimpse of veryfastactionpacedtransitionsinwhichare hard to keep
up withandportray the many situationsandobstaclesthe antagonisthastoface inorderto findhis
takendaughter.To the start of the trailerthe audience experience slow pacededitingwhichmay
showthe worth of hisdaughterand hisclose bondto her.Howeveronce she leavesonholidaythe
cuts start to become more edgyandlesseasytofollow with.Thisispurposelydoneinordertoshow
the rapidrealityof hisdaughter’ssituation.Thisisdone bythe shotsbeingcutfromone angle to
anotherbutkeepingthe scene set.Thiscanbe seeninthe group of photosdownbelow. The pace is
veryquickswitchingfromone angle toanotherandcrosscuttinginthe same time toshow the quick
response of the fatherinthisdrasticreality.The crosscuts add to the quickpace of the actually
situationandthe use of these cuts mayexpressthe tense andunstable situationthe daughterisin.
Once the daughteris taken,inthe trailerthe audience are facedwiththe antagonistwith
confrontingthe kidnapper,andwhilstthe talk,there are manyfastpacedcross cuts to the
antagonistinaction,expressingthe troublesandthe greatheightshe will gotosave hisdaughter.
These quickpacedcuts showmanykindsof actionspreformedfromfighting,toexplosionsandother
violentrelatedactions. Mayshowrapidityof the formerspyand how brutal he can be.May also
showthe longand hard journeytofindhisdaughter.

6. FrancisEvdokimov
6. filmformat- HD blackand white,sepiaetc).
The filmtrailerisshotinHD. There isn’tmuchchange in the filmformathoweverthere isone
occasionwhere the formatchangesfromnormal colourto black andwhite.Asalreadymentioned
thisisseenduringthe scene inwhichthe retiredspytakesa picture of hisdaughterand herfriend
goingintothe airport.This as saidbefore,maymeanthiscouldbe the lastphotographof the
daughter.
7. sound(music– non diegetic,diegetic)
Dialogue iskeyinthisfilmtrailer.The maincharacter(formerspy) hasa longconversationonthe
phone withhisdaughter’skidnapper.Duringthisconversation,we see manycrosscutsto different
situationsandactionstakenbyhim.He talksabouthisskills,andthisisperformedinthe manycuts
duringthisspeech.The skillshe mentionsare backedupbyfuture shots of himwhilstsearchingfor
hisdaughter.“I have a particularsetof skills”whichisthenfollowedbyscreamsof a man mostlikely
tiedupto chair, once more usingthe echoedeffect,toshow thisneverendingpainandhow serious
the antagonistis.Whenthe daughterishavinga conversationwithherfather,afaintbutpeaceful
nondiegeticsoundisusedinorderto presentaharmlessandstable environment.Howeverassoon
as the picture istaken a strongtense anduncomfortable nondiegeticsoundtakesover,signalling
the start of bad eventsandtragedy.Echoisusedveryeffectivelytoportraythe screamsof his
daughterthrough the phone.The screamsare echoedwhichproduce afeelingof neverendingpain.
The echo mayalso representhowthe fatherhasthe screamsconstantlyrunningthroughhishead,
as if scarring him.