Action Trailer-Taken

Taken is a 2008 action thriller film staring Liam Neeson. The storyline is based around a former CIA tracking down his teenage daughter after being kidnapped by human traffickers for sexual slavery while on holiday in France.

The trailer opens showing the audience the relationship between Liam Neeson (Bryan) and his daughter Maggie Grace (Kim). A close up shot has been used showing the two hugging affectionally. You can see Kim smiling happily as she holds on tightly to her father. The characters dialogue confirms their relationship by Kim shouting "Dad!" before hugging him. The present and formal clothing implies they are at a birthday party. From this point the viewers are able to understand that something dramatic will occur due to the genre of film as well as being called 'Taken'.

A cross cut is used is used to change location from the birthday party to an airport. A long shot is used showing Kim and her cousin prepare to fly to France. The security in shot as well as the flight ticket being held by her cousin suggests they are leaving their family and boarding a plane. The sound in shot is still a characters dialogue as Kim begs "Please can I go". Through Bryan's facial expressions we understand he is not keen on the idea as he is a very protective father. We then see a establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower which implies Kim got her way and managed to persuade her father to let her go. A close up shot shows Neeson taking a photograph of the two girls, during editing they managed to flash the scene to black and white to create more tension and anxiousness. This conforms the action genre as the audience are positioned to feel something evil and villainess is about to occur.

The camera then zooms into Kims bag as the diegetic sound present in shot is of a phone ringing. The soundtrack however, becomes much more mellow and frightening. The screen then splits into two different locations, we are positioned to see Kim on the phone to her father. Through a close up shot she quietly states "Theres someone here", we are able to see horror in her eyes as she sees her cousin being attacked.

At this point of the trailer we see both characters looking confused and scared. The split screen is effective in showing both facial expressions. Audiences are able to see both characters and how they are feeling. Through Neeson's dialogue he begins giving Kim orders and directions to getting safe. A montage of shots show her trying to find a safe place to hide. This conforms to the action genre as Neeson becomes a CIA and has to act in a way which may harm people in order to save the people he cares about.

A medium shot shows Kim underneath a bed, the lighting becomes dark to connote scare and fright. The soundtrack becomes quicker in pace creating a tense atmosphere. Her dialogue states "She's here". Neeson's dialogue explains "Their going to take you". Kim facial expressions become extremely horrified as she understands what her father is saying. Neeson is given prevalence as the writers want you to connect with him the most and the audience follow him the whole duration of the film.

A low angle medium shot is used to show Kim being dragged from under the bed. The sound present in shot is only her screams as she reaches for the phone but unfortunately doesn't manage to grab it in time. An editing technique makes the scene flash from white to black, this makes the effect of the event appear more spine-chilling and alarming. Through a montage of shots showing terror but also Neeson's worried facial expressions he states "I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you".  This is a very famous line which many viewers may have already heard before watching the trailer. This conforms the action genre as most action films involve violence, searching, weapons and murder. We are shown violent acts including sound effect of gun shots and punches. There are also many explosions which are traps in which Neeson has successfully avoided when trying to find Kim.

As the trailer comes to an end there is a close up shot of Neeson on the phone, through a characters dialogue the diegetic sound states "Good luck" through a creepy mysterious voice. The soundtrack then finishes with a low and mellow drop which conforms the action genre. Neeson's facial expressions are worried and concerned positioning the audience to see how determined he is to find his daughter and bring her home safe. Neeson is given prevalence in Taken as we are following him the whole time and watching how he saves the day.