Taken Trailer analysis

The trailer opens with a mid-shot of our main protagonist, Liam Neeson, holding a gift, which is presumably a birthday gift for his daughter-this straight away tells the audience that the main protagonist is a loving father who cares for his family which could create problems later in the film. The mise-en-scene of the character shows us that he is a professional; he is wearing a formal grey suit which suggests that he has finished his career and is now enjoying his retirement. The use of the sports car also indicates to the audience that the main protagonist is wealthy as he can afford a suit and a luxury car. 

Next the use of editing come into effect as the screen fades then cuts to a new scene where we meet the daughter. The daughter is wearing casual clothing and looks happy to see her dad, which suggests that his job kept him and her apart. The scene then jump-cuts to a new location, a cafe, and we see the father and daughter enjoying an ice cream sundae-this suggests that the father is treating her a child as she is still having ice cream sundaes, this could be due to the fact that he missed her growing up as a child because of his job. 

We then meet a new character named Amanda, a friend of the daughters, and the two of them plan to spend a vacation in Paris. We then have an establishing shot of Paris showing the Eiffel Tower and the main location of where the film is going to take place. 

Throughout these scenes there is non digetic music which helps to give the scene a calming and more relaxed vibe but the music soon stops when our main protagonists daughter enters Paris suggesting to the audience that something bad is going to happen, and because the film is called "Taken" she is probably going to be taken.

The clever editing then comes into place as we have a split-screen which allows the audience to see what the father is doing and what the daughter is doing as they both talk on the phone to each other. This is very clever as it catches the emotions of both characters and allows the audience to see the entire scene instead of cutting from one to another. The split-screen is then used again but this time to show us what else is happening as Amanda gets taken and the daughter is left scared with just her dad to help. Through the split-screen we see an array of props which allows the audience to decipher what the occupation of the father is as he uses his gadgets to help find his daughter. 

We then hear a non digetic piano start playing as the main protagonist explains to the villains what he is going to do to them. This is aided through the use of jump-cuts as we see the consequences of the villains actions and how Liam Neeson will deal with them. We also get our first genre indicators as we see shootings, fights and explosions which indicates to the audience that this film is an action film. 

Overall the trailer is cleverly presented through the use of editing and mise-en-scene which allows the audience to experience the full action and emotions, especially through the use of split-screens, instead of just part of it.