Taken- Film Analyse

Shot Types

The first shot type is an extreme close up (001). The extreme close up is of a birthday hat and balloons surrounding it. This establishes that the opening scene is going to start of with somebody's birthday. This means that the film starts as an equilibrium which follows he theorist of Todorov  as its a normal celebration where everyone is happy and come together to celebrate someones special day.

 The sound in this shot is a non-diegetic sound that starts of very slow this
is to show coontrast as birthdays are very happy and high spirited days
and the mysteriouse music gives the scene a hint that this film doesnt
contain perfectness throughout.

The mise-en-scene of this shot is that
the colours are bright and bold which are typical colours for a birthday
the ballons and hat all represent that this scene is showing someones
birthday and the lighting is very bright to link with the celebration.
The props are postioned on a table this could suggest that they are in
someones home which could convey this film could involve a family.

The editting of this shot is a straight cut this is to keep the shots flowing
and keep the scene relistic to the audience.

The next still shot then is a close up shot (0.09). This shot is of a young girl who is shocked by the present she is previously opened. The close up shot is correctly framed as there is no excessive space above or below the little girls face. It just shows her face in the shot. This shot links to the first shot which was a extreme close up shot.

The sound in this shot is non-diegetic where it continues the mysterious
and slow deep music which has a piano playing over the top this is
to keep up the intenstiy of the piece and again put attention on how inocent this
young girl is and wheither something will happen to her in the film. There
is also a diegetic but asynchrnouse sound where of screen there is the young girl
laughing but this is a natural sound. The sound is a cute laugh which i
feel creates this scene to be very creepy and again giving clues that this girl
could be in some sort of danger

. The mise-en-scene of this shot is the setting in the background
is a home kitchen with warming colours and modern wooden furntiure to show that this family
is have a close relationship and live a normal lifestyle. The lighting is very bright to represent the happiness the young girl is expressing. The actions and body language the young girl is showing is very shocked and excited as her incoence and yougness is brought through. The shot is showing her on her own this could show that at one point in the play she is isolated and weak where she cant escape.From what i can see she is wearing a pink casual top this is a stereo typical colour
for a girl which could suggest that she is very girly and as she is wearing a tiara this shows that her family think of her as a princess someone very special that if something happend to her it would heeart brake them all. Her face is very soft this is to emphasis her inocence even more.

 The editting of this shot is again staright cut this is to keep the shots flowing. There is insitutes on this shot which say who the producers are this is a key element to show that this clip is a film opening.

Next there is a extreme medium shot  (0.17) this shot establishes that there is a young girl and and her mum therefore this is there relationship this is because they are sitting close together and showing affection. The shot also shows the scenery which is a modern home setting this conveys this is a modern time where this film is set. The expressions on the young girls face is very happy and excited and she is living a perfect life. This could question that something will go wrong with her life. The framing is again correct as it shows chest upwards with no unwanted space to take the audience's focus of the characters. The lighting in this shot is very bright to match the positive and joyful mood that is being presented.

The sound in this shot is non-diegetic this sound still contain the mysterious
and tense slow tune but has an added sound of a knife being sharpend it sounds
very slick and this could suggest that this young girl further in the film will
be in danger or someone could threaten her using dangerous weapons.

The mise-en-scene in this clip is the young girls mum is wearing lace top half and has stylish hair this suggests she is very fashionable and young. The expression the mum has on her face is very happy and looks like she treasures her daughter this is because her expressions are directly aimed at her daughter because she is looking at her. The young girl still has an excited look on her face and the setting is still in the kitchen with modern coloured furniture this suggests homely atmosphere. The lighting is still vey bright and the toy horse is revealed as the young girls present this suggests she is an animal lover and has an interest in horse riding. There is institutes of credits on this shot as well which shows that this is a film opening.

The editing of this clip is a straight cut again this is to keep the shots flowing to make sure the audience understands what's happening.



Following this shot there's a  close up shot (0.20) this shot shows the mum holding the birthday cake with the number five on it. This establishes that its the young girls birthday. As well as the character of the mum being there when she is opening her presents and now giving her the cake this shows that her mum is the dominant parent by the relationship with her and her daughter. This shot and all of the shots above have a fuzzy look to them which shows that this is a video from the past that is being played. The shot is well framed and questions that could be asked by the audience is why this flash back is being shown, what significants has it got on other characters in the film. This shot is used in a sequence more than once in a quick speed this could represent how quickly time has gone.

The sound in this clip is non-diegetic. The sound changes to a sharp and quick
sound that freezes every time the sequence of close up shots happen. This sound
could be used to highlight this celebration and to keep the intensity up.

The mise-en-scene of this shot is that there is a birthday cake that is very
girly as it is white and pink. The candles are lit for the young girl to blow out. There
is also the number 5 on the cake this indicates her age which shows how innocent
and young she is. The lighting is still very bright to express the happy mood.
Also the mum is holding the cake this could suggest that further in the film she
is the dominant parent.

The editing of this shot is straight cuts again but the sequence of close up shots
cut very quickly this emphasis the intensity and the moment.

The shot then goes to a black out and fades quickly and sharply into a extreme medium shot (0.29) this shot contrasts with the previous shots as its lighting is very dark and shows how the previous shots were this established character which is a man was dreaming and having a flash back about a memory that happened is his past. The shot is very fast paced and then slows back down to normal speed when he wakes up. This mans sitting on his own which could suggest he is alone.

The sound in this shot is a diegetic video tape ending this conveys that this was
video that this man was watching back on this shows that the young girl and
mum in the video have a relation towards him.

The mise-en-scene in this shot changes and the lighting is very dark and his head
laid back on the wall this shows he is in his bedroom and has fallen asleep dreaming of
the video he has just watched. The man is wearing dark clothing this could reflect his mood.

The editing going into this clip is a fade this is because the lighting fades from
very bright to dark this is because it shows the end of a particular section of
time this is because the video was the past and it has now finished.


Following this there's a master shot (0.47) this is of the man laying on his bed. The setting is very modern which looks like an apartment that could be in a city. The lighting is still very dark but the lamp was put on to make the mans bored and empty face stand out. This could suggest that he is missing something in his life or regrets his past as there was a flash back. Within the first 50 seconds it has established the three main characters these characters all have a relation to each other.

The sound in this shot is diegetic but asynchronous as there's the sound of birds in the background tweeting this suggests that this is the early morning.

The mise-en-scene of this clip is that he is in a living room. The living room has a sofa, lamp and coffee table this shows he is sitting in a living room. The furniture is very simple and manly this could suggest he is in some sort of bactular pad. The lighting is still very dark this is because it is the morning it could suggest his mood of very depressed. His facial expressions are very tired as its the morning.

The editing of this shot is straight cut this is to keep the new scene flowing.
This shot is very well framed as it fits all the setting in the shot to make it clear its a master shot.

As the man sits up and gets of the bed there is a close up shot (0.56) this shot is of a frame of older girl riding her horse. This frame is by his bed this suggests that this girl means a lot to him as when people have photographs framed up it represents someone special to them. This establishes that the relationship between this man and girl is father and daughter. The girl in the frame is showing a happy expression on her face which matches the young girl in the flash back this could suggest that they are the same character but just grown up. The title of the clip then appears saying "taken" this suggests that the equilibrium could be disturbed for this girl. The lighting in this shot is still dim which suggests that something dangerous is going to involve the characters of the man and young girl.

Then the scene massively changes to a establishing shot (1.00) the lighting in this shot is very bright. There are lots of cars which establishes a city. The main character and the other people driving the cars are driving on the left side which suggests they are in a American city. There's huge sky scrapers in the background and bright coloured American restaurants by the sides of the roads. The roads are very long contained traffic lights and there are palm tree's by the roads this suggests a symbol of hollywood. There isn't a huge amount of people or cars in the shot this could suggest that it is the morning.

The sound in this clip is diegetic, synchronous sound of cars driving on the roads. There's the sound of beeping of horns which is diegetic but asynchronous as its not on screen this just adds to the atmosphere of busy roads and streets as its in the city.

The mise-en-scene of this clip is that there's sky scrapers, American restaurants, traffic lights, cars and road sign this all indicates that this is a city setting. The lighting is beginning to get bright this shows that its the morning. The cars are going quite quickly this is because everyone is getting to work. The sounds are typical city life sounds and the retro and bright colours show this is an American city.

The editing of this clip is straight cut again this is to keep the shots flowing.