Section 2: Research into examples of comparable media products- Taken Screening Notes

Liam Neeson

Taken begins with a black screen, and fades in to a home video of a young girls birthday party. The credits appear immediately on screen in a simple white font. It’s a typical 5^th girls birthday party, as the camera angles are purposely made to look armature as in it’s a home video. Camera shots of her opening presents, and being excited and blowing out candles on here cake make it clear to the viewer what is going on and sets the scene well. Soft music is in the background of a piano, it seems a sad tune as we then go to man around the age of forty waking up and we realize the happy memory was him looking back. There is a wide shot of the room, where it is visible he has had a takeaway, lives on his own in a dark room. His home seems to be empty and lonely; he shows how a man living on his own wouldn’t cook or have feminine details to his room. It shows he has photographs all around him; he is always looking back on his previous times with his daughter whose birthday it was in the opening scene. It shows he misses her and tells the viewers he and she will be main characters and their relationship will grow further.

Her birthday party

                The scene then changes to a street with cars driving and the main character –Liam Neeson in a taxi pulling into a shop. The noises and long shot show everyday life in a city and start like most thrillers in typical everyday things. It shows Neeson picking out a present for his daughter’s birthday that ‘all the pros use’ it makes the present seem well thought out as if he only wants the best for his daughter and cares a lot for her. This tells us a lot about his character and what is going to happen in the film, I think it sets the audience up for something to later happen to her. He then takes time wrapping the present very neatly and making a huge effort to please her.

His daughter

                He continues this effort as the scene changes to his daughter’s birthday party when she is grown up, this links back to the earlier scene of her 5^th birthday. He wears a dark suit which shows he is smartly dressed and making an effort. Mise-en-scene shows the elegant party in a large mansion as it follows him through the extreme decorations and elegant party. This shows huge contrast to where he is living. The amount of people and setting show how wealthy the family is, the daughter, mother and her new husband. The music is up to date and has a beat to make the mood clear we are at a party. As he comes into contact we see them talk though shot reverse shots. She seems bitter and tries to stop him giving her the present. The colours on screen are bright and colourful to again show they are at a special occasion. She is excited about his present- a karaoke machine but his is soon forgotten when she receives a horse from her mums new husband. He is again shown up by their wealth and the audience cant help but feel sorry for him because he tried so hard. He is still looking in the past as she used to want to be a singer and that why he picked that present. This shows he is not in her life as much now and doesn’t k now as much about her. The camera angles show his face looking sad as she receives a better present. I think this sets the film up for him redeeming himself in some other way… as he does.