Texual Analysis - Taken

I watched a 5 minutes clip of the opening to the thriller, 'Taken' featuring Liam Neeson.

Immediately, we see a hand held home made recording of a young girl, then a close up of a party hat. This gives the impression that this is someone watching this clip that was taken a while a go. We hear non-diegetic sound of slow music creating a meloncholic atmosphere. This clip carries on and we see an mid-shot, two-shot of the girl and what we interpret as her mother with a birthday cake. This then cuts to a close up of a man on the sofa. The music changes slightly. This then cuts to a long shot of him which allows us to see the mise-en-scene of a navy coloured sofa, a lamp, a wall picture, magazines and a table. The lighting is dim which immediately sets the mood for a thriller. This then cuts to a close up of the photograph on his side table of a girl sitting on a horse which we interpret as his daughter and also, the young girl in the home video. The man walks past the photo and out of frame and at this point the non-diegetic sound stops.

This then cuts to a busy road where a grey, flash car pulls up in which the man gets out of. We hear the accentuated sound of the cars and the car door shut. This then cuts to an establishing shot of a technical shop which soon cuts to the man in the shop and a mid-shot of an Indian man behind the counter who knows the mans name as 'Mr Mills.' this then gives us the impression that the protagonist is important. We then see a shot-reverse-shot of Mr Mills talking to the shop keeper about buying a kareoke machine for his daughter. This conversation shows Mr Mills from a low angle shot and the shop keeper from a high angle shot, making the shop keeper look lower than Mr Mills and Mr Mills having dominance over the shop keeper. 

This cuts to a close up of fingers running along some wrapping paper. It is a long shot and shows how he is paying a lot of attention to the detail in the wrapping. We hear the accentuated sound of the wrapping paper which shows that the present is important to him. 

Continuity editing continues as it cuts to a mid-shot of the man getting out of his car which then cuts to an establishing shot of a white, posh house with gates covered with brightly coloured flowers. We hear the diegetic sound of people talking and party music. We then see a two-shot of the man and what we interpret as the girls mum and we assume that this couple are no longar together as the conversation is akward shown in a shot-reverse-shot. This then cuts to a long shot of a girl in a summery dress running into frame screaming 'Daddy'. We then see a two-shot of her opening her present then a reaction shot of the mother who isn't impressed. There is then a sound-bridge as we hear the sound of trumpets which cross cuts to a long-shot of a man walking  a horse. This cuts to a reaction shot of the girl who then runs over to the horse then a reaction shot of Mr Mills who is standing with the present on the floor. This long shot allows us to see he feels lost and disapointed.  

This then cuts to a close up of a photo album and a mid shot of Mr Mills looking through the photographs. The non-diegetic sound has started again and the audience feel sympathy for the man. We then hear diegetic sound of a door bell which cuts to a three shot of three men standing on his door step holding beers. They're all dressed in casual clothing such as jeans and t-shirts. There is then a long shot of a BBQ, it is night time and there is not much lighting. This cuts to a two-shot of Mr Mills and his friend talking. His friend is making a point shown by the aggressivness of his actions and voice and the shot-reverse-shot showing Mr Mill's reactions. This then cuts to the men saying goodbye and the aggressive man trying to make a deal with Mr Mill's in which he accepts. We see the mise-en-scene of a small car driving off.

This cuts to an establishing shot of a city. We hear the non-diegetic sound of a happier tune and see constand flashing cameras come up on a 4 by 4 black car which gives the impression of someone famous. We see a mid-shot of the man as a blonde girl in a silver jacket exits the car. Mr Mill's is wearing black which insinuates he is there to protect the girl. This cuts to a mid-shot of the girl posing infront of the cameras then we then see a tracking shot around the girl who is surrounded by make up artists in a white room which allows the audience to realise that their unique selling point is Holly Vallanse. We hear the diegetic sound of her warming up her voice with her vocal coach. The non-diegetic sound stops. We then see a shot-reverse-shot of Holly and Mr Mills and her reaction to him asking about his daughter.

This then cuts to a tracking shot of men around a poker table, playing cards. We see cards, ciggarettes and cigars, a green table and chairs. We hear the diegetic sound of a phone call and the track stops on Mr Mills and he walks out of frame. We then see a long-shot of him in a long, white hall way and a close up of his face as he is on the phone allowing us to see the exitement he feels when he is asked by his daughter, Kim to go out for lunch the following day.