Taken

i felt that the thriller film 'taken' did not have a very good opening as it was not very exciting and started so i have decidecd to analyse a section within the film, in order to see the key conventions of a thriller being used. 

Taken is a film about a former spy relying on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped and forced into the slave trade.
Pierre Morel directed this film in which was written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. Pierre is a successful director in which is manly known for taken and the transported films.

The Scene in which i will be looking at is the scene starting when Liam Neeson is on the phone with his daughter, trying to find out what is going on with his daughter, it is very suspensefull and the sound effects are very tense for the viewer as they are getting ready to expect the unexpected. When Liam Neeson's daughter says, "They're taking Amanda" her reaction is as if she is very scared and has almost lost hope, the music beats and she starts breathing deeply. 

There are many good points within this film in which i think worked well such as the editing of the shot reverse and reaction shots are perfectly timed and relevant to the situation they are both in. The shot reverse shots are constant between herself, her father and the kidnappers, it switches very quick continuously to show the way in which she's thinking what's going on. Furthermore her heart starts beating faster and quick music kicks in, this workd well as it added tension and puts the viewer on edge, the audiences heart may also be feeling worried with her. Continuing, When Liam Neeson tells his daughter what to do then eventually tells her: "There going to take you" she realease a deep breath and cries before the rest of the instructions were told, this particular part of the scene contains many shot reverse and reaction shots, the audience get to see her reaction closely and almost feel they are experiencing it with her.  It is suspenseful for the viewer when she feels relieved they have gone, then is suddenly thrilled and so are the audience when she is captured under the bed. As she is taken she screams loudly in which i think worked well as it showed the panic and scaredness of her however the sound may be edited and increased in volume to show the tenseness of the scene and how suspenseful it is about to get. There is minimum diegetic lighting and the lights are all mainly off, which shows that something bad is going to happen.All these factors represent that this is a thrilling scene and show that this film is only going to get into the story of the kidnapping more and more, which encourages the viewer to continue watching it. Especially in this scene there is a lot of parallel editing, which personally caught my attention and interest. She herself is dressed in white jeans and a turquoise top and has been placed within a white setting, i feel that this is significant to show her innocence within that setting.

I am hoping to use some of these good points in my film opening so that it creates suspence for the audience as the build up of this does and then thrills the audience as the kidnapping does within this scene.