Rules and shots...

180 degrees rule: A rule which maintains that the line of action should not be crossed, in the interests of fluid continuity. It therefore precludes a difference greater than 180 degrees between camera angles in consecutive shots.

Shot reverse shot: Alternating shots, typically of two characters in a dialogue sequence.

Match-on-action: Occurs when an action begins in one shot and is continued or completed in the next.

Exploring narrative in "Chinatown"

A narrative is an account of events in a play, novel or film and essentially means story. How a narrative is structured makes each story different and similar in ways. For example, a very simple narrative would be start with Beginning, Middle and End. This is the usual structure for a children's story as they are very straightforward themselves. An example could be "Goldie Locks and The Three Bears"; the beginning being the bears going out and the girl going into the cottage, then the middle- the girl staying in the cottage, then the bears coming home, the end- the girl running away (one version).
A film maker might use narrative in a film for a number of things. A few examples are as followed: to create cliff hangers when there is a twist, to show emotions, to bring a message across to the audience, show things in the world (problems) and to show different cultures (learn from films as we can sometimes relate to other people in story).
Looking at thrillers, I have noticed that the main typical narratives in thrillers are, detective stories- following a detective being undercover or doing a case of some sort, drug dealing and sex-related stories, guns, someone trying to find someone else, kidnapping, abduction, murder, money and a lot of corruption.
If I were to describe the narrative of "Chinatown", I think the sequence would be, the Beginning, Event/Disruption, Climax, Events/Disruption, Resolution, Problem and End. Although, I do think it is a confusing narrative so there could be a few views on what the structure is. The beginning for "Chinatown" starts with a detective Mr. Jake Gittes in an office, smoking and drinking, typical thriller signifiers. Next is an event/a disruption which I think is the water company scandal and a death. There are a vast amount of events which help make the narrative have twists and turns, making the audiences attention focus on the film more. Furthermore, Gittes and the audience find out that Katherine is in fact Evelyn's daughter and sister. This adds to the corruption. The resolution could be when Gittes remains loyal to Evelyn by helping her run away. Despite this attempt a problem arises when the police find her, with her father, Cross. The end concludes with another death and Katherine being taken away with Cross. The end is left as a slight cliff hanger, as it leaves you wondering what is going to happen next, especially to Katherine. The story seems unfinished. This would be a classic narrative for a thriller as things are not always unfolded and discovered.
The narrative perspective is told through Gittes, although he does not narrate, we see the story unfold through his view. I think the director could have done this mainly because, as he is a detective, we have an insight to what he does, making the film have more mystery as we follow the story. As he discovers things, the audience does too, which if the narrative perspective had been through, for instance, Evelyn Mulwray, it would have been very different to Jake's. We would have probably known more about Katherine.
As we 'follow' Jake, we see how he works things out and thinks of what to do. It keeps the audience intrigued. If we saw the narrative through the police's perspective, we would have seen different characters, heard different things, have a different view of what was happening and so forth. It is interesting when we see two sides of the story, towards the end where Gittes is helping Evelyn but then is (not purposely) with Cross too.
The spiralling narrative engages the audience by having plenty of twists and turns which help increase the tension and mystery. During the film, the characters are slowly given more purpose and we learn who they are, what they have done and how most of the characters are all linked. For example, Gittes goes to see Cross and discovers that he is Evelyn's father. This therefore makes an obvious connection, as they are family, but adds to more corruption because Gittes was not told by Mrs Mulwray.
Even more, things like gun shots, murder or/and violence all grab the audiences attention as it makes you wonder what is happening or is going to happen next. Also, camera shots help make things appear emphasised (important) and make sure that you notice it. For instance, a bird eyes view of a staircase will make you realise that the person may be scared of heights of the shot is to emphasise how high up a character is. Mise-en-scene and tone and atmosphere also increase an audiences concentration. For example, a enclosed lift could make someone feel claustrophobic as a lift usually is, when crowded and small.
Narrative in "Chinatown" is very important as it makes the sequence of events fall into place more easily, making the story easier to understand and also keep the audience interested. The twisting narrative can sometimes fool the audience which makes them want to keep watching. The sense of not knowing how the story will go, as "Chinatown"'s narrative structure is quite complex, it makes you think that it will be unlike another film. The narrative is important when you need to make a film in a particular way and in a particular perspective.

Film Noir: "Brief Encounter"

As we were asked to look at Film Noir I watched "Brief Encounter", directed by David Lean, starring: Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. "Brief Encounter" is a classic romantic drama set in 1945 during World War Two in and around the fictional Milford railway station. The plot of the film is, a married woman Mrs Laura Johnson meets a stranger (Dr Alec Howard, in a railway station and was tempted to have an affair with him.
The opening shot was a long shot of the train station and instantly I noticed chiaroscuro lighting being used. As the film was in black and white (as most film noirs are) the location looked extremely bleak, dull and mysterious. This was also done by the amount of steam created by the trains, making you feel as though you want to see through the steam to see where you were and what/who else was near you. Next, we are taken into the train station's waiting room (looks slightly like a little cafe), which has a counter, simple wooden tables and chairs. As it is a small room, it was enclosed and had a sense of being claustrophobic. This is the place where Mrs Johnson and Dr Howard randomly met for the first time. It therefore seems that the little cafe is a link between the two main characters, or maybe the actual train station is a metaphor for linking them together, and how places are linked between different locations.
Following the film, we come to Mrs Johnson's' house, where we are introduced to her husband and two children. Their family is a typical and traditional family as there is the husband and wife and then two children, a son and daughter. It is as though she is leading two lives at the moment. Laura starts to play music which is diegetic as we too hear it. Internal monologue is used as we hear her thoughts, giving an insight to what she is thinking..her problems and troubles. We hear things that sound like her conscience is falling apart as she keeps doing things out of her comfort zone. She is not used to the consequences and especially lying to her husband. It seems that once you start lying, there becomes more and more lies being told, and they sound more reasonable and trustworthy. It is apparent that she does not think about who she is lying to.. as she also lies to many of her friends too as she is using them as part of her lies. Another thing I noticed was that the music would build up whilst she made lies or when something was dramatic. This made tension and suspense
We are then taken to what looks like a restaurant which appears to be quite chaotic as many people are there and the staff are moving quickly. Laura is sitting by herself reading a book and unexpectedly Dr Howard comes along and as there is no other seating, he asks if he can share the table (a very predictable event- as soon as the audience recognizes who he is). We see them seating together from an angle which appears to make us feel like we are looking in on them, invading their privacy and almost spying on them.
Throughout the film, there are many different shot types but the main common ones seem to be: long shots, over-the-shoulder shots, close ups, mid shots. The long shots helped show a lot of the characters surroundings and movement of the characters and things around them. There were many close ups which help to show character's faces- their emotions and feelings. For example, there is a close up of Laura's face to show that she has fallen for Alec.
The music used is mostly diegetic music as the woman plays the record player. The music is quite loud and dramatic (orchestra music) and it sets the atmosphere of the dramatic love triangle. Piano seems to be an insturment used a lot in this film too, giving different atmospheres and moods. One is romance and a piano is being played a number of times in the restaurants the couple go to. The music helps to set the mood of both the characters and setting. For example, a bell for the train is rung to show that the train is about to leave. Throughout the film, music is played a lot, the music could be used to imply the idea of it never-ending, like the lies she tells.
Another example of the romantic music, is when they frantically run for the train, it matches their actions well. The sense of them being rushed is created. The music also cuts out at times, to emphasise what they say and what is happening. For instance, the music gets more dramatic when the flashbacks turn to the present time.
The editing used in 'Brief Encounter' is started with the white credits of the film, which are very simple and classic for a film of that time. The lighting is darkened at one point, which helps to focus the shot on her face and what she says. A number of shots are also faded into one another, which shows fluency, making the film flow smoothly. Furthermore, many flashbacks are used, to show the story in two perspectives, the past and the present; to explain what happened to the main character, Laura.

My Perfume Advert

Idea 1:

Idea 2 and Final Idea:



























The name of my perfume was "Incomplete" with the anchorage being, "Will you complete me?", in the font of "Tall Paul". I liked the font as it was quite informal but stylish and would seem that it had been hand-written...maybe by the model. I used a perfume bottle from the internet so it was more clear for what the advert was actually advertising.
The photograph is quite faint and very simple, which I wanted to show. Also, the phrase "Less is more" was an influence. The picture is quite faint so it was a bit more subtle similarly to the rest of the advert.
I first thought of what I could take a photo of, or what the perfume advert would be focused on, and then came the idea of having only half a model's face, following came the name of the perfume... [as only half her face is shown, it is not complete...] therefore it is perhaps a link between the name and photo, as many adverts have links between them, (makes more sense).
The perfume adverts that were influencial were, Giorgio Armani's Armani Code as the woman was in a simple black dress, and Daisy by Marc Jacobs which was innocent and bright (which I studied beforehand). I tried to combine both ideas of being simple and then innocently pretty.
I think my perfume advert appeals to the younger generation as the model used was young, as it was hard to get an older model. To improve it and to give more range to the audience I should find an older-looking model. When looking at the "Demographic classification of audience", I think my audience would be in C1 and C2. It would appeal to people who are working class and just into the lower middle class. The advert itself is simple and has limited uniqueness, where as, adverts which you would see in magazines such as Grazia and Cosmo would be a lot more perfected and appeal to a much wider range of audiences. Another model of audience classification is one that classifies not by class but their personal aspirations. I think out of the five segments, the audience I am targeting with my advert would be the mainstreamers, as it is not as exploratory as other perfumes can be. If I were to target the aspirers and social climbers, I could make the advert a lot more high quality with a more engaging picture, one in which was a lot more appealing to everyone.
My advertisement would satisfy needs and/or desires of my audience by making them feel completed, perhaps unlike the model in the advert. The choice of the name "Incomplete" was to show how the model was incomplete herself and that a spray of the perfume would make her feel complete. Therefore making the user, themselves, feel completed too.

Sin City and Layer Cake

Sin City

One of the film thrillers that we looked at in class is the well known Sin City, directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodingnez, 2005. We focused on looking at how the film begins with opening shots and credits and all the things that were included in the shots such as mise-en-scene.
To begin in, the credits started with an explosion, immediately gripping the audiences attention and keeping them engaged.
The opening shots begun with an establishing shot of an urban city landscape and there is a lady wearing a low-back-cut, red dress who slowly walks to the edge of a balcony. The balcony appears to be very high up which suggests there are limited ways to escape, if the need to. We watch her firstly from the back which shows how her back is bare, making her look vulnerable. The camera then switches to be just in front of her where we can see her facial expressions and the man who appears from out of nowhere coming towards her and us. The shot there shows how the black and white contrasts of the chiaroscuro lighting between her red dress and lips, as that seems to be the only colour used. Non- diegetic music is played which sounds like music played in film noirs. The man (who looks quite protective over her) offers a smoke and when she takes it, he lights her cigarette making her eyes glisten green. This suggests that she is feeling some kind of emotion. There is a very memorable shot which is when the man and woman kiss and the shot turns into a monochromatic image but it is still moving. The wind and rain are more noticeable which are also two thriller signifiers. There is then an intimate embrace between when the man pulls the trigger of a gun, killing her. There is then a birds eye view of the man holding the woman against him whilst sitting on the ground. The rain falls down, what seems, more harder as the man looks at- nearly directly into the camera. The movement of the camera then becomes a lot more faster, zooming out and then panning around the large sky scrapers that make up the location. The spiralling panning could be connoting that the story is going to have plenty of twist and turns.
The title of the film, Sin City, is then presented in white writing and then a red effect is cast over the title, making it completely red and more comic- styled writing. The backgrounds change, with flashing images crossing the background which included guns and people -maybe possible characters and the writing slowly criss-crossing the images. The font of the writing is in a cartoon-like style, as though written like a comic with the white outline. This could be almost a reminder of how the film is based on the graphic novel. The writing is red with the black and white background which makes it appear quite sinister and threatening.
The mise-en-scene presented seems to be a mixture of thrillers themes and film noir styles too. Weather wise, the location looks very bleak and eerie.
The narrative perspective is through an internal monologue, which is through the woman in the red dress. The voice over helps us move our attention to how she is behaving, where she is and then who the man is. We do not have any idea really who they both are, adding to the mysterious and intrigue.

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Layer Cake


Another example of a thriller we looked at in class was Layer Cake, a British gangster thriller directed by Matthew Vaughn, 2004. There were certain factors we were told to look out for; which for example included opening shots and credits. By looking closely at specific features of the film, I have begun to understand how they can have particular effects and most importantly, why the director chose to use the effects. Firstly, the opening credits welcome us to Layer Cake with rock music and a black and white background. The title is placed cleverly on the door, making us think that we are going to be following this character, as the title is focusing on the door (that the man walks through). Even more, with the character explaining himself through the internal monologue, it appears to be his thoughts and perspective will be told the story through. "If I told you that, then you'd be as wise as me." is a quotation that he uses to avoid identifying himself. Subsequently, creating mystery and intrigue as we want to know who he is.
The opening shots (containing mise-en-scene and shot types) began with a medium shot of an explosion, in a white van. The shot then started to zoom out very slowly, but instantly keeping the audiences focus on what was happening. This is a very quick way to make an audiences attention focus so they feel the need to carry on watching. The shot is at first slow motion, emphasizing the explosion, so we then notice the drug dealers near the van. This gives the instant realization that the film is based on drugs, a classic thriller theme. There are different time periods, welcoming us- as the audience into the films narrative and also the characters. These periods of time consist of: flower power to prison, to a 'shop' with shelves full of drugs where quick editing makes this room fade into a pharmacy. This helps make the audience understand what is going on or at least give them an idea what the film is about. As the film unfolds, we see that there are different characters involved in the same thing, drugs. They are quite the opposite though. There is an extreme long shot which shows a car crossing a road, surrounded by large fields, quite the contrary to the city landscape the main character lives in. The fields of what to appear belong to be a golf club, could be suggesting that they are going to a more remote place, which would therefore cut the people off. The men arrive to the mansion and walk through to a room, very smoothly with the camera first in front as them and then follows their steps. Once we enter a room with an important-looking man waiting, they each take a seat around a table. The camera then takes it in turn, panning around the table to show the men's faces and also seems to show who is talking. There is a long shot of a warehouse drive in, so we see where we are and who the characters are, although we cannot tell who they actually are as people. There are two sets of people in this part and their appearances look the opposite. One set are the people who look very unprofessional and are in tacky, casual wear. The other, are in fitted suits which make them look higher status and class. The only link they have between them is that they are both dealing with drugs. As in our own thriller introductions, we will need to create credits to introduce the film, Production Company and so forth. By looking closely at the opening credits of other films, we can then begin to create our own ideas of how we can present our own credits. Layer Cake used black and white backgrounds with white writing, very simple ideas, but still look attractive. The editing in Layer Cake involved mainly shots fading into another. For instance, the shelves of just drugs turned into a modern- day pharmacy. Before the pharmacy, the ‘shop’ like room looked very clinical and clean, almost fake, so when it turned into a pharmacy it was a lot more realistic. Another example of the fading-into-another-shot effect was when the shot of the door (with title of film) was at night and then the morning. This made it look like the night had passed quickly, now showing us that it is the next day. The music was a combination of diegetic and non- diegetic which gave the effect of the character hearing the music as well as the audience. Finally, the last factor we looked at was the narrative perspective in the film. The narrative perspective is told through Daniel Craig’s character, Mr (blank - as we are not told his name), through internal monologue. This perspective therefore shows his life, who he works with, what he does, his interests and his emotions. The director would have chose to make the narrative perspective be told through Craig’s character as he is very skilled at his job and is more of a leader for his other partners - although he has a boss.
All the effects of Layer Cake make the audience draw their attention. the quick editing and fast moving and twisting narrative makes the film exciting and a good example for a thriller. It has many thriller signifiers which include the theme of drugs and gangsters, a twisting and turning narrative, violence and deception and so on. The ending of the film is also left at a cliff hanger with Craig having a shot wound. The audience will want to know what happens after a nearly- happy ending.

Camera Angles and Practicing Editing

High angled shot:

This high angles shot shows that Nena looks quite intimidated as I am looking down at her. It would make her feel uncomfortable and uneasy.

This shot is commonly used to make someone appear to have littler status than someone else.

Some more examples of high angled shots:

Worms view:

Looking at from the ground at the branches of a tree.

Black and White edits:

Black and white is a very commonly used thriller signifier, that I have spotted in a number of film thrillers. The black and white creates a lot more mystery compared to when just using colour. However, if used together, (a good example being in Sin City - the woman's red lipstick against her grey complexion and so forth), it emphasises certain things/objects.

Exploring the "Fill" tool and changing the opacity. The tools helped me show a contrast between the dull grey surroundings and then the bright yellow, and blue marks on the floors.

Further exploring... makes the edit look more as though it was taken at night. It is also a good example of a vanishing point.

Camera Shots

In one of our lessons, we looked at different camera shots and types and explored making our own examples. We went around the school and used a digital camera to take photos in our groups. Below are example of the shots we looked at:

An EXTREME CLOSE SHOT looks something similar to this:
The shot usually focuses on a part of and object, for instance, a characters face- similar to what I have done to the right...
Depending on what film the shot is used in, it can create different moods and atmospheres. For example, in a romantic film, you may find the shot is extremely close to the two peoples' mouth, to give sexual tension, maybe hinting that they will kiss. Or another completely different example, could be in a thriller, you are shown a paper document with a picture, which would make you wonder who it is of or what it is...added to a thriller signifier...mystery.
Going from the extreme close up is the CLOSE UP shot, which commonly shows just one character's whole face. This is helpful when trying to suggest the character's feelings and emotions, as you can clearly see their face expressions. The example below shows that the character is smiling, so she appears happy. If she were crying, we would probably feel sorry for her, empathise for her and wonder what was wrong.














This is a MID SHOT (MS):
You would use a mid shot to show something in more detail but also shows some of the background and the surroundings. They are helpful when trying to show movement too.

This picture is showing the camera shot, LONG SHOT, which is used commonly to show movement as there is plenty of room for the subject to move. Even more, it is helpful to the audience because it sets the scene.

This is an EXTREME LONG SHOT which is seem to be used to show:
*Vast open spaces or large amounts of landscape
*Isolation
*Establish the general setting/location.
It can also be known as an establishing shot in some cases.

Marc Jacobs, Daisy perfume advert

"Daisy" by Marc Jacobs is almost 'displayed' on a young woman who seems to be wearing underwear or a bikini. She is lying down on a grassy field which gives the advertisement a sense of nature. The young woman's pale skin looks very bright and this could be done by certain lighting to make her stand out against the duller, dry grass.

As the girl is very bare and revealing her body, it gives the advert a hint of sexual influence. However, the daisies on the actual perfume itself makes the advert and girl seem innocent and delicate. Her gentle hands rest and support the over-sized perfume, which adds to tenderness and perhaps naivety. Even more, the girl looks a bit vulnerable as she is in a very open position, with one of her legs bent and another lying down.
The impression the perfume has on the audience could be that if you wear the fragrance, you will feel naturally beautiful and happy. A daisy is a simple but delicate, pretty flower so it could be connoting, 'a simple squirt of this perfume and you will feel like the girl looks'. This is because, the model seems very relaxed and peaceful; untroubled. The advert could be on some level, encouraging natural, organic beauty.
The perfume advert is very radiant and charmingly sweet in contrast to my other perfume advert. The Armani advert is a lot more sexy and possibly for older audiences of women, whilst the Marc Jacobs one is a lot more pure and maybe targeting younger women. However, in both adverts, the women make you feel as though you want to be them. One feeling extremely confident, sexy and glamorous and the other feeling youthful (as she looks younger), cheerful and beautiful. The younger woman looks cheerful as her skin is quite luminous and she is smiling, in a relaxed position.
The perfume bottle looks quite out of place as it is an exaggerated size, but helps to draw the audience's attention and think it is an attractive bottle/design. I think it is a nice idea of taking the photograph in a field as it makes the daisy bottle look more as though it belongs there. I noticed that the colour of the perfume is similar to the tan colour of some of the grass, so it almost emerges into it's surroundings. Therefore the daisies are perceived as be striking and links all the things together, the name of the perfume and the whole idea.
The anchorage is very simple indeed. The creamy, white colour covering most of the advert makes it have a very unfussy and calm tone. Against this, the black writing (uppercase) font is plain and bold. It is very short and snappy so that adds to its' simplicity and makes it easy to remember. The font looks quite informal but makes a statement. "Daisy", "Marc Jacobs" and "The New Fragrance for women" are all in uppercase so it makes the impression that the labels/names are all important for you to read.

By looking at thirds, it is very similar to the Giorgio Armani advert,

(grid lines not very accurate but give a rough idea).

The young woman is laying down, and the first horizontal line goes through her, showing how she is one of the main focuses. The second top grid is another focus point, with the perfume sitting in that particular grid.

The brand and maker of the perfume appears to be another focus (as you'd expect) as it is in one of the centre grids, almost mirroring the perfume -to suggest a link perhaps. This is a very clever idea when trying to make specific focusing points.

Giorgio Armani perfume advert

The most striking of my three adverts has to be the "Armani Code" perfume by Giorgio Armani. The woman, in a very revealing, glamorous, black dress is the main focus point. Then comes the handsome, typical dark-haired-man who is obviously attracted to her, possibly due to the fact that she is apparently wearing the perfume. She is about to enter what looks like a club or party in which she is going to steal the spotlight and get attention.
(http://www.perfumewave.com/images/armani%20women_225x296_AD.jpg)

As her skin is lit up against the dark, gloomy background, where there is also quite ghostly figures, she stands out and all the attention goes on her. Her eyes are looking directly into the camera, as though she is looking at the audience. Her glance suggests that she knows she is sexy and feels very confident within herself. The woman looks very elegant and seductive; acting as an irresistible female, for men. The perfume is specifically for women and the advert could be suggesting that the other women can be like her, sexy and desirable. She appears in such a manner due to the fact that she is the main focus in the frame.

If looking at thirds, you notice how the advertiser has made up the advert, creating things to be more emphasised than others. For instance, the middle top grid, is the woman's face. This suggests that she is one of the main focuses. Another example, is the middle grid where the woman's body is slightly more to the right side, showing her naked back. A diagonal line is created as her left arm goes across the centre of the advert, perched on the brand's symbol. The invisible line made my attention follow her arm, down to the symbol, so it also makes it more noticeable. Another thing that has just come to my attention, is the fact that the symbol and her skin colour are quite similar, so this would make it more distinctive.

Grid:

1) Left hand corner - man's face
2) Middle top - her face
3) her hand is top right- gentle
4) His suit- sexiness
5) Her long toned arm - diagonal
6) Other arm - bent
7) Icon, brands symbol
8) Writing - all in middle bottom.
9) Perfume

Her tanned, toned skin, her bright blue eyes, sleek neat hair, no accessories (jewellery) making the phrase "less is more" seem true. The bareness of her skin and body adds to the sexual atmosphere. The way she is standing, she looks very open to the man, looking possibly vulnerable but her stern, straight face implies that she knows what she is doing. For instance, it seems she knows she has caught his eye and is drawn to her. Her hands are softly perched on the icon for Giorgio Armani and the door. The symbol is gold which gives the impression that the design is precious and expensive.
The camera shot is a mid shot as it shows her upper torso, head and some of the background. In the background, the 'background' people seem as though they are unimportant and just floating about. We think this due to the gloomy effect of lighting. The lighting is mainly on the female and reflecting off the man's face and suit. A suit can denote manliness, importance, smartness and sexiness. He has a loose shirt with a tie, which perhaps connotes sexiness. If a man undoes some buttons, it can suggest that he is feeling under pressure, hot or showing his body (chest etc).
The perfume itself is pretty and attractive, a bottle with different shades of blue. The different shades of blue could suggest how a woman can have different sides. Blue can be interpreted as a calm, pure colour (like water), but as it is dark nearer the top of the bottle, it could be suggesting how women are sexy and dark at times. The dark- detailed floral pattern makes it feminine. The shape of it too, is similar to how a woman has curves and a thin waist, so it could be a representation of a women's body.
The lighter shade of blue is used for one of the words on the anchorage, 'Armani'. The same similar colour is found as the women's eyes. An interpretation of the colouring could be that it is saying the link between her eyes and perfume and by wearing it, 'you will look (eyes) like me (the woman)'. The font and use of white makes the design name and label stand out. The white against the black dress and background show a contrast and could be linked with the clarity a female and her darker, sexier side. The font is close to 'Times New Roman' which is simple and usually used for important, formal reasons. The used of the font makes the advert look as if it is making a professional and sophisticated approach. I noticed that the perfume design name is in upper case whilst the name and label is in lower case. This shows the importance of the company and the less relevance of the name. On the other hand, it could be separating the names of the firm and the perfume because 'Code' is possibly larger in size than 'Armani'. The purpose the light colours against a very dark photograph is to emphasise the contrast and make the figures, perfume and writing more noticeable.

Film : Taken (narrative and thriller signifiers)

Last weekend, I went to the cinema to see a new film called, Taken. It was directed by Pierre Morel and has Liam Nesson (Bryan), Maggie Grace (Kim), Famke Janssen (Lenore), Katie Cassidy (Amanda) starring as the main characters.

The narrative is based on, following an ex- CIA "Preventer", Bryan, who has to find his daughter- Kim- after she is kidnapped by human trafficking/sex-traffickers in Paris. He uses his skills from his past job to find her and will and does kill anyone who gets in his way.

At the beginning, the film started off as a very calm and peaceful atmosphere for the exception of the divorce between him and his ex-wife, Lenore. I believe the reason behind the divorce was because, he was always working and was never home to see his wife and Kim. Between them it was awkward, as Bryan had wanted to spend more time with his daughter but Lenore was reluctant. Lenore was married to her new husband, Stuart who was very well off. I think Bryan saw him as Kim's new father figure, so he wanted to do anything just to be back in Kim's life, (as he had missed most of her childhood).

If looking at the usual narrative of a thriller, after the beginning there is usually an event. This could have been Kim's 17th birthday party where Bryan goes to give her her present. We are shown what it is, so when Stuart springs a surprise present (a horse), we feel sorry for Bryan as he expresses disappointment, perhaps jealousy and sadness through his face expressions. However, there is another event that I think is more important which is when Kim and her friend, Amanda plan a trip to go around Europe, the first place being Paris.

Following the event comes the climax which has to be when Amanda and Kim arrive at Amanda's cousins' flat in Paris. They are supposed to be staying actually with Amanda's cousins but they have gone on holiday too. Kim was not told about this, so this worries her and the fact that her parents thought she would be too. As they are there only by themselves, they are shown very vulnerable as they are just two girls in a place they do not know, and do not know anyone there. On the other hand, whilst arriving in Paris, they do meet a young 'gentleman' called Peter. He appears to be a new arrival to Paris too, so they naively share a cab with him to where they are staying. He then tells them there is a party later that evening, asks them whether they will go, (Amanda says "yes" rapidly without Kim saying anything), he asks which floor their staying on and says he will pick them up later. This is the part where as the audience we notice an obvious corruption has occurred. This is more of the climax...when Amanda receives a call from her father- she confesses that She and Amanda are staying alone and she was not aware of this- she goes around the opposite side of the flat and ends up in a bathroom. In the bathroom, there is a window where if you look through, you can see the opposite side of the flat. Suddenly, about 4 black figures enter the side where Amanda is. They grab Amanda and contain her movement, taking her out of the flat. Kim witnesses this and still being on the phone, screams to Bryan this. The black figures then start walking towards the way in which Kim walked. She tells Bryan this. He tells her to go into the nearest bedroom and hide.

A problem then occurs as Kim is also kidnapped by this random black-clothed men. Bryan, still having an extremely good knowledge of CIA skills, manages to tell Kim to shout to him across her mobile, as many descriptive words about the kidnappers appearances (hair, clothes, voice...). This therefore gives Bryan a starting point in where to find her...or along the lines of having any hope of recovering her.

Following the rest of the film, he finally manages to find her and save her (the resolution), from being exported to another country. They arrive back in the US to be reunited with Kim's mother. The ending was very sweet and happy as Kim had a chance to fulfil her dream of having a chance to be a pop star.

(I missed some of the films plot and narrative, so I didn't give it all away).

LINK TO TRAILER OF FILM:

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3488219417/

Thriller signifiers:

*Twists which could include, when Kim finds out that her and her friend are alone whilst staying in Paris and when we (as the audience) find out that something is up with the Peter guy.

*chasing- on foot and in car

*gun- gun shots

*plenty of violence

*drugs

*sexual tones and atmosphere ~ sex-trafficking.

*corruption

*classic claustrophobia and enclosed spaces~ lift and when he electrocutes a man who belongs to the sex- traffickers.

*Urban setting, in Paris, the flat- very high up so makes it harder to escape

*Night- when a car chase occurs