AS Media - Thriller Opening - 'Taken' Analysis

In my opinion, I think that the general idea and the story of the opening sequence was well thought out, but what brought it down a bit was how the titles were displayed. The titles didn't look very professional, the font used didn't fit in with the whole thriller theme and they were just generally a bit too simple for me. They were a bit weak and they didn't really grasp my attention or interest me. However, what was lacked in presentation and display was made up for in narrative.

I like how they kept the narrative restricted, but at the same time, gave the audience an insight into what kind of thing would happen later on in the film. For example, when the boy comes downstairs for a glass of water, the man sitting at the table who he thinks is his dad is spinning a knife on the table. It is clear that the man with the knife has bad intentions, as we see in the beginning that he is a threat because the boy jumps when he see's him by his bedroom door. We don't know what exactly is going to happen, or how it will happen, and this leaves the audience feeling tense, anxious and on the edge of their seats anticipating what is yet to come. We know as much as the boy in the opening sequence does, although the audience do get slight clues that something bad is going to take place. 

One thing I didn't really like was the absence of non diegetic music. A soundtrack should have been added into the background of the opening sequence to create some sort of atmosphere for the audience. Although I was watching it and did feel a little anxious at times, I feel that the use of a soundtrack would have made the opening sequence a lot more effective. It would have created a tense and chilling atmosphere for the audience. The absence of a soundtrack made the opening sequence a little bit weak, and it didn't really make me want to watch it even though the performance was good.

Another thing that I liked was the use of cinematography. He has successfully used a variety of different camera shots and angles to effectively piece togther this opening sequence. I like the use of tracking when he goes downstairs to get a glass of water, its helps to audience to feel engaged with the protagonist. However, depending on the audience, some may interpret this as someone behind him following him, which creates a tense atmosphere. I also like the many different shots used when the boy is putting on his clothes. A variety of different shots are used here such as close ups, mid shots and low angles.

If I were to give this piece of work a grade, I would probably give it a B purely based on the fact that overall it is a good piece of work. The reason i wouldnt give an A is because of the absence of a soundtrack in the background. It really let the whole thing down in the sense that it didnt really create much atmosphere.