Prisoners

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUSfKQ4xVtc

Introduction

The movie prisoners is about two families daughters who go missing, and ask the help of the local police station, however Keller believes that the police are not finding them quick enough so he takes the law into his own hands holding who he think kidnapped the daughters hostage.

The opening shot of the movie started of happy and straight away shows all of the main character Keller and Grace and Franklin and his wife Nancy. The mood straight away is happy and is a typical family get together with a party and music. This makes the audience feel safe and that nothing bad is going to happen. The camera angle of this shot is looking up at Franklin as he is the only character speedking at the time showing he is of the most importance. The music that can be heard is a soft melody to show that there is a calmness to the trailer.

The next shot of of the couple's two daughters Anna and Joy asking Grace if they can go outside. The feel of the movie trailer is still family oriented and still feels like a family, this still makes sure that the feel for the audience is feeling carm and is still family oriented. The music is still soft and calm.

The music then drops low and becomes sinister alerting the audience that something bad is going to happen. The camera shows a mid shot of the girls running towards the camera laughing, and a close up shot of their feet is the last shot until the music stops and pauses almost giving time for the audience to sink in what's going to happen.

Writing is then shown saying “From the moment a child goes missing” this quote already tells the audience of what the movie is about, I think that producers of the movie wanted the audience to know early on what the movie entails and what the movie is going to be about to grip its audience and can also give you detail on what the type of content will be shown in the film.

The next shot is the camera looking up at Keller and him asking about where his daughter is to his son. The camera is shown looking up at them showing that in that particular scene he is in charge and that he is the dominant figure. It could also mean that as he is the character shown as the dominant figure than it could be shown as he is the reason his daughter are missing.

A quick jump cut then shows Keller walking up the stairs shouting “Anna”, however this time the camera is looking down at him showing that he is no longer in control. The music is dark and low key with the occasional beat of a drum. The low key music is used to give a sense of panic and weariness in that the situation is going to get worse. The next shot shows the other missing girl Joy’s room with Keller again shouting out her name this now doesn't even show him in the shot showing us that he is not in control, and that nothing he does can fix it.

Franklin is shown running up the street shouting “I COULDN'T FIND THEM” with dark music sounding like chimes, this makes this scene sinister and dark. The weather during this scene is dark and raining again matching the tone of desperation and of the story and basis of the movie.

Text again is shown reading the words “The police have 168 hours to find them”, the text is shown in dark blue with a black background to make it look sinister and more dark with the music getting louder and louder until it stops. This creates an edge and that you know that something important is about to happen or that there is something that you need to hear.

One of the most important piece of the trailer is then shown with the introduction of sheriff Loki with him saying “I'm detective Loki and i'm going to find your daughters”, this clip and no background music again making clear that it is an important scene, while he is saying this, a procedure of jump cuts are shown looking at each of the main characters who have lost their child. This is used to see how much is at stake and desperate the families are to finding their daughters. Also the fact that Loki is not part of the jump cut shows that he is there only hope.

A quick shot is then shown of a timer with the Text of “Hour 1” counting up the hours to find the daughters, this addes intensity to the scene with static sounding music to add edge. The static could be seen as a way of describing the parents minds of that they can't think about anything else and that their heads aren't in the right place.

A shot shows officer Loki searching the back of a RV, during this shot there is no music again just the voiceover of a police unit saying “A RV has been found matching the description” this creates a creep ambiance, as the scene is dark and also heavily raining. These has been done to continue the fact that this movie has a dark premise and dark themes. However when the RV is shown it creates hope in that the children may be found.

A mid shot is then shown of Loki pointing his torch through thick fog and shouting “Show me your hands”. The torch is shown cutting through the fog, this again gives an almost horror feel and that it is preparing you for something scary.

A quick jump cut is shown with the text “Hour 16” telling you how long the girls have been missing for, however in this part it also shows you the seconds I think that this is used to show that every second counts while searching for the girls and also that the longer you're searching the less chance you have of finding them.

More and more jump cuts are now being used as the scene is getting more intense. The quick shots show several police cars behind trees almost like the feeling we are watching something we are not meant to. The shot shown is a crane shot as it is at quite a high angle showing us how big the situation actually was. The second part of the jump cut shows us who Loki is talking to and shows us a young man with a torch pointed in his face with officer Loki interrogating him. The young man is names Alex and his is pleading that he did not take the girls, Alex in the movie has learning difficulties and I think many people judged him on being innocent due to this. And also during this shot he is pinned up against the wall violently by loki this makes the audience feel sorry for the boy, giving him a sense of good will.

Another text is shown saying “Hour 33” again with seconds, this decreasing the chances of finding the girls, this is used to make the audience feel as if the girls won't be found.

A mid shot is then shown of the same RV that Alex was found with and the CSI officer says “ This things clean” I think that the lack of evidence shown towards Alex is giving the audience to choose who they think took the children and that the trailer doesn't give them a solid answer or thought into who did it and this gives the audience a feel of freedom in that who they think and who their judgment is could matter toward the story.

The numbered text are getting more frequent with the hour now being 64. The sound is becoming louder and increasing in length making it more intense.

The continuation of the trailer is jump cuts, this making the trailer more intense however it also gives you more questions in who has taken the children, and the shot shows a wide shot of a presumed abandoned building,this wide shot is used to get the scoop on how big the building actually is and how let go. The music suddenly stops and and the text “78 hours” is shown. Thus showing that hope is lost for the parent and that there is a near impossible chance of finding them.

Keller is then shown taking Alex to the ground saying “I know he did it I can see it in his eyes”. Two close up shots are then used for both characters Keller and Alex, you can see Keller's anger and guilt that he feels responsible for the loss of the girls due to his raging outburst, however Alex is calm but the close up shows that he is scared and can't move due to shock as his eyes are fixated on Keller. This again makes the audience feel bad for Alex and whether he actually did take the girls. I think that the director has decided to give Alex glasses is to again support the fact the audience wants to believe he is innocent. As glasses are stereotypically shown about being nerdy.

The next piece of Text is shown saying “103 hours” this giving Loki and Keller less and less time of finding the children, with the music getting presumptuously louder and louder.

A bird's eye view shot of Loki shows him in an angry rage hitting is keyboard against his desk. The can make the audience feel anger and pain and they may feel he has a anger problem and that he may of taken the girls. The sound in the trailer is not music but mere sound however the increasing pitch and volume make the trailer more and more intense.

Text is shown again but this time very quickly as a jump cut and it reads “124 hours”, the quicker the text is shown the more intense the trailer is getting this could make the audience feel more nervous as they may find out who has taken the girls.

A face shot of both Keller and Loki is shown with them both in a car, with Keller shouting at Loki for his lack or work shouting at him saying “And everyday they are going to wonder why her dad isn't there”, this piece of text is quite strong and this may link to the audience who may have children of their own, and reason with Keller and that they may do the same in the similar situation.

Text is shown again with the text “143 hours” with the text getting quicker and quicker increases the intensity.

The last part of the trailer is a series of jump cuts with the music at its loudest and with writing saying “every second counts”. This matching my point earlier in that the times that are being shown throughout the trailer is showing that every second really does count. This could make the audience feel as if that there is not a lot of hope in finding the girls and that they may be lost. This creates many questions and ends the trailer on a mystery. Thee very last shot in the jump cuts is Keller loading a gun, this shows the audience that Loki has failed to find his daughters and that he is taking matters into his own hands. This again make us feel for Keller and what we would do in his situation.

The last shot in the trailer is of Keller and Franklin talking to each other and Alex is in the background chained to the radiator with bruises on his face, with Keller saying “Someone has to make him talk or someone's going to die”. That lines ends the trailer on a cliffhanger and makes the audience think how far will Keller go to get back his daughter and makes the audience want to know what happens next. Also there is no music just the sound of Keller's voice this making it clear that this is a key and important piece of information. The camera is looking down at Alex showing the he isn't in control and that he is vulnerable.

The title prisoners in then shown in a dark background in a bold capital font, this making is look sinister and serious again showing the etone of the movie.

Audience and producers

In the movie trailer is makes it hard for the audience to guess who the kidnapper is through quick editing and jump cuts. This makes the trailer existing and throughout wanting to know who the killer is. Also the director ( Denis Villeneuve ) wanted to show that there are no “Good Guys” in the trailer as Loki who is meant to be the Law Enforcer is shown pinning up a suspect against the wall and also smashing his key board shown he is unstable. Also keller is shown throughout as also unstable with having a gun and keeping Alex hostage.