Many media texts use intertextuality to engage and attract audiences. It also makes the audience have a good sense of recognition.
Taken
An example of this can be taken from the famous scene in the film 'Taken'. This scene is in the trailers of both the first and second film, and shows the protagonist being dragged away from the camera as she is kidnapped from under the bed on her holiday.
Taken
An example of this can be taken from the famous scene in the film 'Taken'. This scene is in the trailers of both the first and second film, and shows the protagonist being dragged away from the camera as she is kidnapped from under the bed on her holiday.
Being the same genre of thriller, we tried to use this shot as intertextuality. We felt this may be effective in creating the same emotions which were presented in the film 'Taken', for example fear, panic and a sense of adrenaline, three emotions we felt would be well suited for our film. Hiding under a bed also links to the childhood game of hide and seek, which reinforces how young and vulnerable she is, foreshadowing she may be susceptible to future danger.
However, when creating our shot list, despite wanting to re create this scene, we felt it would not be well suited to our location. Our protagonist is kidnapped in the woods whilst walking her dog, and so the same shot of being dragged from behind using a low angled would not have been possible as we could not think of a realistic reason as to why Becki may have been on the floor before she was taken. If she was not in the same position as shown in 'Taken', lying down, it would not be a clear representation and reference of the original shot, which may not only not resemble the emotions we intended, but may cause confusion amongst the audience.
However, when creating our shot list, despite wanting to re create this scene, we felt it would not be well suited to our location. Our protagonist is kidnapped in the woods whilst walking her dog, and so the same shot of being dragged from behind using a low angled would not have been possible as we could not think of a realistic reason as to why Becki may have been on the floor before she was taken. If she was not in the same position as shown in 'Taken', lying down, it would not be a clear representation and reference of the original shot, which may not only not resemble the emotions we intended, but may cause confusion amongst the audience.
Fargo - Kidnapping Scene
In the film 'Fargo', the protagonist is kidnapped by a man dressed in black, in a balaclava. This is an intertextual reference we created in our film as audience members can be informed that a kidnap is about to occur, by making reference to a scene whereby as kidnap occurred, as shown in the clip above.
The Gift
In our trailer, we made an intertextual reference to 'The Gift' official trailer. This is because, the film is the same genre and so if audiences are able to link back scenes from our trailer, to this film, the genre may be reinforced further and made clear to audiences.
Water Reflection Shot
We felt this was a particularly effective shot as the reflection symbolises the presence of another figure, seeing two of the same object, as a reflection. This connotes the hidden presence of the kidnapper, as he is hiding and watching Becki at this point before kidnapping her.
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Establishing shot of urban location.
This is a common convention of all trailers to begin with an establishing shot, however the significance of the shot being over an urban environment where the hostage lives, is present in both our film trailer and in 'The Gift'. This is effective to audiences who may wonder where the trailer is set, they may use their knowledge from 'The Gift', to realise this establishing shot is showing the house of Becki, who is later kidnaped, as clear in 'The gift'. Therefore it gives audience additional information needed to understand the narrative fully, as well as setting the scene and location.
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Male vs Female Narrative
Another feature shown in our trailer is the male vs female narrative, which is seen in films of the similar genre. Great examples of these are films such as 'Taken', whereby the kidnapper is male, and against the female hostage. 'Kidnapped', whereby the mother is against the male kidnapper who has her son.
We wanted to reference this intertextual narrative in our film, and so chose Millie to play the hostage (protagonist) and Dan to play the kidnapper (antagonist).
Another feature shown in our trailer is the male vs female narrative, which is seen in films of the similar genre. Great examples of these are films such as 'Taken', whereby the kidnapper is male, and against the female hostage. 'Kidnapped', whereby the mother is against the male kidnapper who has her son.
We wanted to reference this intertextual narrative in our film, and so chose Millie to play the hostage (protagonist) and Dan to play the kidnapper (antagonist).
Setting
We gained inspiration for our trailer from other crime drama series and films. For example we used aspects of the TV series 'The missing" in which a young girl is kidnapped for many years of her life. We used intertextuality when creating our characters who are based on those from The Missing. Furthermore the use of the setting of vast woodland as their hiding place is also something we have used.