Director: Darren Aronofsky
Camera/editing
The clip opens
with a black backdrop, and white, capital letters in serif font slowly fading
in and out of the screen appearing for around 5 seconds. The title ‘Black Swan’
then appears more centralised, bigger and bolder. We then see a Long shot of
Nina centralised on a dark stage which gives the impression she is an important
character. One spotlight shines on her, and we see a close up shot of her feet
as she starts to dance. This is followed by a medium shot whilst she sits on
the floor, and finally a long shot to show a man walking onto the stage towards
her. Aronofsky uses a close up of her face to show her facial expression, this
is scared and square-on to the camera. The camera spins around them as they
dance which connotes how twisted the film becomes, we then see a medium shot of
the man as he spins and changes costume, she does the same and turns into the
white swan. The camera then zooms out as she walks away from the camera on
point. This scene fades into a black backdrop, and then fades into the second
scene. It starts with a close up shot of Nina’s face in her bed where we see
her happy facial expression. Aronofsky then uses a close up shot of her feet to
show her cracking her toes. The clip then cuts to a long shot of Nina
stretching, followed by a close up of her warming up her feet which tracks up
to her face as she speaks about her dream. We then see a variety of close up
shots such as of her breakfast which consists of half a grapefruit and a poached
egg representing her lifestyle and her and her mums face as they talk. Finally
we see a side shot of Nina which highlights how unhealthily skinny she is,
therefore reinforcing the idea of her being a dancer.
Sound/music
Classical
swan lake music plays quietly in the background as the titles appear, and as
the title ‘Black Swan’ appears, we hear a very quiet evil laugh. The music then
increases volume when Nina starts dancing. When the man walks on the music quietens
and becomes tenser as we are unsure who this man is. You hear Nina’s breathing
which connotes her fear, as well as non-diegetic sound of a swan flapping its
wings, occurring as they dance. There are sound effects as he changes costume,
and the music becomes louder, more dramatic and increases pace. The music stays
loud when she changes but slows and starts to fade as she walks away from the
camera. In the second scene there’s silence until you hear the noise of the
curtains opening in the diegesis. We hear the cracking of her neck and toes
which may be viewed as slightly disturbing. Non-diegetic, very quiet, classical music
plays in the background whilst she talks about her dream, then when she
mentions the man casting a spell in her dream, something in the diegesis falls
to the floor, but we don’t see what it is. When Nina is in the kitchen the
music cuts out and we hear diegetic sound of kitchen noises and dialog.
Mise-en-scene
Setting/lighting
The clip
starts by showing only a black stage and a single spotlight throughout the
entire first scene. During the second scene natural light is used from when the
curtains are pulled back. We see her pink, flowery sheets which are linked to
girls and may be viewed as childish. We then see her stretching in front of
three mirrors. This may connote the different sides of her personality or
character.
Costume
At the
beginning of the clip we see Nina in a white ballet dress that reaches below
her knees. The colour white connotes her purity and innocence. She is also
wearing satin ballet shoes with ribbon and wears her hair gelled into a bun,
this gives the audience an insight of her character that seems very
professional. The man in the first scene wears black which connotes danger or
mystery. He then changes into wearing a black feathery costume with a large nose
and horns which may be seen as monstrous and scary. On the other hand Nina
changes into wearing a white, feathery, tutu as the white swan continuing the
idea of Nina being a pure character. In the second scene she wears a pink pyjama
top, then a pink ballet leotard which again connotes femininity. However her
mum wears black which contrasts with Nina and may present the differences
between their characters. Alternatively Nina and her mum both wear matching silver
necklaces, and similar silver ear rings suggesting there may be more special
bonds between the characters when looked at in more detail.
Titles
The titles
start with a black back drop which contrasts with the white, capital letters of
the writing. The writing is in serif font which is slim and tall and looks very
feminine. The words fade slowly in and
out, and words such as ‘presents’ are written smaller than company names. The
title ‘Black Swan’ then appears in the centre of the frame, bigger and bolder
compared to the previous writing, however it is still in serif font. Overall, the
whole title sequence is very simple and sets a slow pace to the start of the
film.
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