Thriller Opening Analysis: Black Swan (Psychological Thriller)
14:19
Camera angles/shots
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.
Editing
From this opening it is difficult to tell whether or not editing played a major role in this sequence, however majority of it is consistant as it is all one storyline. The only thing I would say is that perhaps the movement of the actors had been sped up to continue the momentum the director was trying to put forward.
Sound
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.
0 comments