Black Swan Film AnalysisBlack Swan is an artistic psychological thriller film directed by Darren Aronofsky in 2010, starring Natalia Portman and Mila Kunis. The story in this film is told from the point of view of Nina, a young and very busy dancer determined to succeed in the world of dance. However, when she is given the role of the Swan Queen in the ballet company's new production, the pressure and competition she faces and the exploration of her darker side ultimately lead her to lose touch with reality and to fall into madness. This article will analyze the use of scene, sound, cinematography and editing in Black Swan. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The opening scene of the film begins with the original Swan Lake soundtrack playing in the background music and black feathers appearing on the screen. Then the sound effect of wind blowing and echoing laughter comes in as the film's title flashes across the screen. The same Tchaikovsky score plays throughout the film, but the sound effects that gave the classical music a strange twist already make the atmosphere of the film suspenseful and disturbing. The first shot we see is a long shot of the protagonist Nina, who is wearing a pure white ballet dress. The audience cannot yet see her face as she has her back to the camera, but she is highlighted by a side spotlight that illuminates one side of her figure. The entire setting has a smoky feel to it, and the single light source protruding into the otherwise jet-black space creates a highly dramatic effect, suggesting that this is a dream or fantasy. Next, the camera zooms in to a medium close-up of her dancing feet. This technique is repeated several times in the film to bring us into Nina's personal space, because as a dancer her feet are a very intimate and important part of her. Most shots, with the exception of close-ups on his feet, are at eye level; the camera is probably hand-held during the entire scene (as well as all other dance scenes involving Nina) because it surrounds her and follows her movements as if it were dancing with her, which allows the audience to feel the exhilaration what he feels while dancing. At around 2:28 he steps down to the ground and the audience sees his face for the first time as the backlight creates strong shadows on his face. Then, a faceless predatory figure emerges from the shadows behind her and begins following her and making menacing movements. In a sudden special effect, the faceless figure eventually took shape as a monster that grabbed Nina and manipulated her movements. As it struggles to escape, it dances towards the light sources away from the camera as the scene gradually fades to black, consuming the white swan. This opening scene is very significant because it establishes the black versus white symbolism that is used repeatedly in this film, and also foreshadows how the plot of the film will develop. The fact that Nina is dressed in white and appears fragile symbolizes her innocence and emotional vulnerability. Nina is also completely surrounded by darkness beyond that single source of light, implying that there is danger, fear, and impurity lurking in her life, waiting to engulf her. The appearance of the monster could symbolize the frightening turn that her life is about to take, which leaves her helpless and destroys her. The theme of light and dark colors is explored by the juxtaposition of Nina and Lily. As we can see in the moments when Nina's face suddenly appears on Lily's body, it is assumed that Lilyyou represent the "shadow self", or Nina's dark alter ego. In general, a white, gray, or pastel costume means a character is virtuous, while black, red, or dark shades mean a character is evil or calculating. Lily, who Nina perceives as a rival, is always dressed in black. While Nina wears minimal makeup while not on stage and dresses in light colors, not only are Lily's clothes black, but her makeup, hair, and skin are all darker than Nina's. This portrayal shows that Lily is a more mature, independent and sensual character than Nina. However, during Nina's transition, we can see that her choice of clothing becomes more similar to what Lily wears. Colors are also used to portray Nina's transition and progression as a character. At first, when she first woke up, Nina was wearing a baby pink nightgown, while everything, including the sheets, the grapefruit she ate for breakfast, the furniture, and the naturalistic light coming through the window, has a blush pink hue. Later, Nina also appears on the train dressed in light gray sweatpants and a pale pink fluffy coat, while everyone else on the train and on the street is dressed in black. Then, as she slowly transitions, Nina goes from wearing all white at the beginning of the film, to starting to wear dark red lipstick, and gradually starts wearing more greys, then dark greys, until she finally performs as the swan black. dressed all in black. This progressive change of colors on Nina's costume and makeup represents her change in personality, as she goes from being a pure and meek girl to the paranoid, crazy, outspoken and independent black swan. Although both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are present in this film, the internal diegetic sounds are more significant in shaping the main character. Internal diegetic sounds were used during the club scene around 52:10; the dance music sounds muffled and all the voices seem distant to show the audience how drugs and alcohol are affecting Nina. Later, when Nina believes she has brought Lily home, their dialogues are also internal sounds that only Nina can hear. The same internal diegetic sounds become more frequent as Nina's mental state worsens. At around 1:07:07 when he saw the photos on his mother's wall, the loud whisper that seemed to come from the photos was actually in his mind. Then, at the climax of the film around 1:16:35, when Nina transforms into the black swan, the continuous sound effect of flapping wings, rustling feathers and blowing wind is heard only by Nina as the feathers and imaginary black wings grow. outside his body. It's a bass-heavy, almost ambient sound effect that isn't very distinct at first, but if viewers watch it with headphones or in a very quiet space, that sound would send shivers down their spines. Internal diegetic sounds allow insight into Nina's deranged mind so the audience can experience her emotions of extreme paranoia, fear, and elation from her perspective. The setting of the film is carefully constructed to represent Nina's life and personality. As we can see from the first shot of Nina's room at around 2.11pm, her room looks like the kind of room a ten-year-old would have, with pink floral wallpaper and sheets, dolls, stuffed animals, lace lampshades , and cream-colored furniture. In that specific scene she is also treated like a child by her mother, as her mother brushes her hair, tucks her in, and plays a soothing lullaby. This setting therefore represents Nina's innocence and the fact that the mature woman inside her is repressed and forcedby external forces. Another notable element is the use of mirrors in many locations throughout the film. There are large mirrors in Nina's apartment that she practices with every day, mirrors in the dressing rooms and dressing rooms of the theater, mirrors in the rehearsal rooms, and mirrors on the train. In most of the mirror scenes, we can see Nina's figures reflected by the mirrors so that the audience can have the illusion of seeing more of her faces; in a scene where Nina is rehearsing, one of her mirror images even gains independence and begins to act without her. Therefore, it can be deduced that the mirrors represent Nina's duality and her split personality, and how her two opposite sides now fight with each other. The mirrors also highlight Nina's unreasonable obsession with looking and acting perfect. The editing style of this film is very conventional for the thriller/horror genre. The pace in this film tends to increase as the scene intensifies and increases the suspense, achieved with rapid cuts from shot to shot. For example, when Lily is first seen as a character, the camera first follows her off the train with a quick pan, then the scene quickly cuts to the back of Nina's head, then a cut to the front of her head , then framed again. a jump cut to another shot of the back of his head. This not only shows that Nina is rushing to get to the studio and suggests that Lily is an important character, but also creates the feeling of tension that a crucial event will happen, namely the dressing room scene where Lily suddenly appears. Furthermore, this technique is also used during Nina's sexual fantasy scene with Lily. The scene quickly cuts from Nina's face to Lily's, then their hands touching, and finally speeds up to a mini climax of a POV shot from Nina's point of view where she is being suffocated by her evil doppelgänger. It can be inferred that when cutting occurs faster and the duration of each shot is reduced, a significant event will occur. Some unusual shots and framing techniques are used in this film. Around 9:03, Nina was framed separately by placing the wall behind her, preventing her from being in the same photo as the other dancers; with the sudden silence as the backdrop and Nina practicing ballet hand gestures alone, this shot shows that she is isolated and getting lost in her own world. There are also numerous close-ups of the face and body parts such as hands and feet. Nina's face is often shown large to emphasize her emotions. For example, when she made a mistake dancing the white swan on stage, her extremely terrified expression as she was lifted into the air is shown in close-up. At 13:43, as she dances in her room, her feet are shot in close-up and edited in slow motion to emphasize the strength and delicacy of each turn. There is also an element of shock to this scene as right after the slow motion, she almost twists her ankle as the entire scene speeds up again. Also, the camera usually follows Nina or shows her point of view, but there are some different shots. For example, around the 1:13:10 mark, when Nina is lifted into the air by her partner, her body and facial expressions are captured in the same place within the frame as her surroundings blend into the movement because it is spinning in the air; the camera must have been mounted on her to achieve this effect. Also, around the 1:04:40 mark, when Nina is running away, the entire frame loses balance and bounces along with her frantic movements-1117943969/