![](https://deadderrickdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/turbulence-2.jpg?w=300&h=200)
In this essay focusing on mise-en-scene elements, I shall be
studying ‘Black Swan’.
As the opening credits roll on the plain black screen, music
plays in the background. It’s a piece from ‘Swan Lake’, introducing the theme
of ballet straight away to the audience. As the title fades onto the screen, it
is met with the sound of wind and devilish female laughter, disrupting the
peaceful ballet music (potentially foretelling the disruption of the main
character’s career in ballet later on in the film), causing discomfort and
unnerving the audience, creating the origin of this film’s thriller
characteristics.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4qvmdBfGh21B-_ZfIvg0ThWWN22fxzKwhRVZr9qCk_aTWj8SrVxpATi0y3fkMHtwW8eDoayJabbIzK2niP1YUN3Taq6n45b9mqbhnGG-47iFHiLwd9xEtp2aemPPHdz2i31mNmdwzBo/s400/black+swan+mirror.gif)
The first camera shot used is a long shot. This way, we can
see the whole character, her pose and costume. Straight away, we can assume she
is a dancer, if not from her pose then her movement as her back is straight
whilst her arms are held gracefully in position. Her costume, white against the
black surroundings, perhaps shows her innocence in such a dangerous, sinful
world. Though the costume cannot be used to tell you what era this film is set
(as it is a costume itself), it helps to draw your eyes towards her – the
lighting is so dull it would be difficult to perhaps see any other colour. This
dullness is strange for a dream, but could reinforce the idea that it’s more a
nightmare. The next (medium to close up) shot follows her feet as she dances,
making sure the audience know that she is a dancer, and more specifically, a
ballerina.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxaOgYIFssV_5S141Ytfs4dHRNAOhuBfSOmuUQxzjM2GQkI9wokx0WKJvUfGu_gnaqJOJFhz3lZBOdQeD-vb8p-Yh6fArNtlDygtpsRe8wNjQH6fUBUwnXBXX38H5lNoBMTnwHOySaFg/s320/beginning.gif)
A hand held tracking shot is used next, making the audience
feel frightened as it feels as though something is creeping up to the only idea
of light and safety on screen. A character dressed in black (representing evil)
comes out of the darkness, and with a change in tempo, the music becomes much
less graceful and accompanies the action with liveliness itself. Back lighting
is used to show the crisp outlines of the characters whilst the action takes
place. The new character, a white male painted in black, could offend some
audiences (as the character is evil, some may relate it to blackface). A sudden
costume change both confirms that this is a dream/warped vision, and that the
piece Nina is performing is Swan Lake as the costumes are now adorned with
feathers. Several medium to close up shots are used to feature Nina’s face, so
we can see her facial expression as she dances. Towards the end of the scene,
sadness, worry and despair can all be seen on her face, adding to the dance and
story of Swan Lake. As the scene draws to a close, the camera zooms out to a
long shot, showing an entire body shot of Natalie Portman’s lit up silhouette,
once again reminding the audience of her purity, innocence and peacefulness. By
zooming out, she becomes smaller and smaller – this could represent multiple
things to the audience including, becoming a swan in the dance, her dream
coming to a close or how powerless she is in real life as reality draws closer.
Looking back at the opening scene, we can pick out the genre conventions such as the use of unsettling sound effects, unsaturated (almost noir) colouring, creating a dramatic melancholy which radiates around a pure character - soon taken advantage of by a stereotypical evil character represented in black (binary opposites introduced within only minutes of the film), introduced with camera shots that make the audience’s perception of the ‘protagonist’ look like prey. We see the protagonist at the mercy of the antagonist – a classic thriller convention not often able to be pulled off in the opening scene of a film.
![](https://media.giphy.com/media/BdzRxLwEyioU0/giphy.gif)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGKwf9gYSq5EOymkAjDN_MkRGqSHjWN6NTeMnskf_KtAMbCZ1MrxOE7eN4nS46EoiWD0uE2V56SQWIT9iEFqNMZm2OY7cOSt9-Ifpx2hKTRR2WznLkNmUbPlJL6XHG7C_qIQnJ3ZaylM/s200/leo+and+water.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_P5osb5lvaUrzipOlJvRLYIdR4pRRHduT6ZhFJrd8Xj65yvoW-PH2MUKlO0MkC-8CfT4uJCZmWflcvwblku9qwHr9UrrOi-NxLknWuTH8bUIMm8vPoTyMZsNVfTyycyTNMSXPyPVdB5c/s200/water.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5b8AFQQejEZshcADyvQR231L0yX2jg4VScTPPupHI6YtB4LhKKFQHbJa0SBPxL3RZusnUfYiOxAAFo1ElFpobF4Gs-qB6DzZDIJqbDMFtLml1r1xtU7XRaxM7VLxrDSgZEU4xsFamnQo/s200/sort+of+focused.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0MemyOHP8zGkB7Pprz5unOPjxx810C7lDkstA1wjARezAT0n1wLjDZSySUmTsvY3tsqnxqm3C-LOv6rmYyD2hOz8CrkvuBz1ybMdHj0dzs-yR0HbcrnQM6actusmYkGdHklQ_pNNO5Fo/s200/unfocused.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2iSApjBq5On55HNIfU0qsb_zq1QhnMwHeMOhynNybZgTvC-_RKT2XCIUra7d-BLw_SMpjmPZgkbhtc__jC-v-GNO7Pk3yxLn3DA87fRn9Yu4tTKKKkx23jEFfYnbmqWG8MpJHCchxO8/s200/guard.jpg)
We notice due to an extreme wide shot that this is based in an area of Asian influence due to the architecture of the building, also doubling as an establishing shot, giving the audience an improved perspective on where the opening is set.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qade3XYuyNCEDIFT7OJJkQTmrd4bbQ4vA9QjMAjBQNy6cXRfvuXBkqPDrVCMA-g4IVenN9DXokVOXPpWJBztJSuAnhT8JHGQVqHjgC5dG9PbAnVk9P8ZHc4KB4ZhjyCiCwtVQVmoRrc/s200/low+key+cinematic.jpg)
When one of the guards presents the items Cobb was holding, the obviously harmful one is almost dismissed when it comes to camera shots. As a gun is placed on the table, it stays out of focus as Saito reaches for his wine. However, when a seemingly innocent spinning top is placed down, the camera angle switches to a close up, focused on it. Saito’s withdraws his hand, showing he recognises it, again supporting the relevance of this item.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuv_RGwzvqtcKHaIydmFeOohnRbdoXuWZ3P88R7j90d6uSnFUDJvLwNwyRkzkV8cNuAMdCIr6CJiYD21n6M78OcDzX5bme2XkRi4XUec-4Cjl1Ns75NiEBHkLe1wClgOLgt8z3nfo3q4A/s200/spinning+top.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKbf2Lvrwsuit8NyHvwyb2NEp1_4Irbzsm7pWYuGTrZen69r3Vsplu4YnJxkmE62gapZP-rbgzY2mhIgii4XIyM6uXhMbMIWA1p8SZdwPGeojnWbS-wcq-OXnMDqvBFiYmVpQmL0GKpg/s200/unfocused+gun.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2jIcbPfeAtmI_pjOc0-F2mOO6l1dMfl67so4l8wLO1l9-Ry_mnFc0pWUcNqWvn4WqA3Wl5Y9ChvOsy-5DiBAJb-Q4Qes6sd4Kiqm3H4EbmRztIQukqMqlIMHoyoMkp8mhKid1z2h4Uc/s200/saito+maybe+focus.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJ-VmYLlBkbleiIo0x-LPScro1QOh2cMrmODHTga9S8nbZ1JG8hRyxT3Gp1y-FFFmX4oVOiAW87yQj76noJ7ngnmam-5VK_4tB4icXDblzZQBwoqXP3AC4dWo9Rn4CJJBAOFjGtVeGg4/s200/leo+focus.jpg)
Cobb is then dragged in by two guards. The diegetic sound of keys rattling show he is a prisoner (along with being dragged). In the next shot, a close up camera shot is used to show he
is hunched over a bowl of food, quickly transitioning into a medium shot at eye level, focused at first on the back of Cobb’s head with a blurred background, until focusing on Saito when he says the word “kill”, in; “Are you going to kill me?”. The use of pull focus creates emphasis on the word and the relationship between Cobb and Saito. The low key lighting could represent the dark tension that lies between the pair.
Close up shots and slow transitions are used here to build tension. A close up of Cobb is filmed, with his mouth in the shot but no other parts of his face. This emphasises his silence – he doesn’t answer as to whether he is there to kill. The next close up is just as effective: even though Cobb doesn’t answer and the tension seems to be building, Saito’s hand moves from the gun on the table to instead, the spinning top.
As Saito spins the spinning top, a close up of the spinning top is shot, building tension as the audience expect it to topple over. Whilst it continues to spin, Saito explains how he knows what it is, due to a man with “radical motions”, at which point, the music fades out and a close up of Cobb is shot, transitioning into the next scene. The low bass tone (non-diagetic sound), leaves the audience feeling full of fear and suspense, as we are left to conclude that Cobb is the man Saito mentions.
Hello!
My name's Kirsty Bryan and this blog will be a bundle of research, planning and preproduction to document my progress in making a two minute film opening for my coursework in A-level media.
I will be working with three other people to produce my film - Yolanda Wallbanks, Lauren Ramsden and Winn Kan.
Previously, I have never studied media. Nonetheless, I feel as though I still bring experience to the group as I enjoy photography and I have had practice editing videos as I used to upload to YouTube. At the moment, I'm still coming to terms with analysing film, but hopefully over the year it'll start to come more naturally. There's a lot of theory in media that I should catch up on as I didn't take it at GCSE, but I'm looking forward to expanding my knowledge and taking part in such a creative subject!
Enjoy!
About Me
Hello, I'm Kirsty- candidate number: 1029.
This blog is a collection of research, planning and documentation of production for the first year of my A-level course in media.
Our final product is a two minute film opening named "Hide and Seek", of the thriller genre.
Enjoy!
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