Black Swan: Opening Sequence Analysis!

Considering horror movies that would be most appealing to my target audience of young females I decided to look at Black Swan (2010, directed by Darren Aronofsky) for my forth opening sequence. The film centres around the inner turmoil of a ballet dancer, Nina (Natalie Portman), as she slowly begins to lose her mind; psychological thrillers were also the clear favourite sub-genre from my Survey Monkey results.   

Ballet is a dance stereotypically associated with females. It is also viewed (perhaps wrongly) by many people as ‘immature’. This would suggest that the movie is mainly targeted at younger females who, perhaps as dancers themselves, can relate to Nina’s situation striving for success and perfection within the strict world of a ballerina. 

Nina is an outsider, rejected and envied by the other dancers within her company; this is something that an audience of young people struggling with the difficulties of fitting in may empathise with. Young people can perhaps relate to her struggle with identity most of all, even if it is on a much more exaggerated level, and see it as a reflection of their own issues felt towards themselves. A certificate 15 movie, my target audience of 16-24 year olds would definitely have access to this movie.

As Black Swan begins, the audience hear non-diegetic strings, sounding almost like ballet music, in keeping with themes of the movie. Off-key string music was suggested for use in my own opening during my target audience research interviews. Once again, (as in Red Riding Hood and The Others) the credits that fade in are in sophisticated, white, serif typography.

 These fade in and out against a black screen before an establishing shot of a theatre stage, with conventional low-key lighting, is revealed. We are now introduced for the first time to the protagonist, Nina. 

She dances gracefully, gliding across the stage in a white dress (connoting her purity and innocence). White dresses were suggested as a contrast to the conventional dark colours used in horror movies by one teen during my target audience interviews. Furthermore, white dresses are often associated with the supernatural and ghostsly figures

As most opening sequences that I have analysed do, Black Swan begins very slowly with a series of slow moving shots. Cuts are infrequent and each shot lingers on screen for many seconds. Here the audience view many interesting angles as the camera tracks her movement and follows her steps, the camera focusing on her point shoes. I aim to attempt to be similarly creative in my own opening and use many unique and experimental camera angles in order to keep my movie innovative and most of all, more entertaining to watch. 

Rather than using frequent cuts, the camera tracks Nina’s movements with hand held camera work, making it clear that she will be the main focus of the next ninety minutes. This gives the movie an almost documentary feel, something I will perhaps decide against emulating due to documentary being a unpopular horror sub-genre in my Survey Monkey research (chosen by only 10.4%). 

Furthermore, the shaky camera work creates a feeling of unease and imbalance. This is a technique that I could perhaps emulate. The non-diegetic music suddenly becomes a lot more frantic and frightening as the pace of the dance sequence increases. The camera tracks Nina’s dance of desperation, the stage lighting almost creating lens flares making the cinematography pleasing to the eyes. As the dance comes to an end, the camera pulls back and the shot fades out slowly. The last thing the audience view is Nina moving her arms in a wing like motion. Animalistic howls were highlighted as a potential sound effect in my target audience interviews. Animals and people adopting animalistic qualities are often viewed as a conventional of the horror genre. This is something that I could include in my own piece.

As Nina awakes we continue to follow her movement in documentary style. This gives the suggestion that the audience are getting personal insight into Nina’s everyday life, helping them to feel more closely connected to this character. 

Unlike in both Red Riding Hood and Jennifer’s Body we do not get to know Nina through voice over. We learn about her characteristics and personality through her interactions e.g. we learn that the dance sequence was simply a dream through a conversation Nina engages in with her mother at the breakfast table. 

The mise-en-scene here is, as recommended during my target audience interviews, is stereotypically modern. Nina lives in a simplistic, average and contemporary modern flat. Similarly, the clothing worn by all characters is up to date and in keeping with current trends. This makes them much more relatable for a young target audience.

As Nina prepares for work we see a rather gruesome close up to a rash on her shoulder. Gore was something highlighted as conventionalof the horror genre in my target audience research interviews and is perhaps something I should include in my own piece. Furthermore, as in Jennifer’s Body, a close up to one particular body parts is disorientating and therefore creates an uneasy atmosphere. 

The cameraman almost appears to be following Nina as she steps onto the subway. This is effective in two ways: A. it suggests that Nina is simply a regular and relatable girl making her character appear realistic and easy to sympathise with. B. It almost appears to be an POV shot, creating a sense that Nina is being followed or watched by something supernatural. 

Although this is a psychological thriller there do seem to be some elements of the supernatural, perhaps imagined in Nina’s deranged mind. For example, in this opening sequence Nina believes that she has seen herself in another subway carriage, starring back at her, wearing dark clothing. The supernatural sub-genre of horror was quite popular in my survey research and perhaps a genre I should consider for my own opening. As Nina approaches the ballet studios the handheld style continues. Shaky camerawork and jumpcuts of Nina’s movement  towards the building again create a feeling of unease.

This opening sequence has no real climax e.g. a death scene. However, we are introduced to that character of Nina, mainly through her interaction with other characters. We also get clues about her neurotic tendencies from her reaction to the skin rash on her shoulder and her fear when she finds herself staring back at her on the subway.

I feel that I can learn a lot from this piece, clearly made with my target audience of young females in mind. I have enough information to now begin my actual planning!