How does cinematography and mise-en-scene
construct meaning and provoke response in a sequence from Darren Aronofsky’s,
2010 film; Black Swan?
The choices made
concerning cinematography and mise-en-scene are both a vital element within the
generation of meaning for the film’s audience. Within the narrative, a sense of
mood, character state of mind and time period can all be established through
the use of cinematography and mise-en-scene. This essay will analyse how
meaning is generated and a response is formed in a sequence from Darren
Aronofsky’s fifth major feature film; Black Swan. Aronofsky encompasses and
throws a contemporary twist on Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet ‘Swan Lake’.
The plot follows the challenging career of
Nina Sayers, a ballerina who’s landed the lead role of the production, played
by Natalie Portman, co-starred by Vincent Cassel, the
dance company’s artistic director; Thomas Leroy, who reflects the role of Von Rothbart, the antagonist from the original ballet
performance, ‘Swan Lake’. I am going to analyse the scene that centres on Nina’s
uncontrollable transformation from good to evil, the evening prior to opening
night. The focus sequence depicts Nina’s gradual transformation
into her evil metamorphosis and her incapability to conceal it any longer
Throughout the film, Nina’s darker side is revealed
gradually through the use of mise-en-scene and cinematography. For example,
Nina’s costume changes dramatically as the film progresses. At the beginning of
the film, Nina is extremely innocent and virtuous; therefore she is dressed in various
shades of white and baby pink to clearly portray her childlike personality to
the audience. This is then contrasted greatly as her costume changes into grey
colours and then finally to the colour black to reflect her final transformation
into the guile Black Swan.
In correspondence, at the beginning of the
film, the camera shots vary from neutral shots; which make the audience feel
comfortable due to the natural feeling it creates, and high angled shots to
enhance Nina’s vulnerability. On the contrary, by the end of the film, many
canted angled shots are used as well as high angled shots to make Nina appear
vulnerable again, but this time in a sinister way as the natural lighting from
the beginning of the film has now been replaced by low key lighting to achieve
a sinister and creepy feel to the scenes accompanied by Aronofsky’s usual style
of filming by featuring ‘horrific images, black and white motifs, close-ups,
follow shots and rapid cutting’.
Darren Aronofsky always made the audience
feel comfortable and as if they had nothing to worry about before a scene that
would involve “levels of paranoia and anguish that most films would steer clear
of”, this creates a sense of naivety as the audience wouldn’t be expecting a
scary scene to come along and therefore it is more of a shock when one does.
For example, at the beginning of the focus
scene, Nina is practicing her ballet, feeling at ease in the studio, as this is
where she was bought up. Additionally, as her Mother is a retired ballerina, a
location such as a dance studio feels ‘homey’ to Nina. As a result, Nina’s ease
is reflected onto the audience. This effect is due to how she is often victimised
in the film, therefore the audience empathises with her. In terms of the micro
elements; the wide shot is filmed from both Nina and the pianist’s eye-levels’,
therefore the audience are able to see everything on set; consequently,
creating a feeling that nothing is out of the ordinary. Moreover, the scene
itself is lit very naturally, and as the audience are able to visibly see the
lights on the set they again feel like there is nothing out of the ordinary. However,
Nina is positioned in the frame, without any of the on-set lights shining on
her, meaning there is no light in her personality at this stage, and that her
darker side is coming out.
Mirrors are a prop frequently used
throughout the film to symbolically reflect the true state of Nina’s psyche,
therefore the audience are familiar with mirrors, and thus familiarity invites
tranquillity for the audience This relaxed state then makes the audience feel
more anxious and shocked whilst viewing the upcoming scenes. Here, Aronofsky
uses his typical style of filming - the element of surprise - to create an
over-powering shock factor for his film’s audience.
As the room is very blue based, along with
Nina’s clothing, it connotes calmness. Although, in comparison to the beginning
of the film; Nina’s costume has changed dramatically, as she was previously
dressed in whites and pinks that reflected her virtuous, child-like and
innocent persona. Due to this costume change, the audience can verify that
Nina’s darker side is beginning to come out.
As Nina’s metamorphic being has immersed in
the form of her reflection, this is key as mirrors are an enigma code
throughout the entire film since they reveal the darkness within her. In
addition to this, as the face of her reflection is revealed, the on-set lighting
that was previously visible, which made the audience feel comfortable, has
vanished, therefore, so has the comfort that the audience felt. Secondly, the camera
positioning is at her reflection’s eye-line, showing she is in control. Also,
her eyes are completely darkened; highlighting how evil she is, and making the
audience feel tense, as it is mysterious. Nina’s reflection is positioned over
her shoulder, mimicking the idea of a devil upon her shoulder, emphasising just
how dangerous this inner dark side is.
Nina’s darker side has made an appearance; and in the long shot on the
previous page, Nina is surrounded by darkness making her appear small and
helpless. Also, her legs are blending in with the darkness, insinuating that
the darkness is taking over. Although, this could possibly have a dual meaning
in the form of a reference to her turning into a swan - as swans have black
legs - this could imply that she is becoming dangerously obsessed with her
role. Furthermore, the metal work prop positioned on Nina’s right, gives off
the effect of a cage, implying that Nina has been trapped, but as she is not
positioned behind the bars, she has escaped, but, as she is currently revealing
her darker side at the moment, it is her dark side that has escaped. At this
stage in the film, the audience feel lost; as does Nina. The lost feeling of
the audience is reflected within the complex narrative.
The idea of a manic being escaping is a typical
example of classic horror, and this, accompanied by the above frame, is another
example of classic horror. As the dark shadowed figure is positioned in front
of the only visible light, this may evoke two ideas: that Nina’s freedom is
blocked by darkness or that the goodness of her personality (the white swan) is
being swallowed by the evil of her personality (the black swan). As Nina’s face
can’t be seen, this can make the audience feel uncomfortable and frightened, as
there is nothing visible that they are familiar with.
Along with classic horror, Darren Aronofsky
also uses elements of classic film noir; shown in the still image above. The
one source of light and mass of surrounding darkness makes Nina appear small
within the wide shot, and white within the darkness, presenting her as an
innocent girl, lost in darkness. Similarly, the shot appears grainy which takes
the reality out of the picture; which I think represents just how lost Nina is.
Also, from the light source centre stage, it almost appears to create a barrier
like, line down the middle of the stage.
Upon
the side Nina is currently situated, there are many less props, indicating a
simpler state of mind in which Nina is about to leave, but, in contrast, on the
other side of the stage, there are more props, with gives the idea of a busier,
frantic, crazy and more obstacle-filled place. This could represent the dual
personality of Nina. As this is set upon a stage, and Nina is journeying across
it, this implies that it was the ballet performance that took her to this
darker, crazier place. Here, the audience begin to sympathise with Nina’s
character as she appears so small, lost and child-like due to the lighting and
the extremely long shot.
Another classic horror reference is portrayed in the close-up in the
frame above, where Nina has been lit from behind, creating a shadowed side of
her face, which shows her dual personality, similar to that of Norman Bates in
the parlour scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s; ‘Psycho’, whom also had reference to
obtaining a dual personality. Furthermore, the light being shone behind her,
suggests that she has left behind the goodness, crossed the barrier that was
analysed in the previous frame, and entered the darkness. And, the line of
darkness across her face shows the contrast between her good and evil side. Due
to the lack of lighting, the audience can recognise that there is a change
within Nina’s character when compared to the first ballet studio frame.
Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins); 1960; Psycho
As Nina walks further into the darker,
crazier side of the stage her face is gradually completely blacked out (portrayed
in the frame above). This shows she has completed her journey into her evil,
darker side. Additionally, as the light is clearly positioned behind her, this
insinuates that she has completely left behind her good side. This creates a
sense of sorrow and fear that the audience feel for Nina as they feel saddened
that the pressure has caused her to lose herself to a darker state of mind;
they can recognise this as there is barely any light within the frame compared
to the beginning of the sequence, where Aronofsky made the audience feel
comfortable and at ease.
In conclusion, the
cinematography and mise-en-scene used in this sequence have contributed to the
viewer’s increased understanding of the gradual transformation of Nina’s
personality. Additionally they have constructed numerous amounts of viewer feelings
and audience responses.
The micro elements
have shown her metamorphosis from a shy nobody
to a possessed superstar along with the ways in which cinematography and
mise-en-scene enable the audience to recognise when Nina is in her sane state
or her descent into madness. The audience is
able to experience Darren Aronofsky’s interpretation of the dark side of
entertainment. Mind control, manipulation and immorality collide with success
and recognition. Dark impulses, addictions and self-destruction arise with
artistic genius and creative brilliance through the use of micro elements.
No comments:
Post a Comment