Black Swan opening

  

I looked at the opening of the Black Swan as I am looking at the thriller/horror genre and specifically the idea of multiple personalities.

The opening scene is of the main character dancing, the room is extremely dark and so nothing can be seen, however a spotlight turns on to reveal the main character dressed as a swan performing a dance. The music is, of course, perfectly in time with the dance and is very light and delicate to match the mise en scene-the costume is very simple and elegant and the dancer contrasts with her dark surroundings. This series of opening shots are used to introduce the main character and her profession and link to the title of the film as the protagonist is dressed as a swan. The tempo and tone of the music changes as another character is introduced, a darker, more melancholic figure who joins the dance and shows a struggle between the two. By including this in the opening, it perhaps forebodes that the dancer could have trouble and battles with a darker version of herself. The music with these pieces of action is much more fast paced with a whole orchestra participating, making the music build tension and suspense for the viewer, this matches with the shots and so makes it more effective as the music builds and gets louder when more energetic and dramatic things are happening in the shots.


This opening addresses its target audience, which is perhaps young women through the particular casting of someone of similar age to the audience, but also, although not everyone may be interested in ballet, the opening makes the action accessible to the audience and so they can pay more attention and engage in the opening.

I liked this opening, as it did not obviously give away the entire plot, nor did it give the audience a lot of information on the characters; however, through subtle hints in the dance, it sets the tone and atmosphere for the film. Therefore, I could emulate this in my opening by perhaps using an enigma narrative to build mystery and tension around both the characters and the storyline. Also I could use very atmospheric music to match the shots that I will use to complement them and make them more effective in setting the tone and story.

From looking at this film opening, I can already see that films in the thriller/horror genre tend to be quite visually dark with lots of contrasting to make it more appealing, but also that music is key in building tension and excitement for the audience.