Black Swan trailer analysis

I have to chosen to analyse this trailer to establish the differences between teasers and trailers. In addition, I really like the mise en scene in this trailer and it has therefore made me mindful of how important mise en scene is within any film.

Camerawork

The first thing we see is 'Cross Creek pictures' which is one of the sponsors of the film, importantly placed before any footage is played. A wide shot of a Ballerina dancing on stage is then shown, to put a theme to the thriller so that the audience knows that the film will involve ballet. This is further emphasised by the following close up of her feet as she dances and then the medium shot as she stands tall with her arms outstretched into second. As a change in the narrative happens, we see facts about the film presents on a rippling black feather background. We are then introduced to the character of Nina, in a close up as she dances with her troupe, which makes the audience associate the main plot with her. The following close up of her stretching her feet and then the long shot of her stretching emphasizes this further. The audience has now been given the theme and main character, so we now see another black feathered background, telling the audience who directed this film (Aronofsky). Then we see a wide shot of Nina on the stairs at a celebration of her being given the lead role in Swan Lake followed by a close up of her smiling face, which makes the audience tense because we are wondering 'how could this possibly go wrong?' Another black feather screen is then shown, with the names of other films that have been directed by Aronofsky, 'The Wrestler' and 'Requiem for a Dream' so we can associate Black Swan with other very good films which gains the trust of the audience. Then, we see a close up on Lily, smiling, followed by a close up on Nina, looking distressed, so we automatically assume that there will be some rivalry between them. We then see a wide shot of Nina dancing, using a whip pan as she turns, reflecting her distress and movement; this creates suspense as we are now starting to see that things are going wrong from her facial expression. The close up of the sore cut on her back reveals how she is now tainted with the black swan and her purity cannot cope with it. Her fracturing mental state is further emphasised through the mid shot of Nina infront of the mirror, as her reflection turns around. Her mental fragility is confirmed with the close up on the broken ballerina figure followed by the close up of Nina's leg as she is spinning on pointe, as we link the physicality of the broken figurine to Nina. It also foreshadows her death at the end of the film when she is quite literally broken because of the emotional demands playing the black swan has had on her. A further confirmation of the fact that her role in Swan Lake has taken over her is the two shot of Nina in pink with her hair tied up as she passes herself dressed in black with her hair down, symbolising both the white and the black swan. The two shot of the kiss between Nina and Lily shows the black swan's desire filtering through Nina's reality. Nina is drowning into the world of the swans and drowning into maddness, which is emphasised through the close up of her panicked with her head under the water in the bath. The audience feels extremely tense as there is a midshot of Nina with her hands over her ears, clearly distressed as she sees the paintings on the wall move and scream too. It further shows her descent into madness and the audience really sympathises with her here. A close up of Nina's face reveals that she is in the real performance, with her full face-paint on, revealing that possibly the transformation is complete. Another black feather screen is used here to rob the audience of 'what comes next' instead showing them the names of the actors/actresses with the star roles. We then see a close up of the cut on her back that has gotten much worse, as she (eye-wateringly!!!) pulls out a black feather out of it, further emphasising that the transformation into the black swan is complete and it has now fully taken over her mind. This is then confirmed by the closing close up of Nina, staring at the black feather with blood shot eyes. The final thing the audience sees is another black feathered screen, with 'Black Swan - coming soon' followed by other credentials.

The exessive use of close ups highlights the fact that this is a trailer, because they do not reveal a lot, but reveal enough to make the audience want to know what will happen in the whole film.

Editing

After the opening frame of 'Cross Creek pictures', a fade to white is used symbolising the fact that in the start of the film, Nina is pure like the white swan. Throughout the duration of the trailer though, any other fade cuts, of which there are multiple, are faded to black symbolising the mystery and the darkness that overwhelms Nina to the point of suicide in the end. Fade to blacks tend to be used before a black feathered screen is shown with information on it. This is a way of creating suspense for the audience because they are shown so much of a clip and then it fades away from them and is interupted by words. As the trailer shows more disturbing scenes or scenes of hightened emotion, the sequencing becomes faster, we see less of the shot but more shots in total, which acts as a tease to the audience as we can see a lot of things quickly but we crave to see them in context and with more detail in them.

Sound

Non-diegetic music -  this is played throughout the trailer, creating many sound bridges throughout. At the start of the trailer, the music sound relatively normal for a ballet dancer to be interpreting, however, as the trailer progresses and the shots become sequenced more quickly the music becomes more tense, as an ominour bassline is heard with the more dominant violin sound leading the track. As we see the last fade to black the music has one final loud boom and then the non-diegetic music stops.

Diegetic music - in the beginning of this trailer, Nina narrates as the ballerina dances. She tells the story of a dream she has which ends with the ballerina killing herself, which foreshadows the ending of the film. Sound Bridges are created by speech between characters, 'sweet girl', 'new swan queen' and 'you've been dancing long enough', which show how everyone plays a part in ruining Nina's mind and pure spirit. There is a particularly disturbing piece of diegetic sound, as Nina's mom cuts her nails. The abruptness and loudness of the snips makes the audience coil back because it sounds so harsh and horrible. Also, there is a particular line Nina says 'she's gone!' that sounds so harsh and unlike the character we come to know in the first minute and a half that we as an audience know that she has cracked under the pressure, in more ways than just a temper. However, the most effective piece of diegetic sound, in my opinion, is at the very end; after the final fade to black, we just hear Nina's heavy breathing after she has just pulled a black feather out of her back, creating an uneasy and intense atmosphere that the audience will be highly intrigued by.

Mise-en-scene

Throughout the trailer, during the time when Nina is scared or herself, she is dressed in pale pinks/whites symobolising her association with the white swan, purity and innocence. Any times that Nina is experiencing desire, disillusionment and jealousy, she is depicted in black or with dark lighting, emphasising her growing but fragmented relationship with the black swan. Lily is always in black, even in the ballet rehearsal studios, which shows how she is passionate and desireable - and therefore more fitting to being the black swan than Nina in the beginning.

Differences between trailers and teasers:

The most obvious difference is the length of the clip. A trailer is normally between 1:30 to 3:00 long, whereas, a teaser trailer can be 30s - 1:00 long. In this trailer for Black Swan quite a lot of the plot is given away. It shows the basic infrastructure of the film. However, in teaser trailers, all that is revealed is a hint of the plot and the main character(s), leaving the audience asking far more questions that a trailer does. However, both are aimed to wet audiences appetites and spark interest for the film, so both do need an element of mystery but teasers will have more mystery.