Film Analysis- Black Swan

Location Photos

We used various locations in our film to reflect the characters, narrative, and psychological thriller genre.

The Office

The use of this location was to show elements of Alice's personality through her owned items and decoration of her office; showing her old fashioned style, and reflecting her occupation of a psychologist. The high key lighting creating a sense of comfort in contrast to other shots.

With this location we were also able to use natural daylight for our shots, the realistic dull feel reflecting the narrative, the white/blue hues showing Alice's sadness.

The House

The use of this location was to make it feel as if Alice was in danger, even in the safety of her own home, as flowers are delivered mysteriously to her door. This reflecting our chosen genre.

This particular door is also wooden, looking more older than new plastic/glass doors, we thought this was suitable for our character Alice as she is not a reflection of modern times.

The Alleyway

The alleyway scene needed to have low key lighting to give an isolated, dark feel to the film, reflecting H's creepy character. the alleyway is lit by one lamp, which we used to light H's face coming out with a good quality shot as he emerges from the tunnel.

The Basement

We used a small dark cellar to film the torture scenes, as we could turn all lights off to get optimum darkness, then use a torch to light the characters. This created shadows and chiaroscuro, reflecting our thriller genre and adding mystery. You cannot see a lot of the location but this was done to confuse the veiwer as to where Alice was being held. 

The cellar is dull and creepy giving an eerie and dark feel to the shots.

The Bus Stop

We used the bus stop to create a sense of comfort being invaded, also showing that in any location Alice is, she is always being watched by H, even when doing simple tasks such as waiting for a bus.

The Bed

Alice laying on the bed was used as the last shot, the bed connoting comfort and safety which is then interrupted by Alice's half skull face being revealed; she is no longer safe, creating an ironic twist.

Risk Assessment

Age Rating

Props Mood Board

PLAN

Cinematography and Camera-work in Psychological Thrillers.

            Cinematography and Camera-work used in psychological thrillers.

The use of lighting is very important in psychological thrillers. In some scenes, very little light or low light is used, sometimes with only one source of light that may be used to illuminate a character's face. This is used to connote that this character is internally fighting with themselves or has a hidden side, or that something in the plot is being hinted to being 'kept in the darkness' to the audience. Low lighting also has a dramatic and tense effect, giving the sense that something unusual or concerning is going to occur.

One of the key shots used in psychological thrillers are close up or mid shots.They are used to capture the emotion and every reaction on a character's face, or capture every detail of a scene. 

Low angle shots are also used frequently, as they can show the dominance one character has over another, which often occurs in psychological thrillers.

      Over the shoulder shots are used to relate the audience with character. By positioning the camera right behind the character, the audience sees everything from their point of view, therefore if they sense something isn't quite right, we do too.

Black and white

 filters are also used often from the beginning to the end of a psychological thriller, to capture every shadow definition and give a mysterious, unsettling effect.

Psychological Thriller Iconography.

Psychological thriller iconography.

Confined Spaces feature commonly in psychological thrillers. This is done to almost capture the own mental state of the character feeling trapped, represented in a psychical state. The use of confined spaces also plays on the audience's own fears of being imprisoned in a small area, allowing them to engage with the character and get a sense of panic much more relatable, complex and stronger than in a horror movie.

An example of this might be from Silence of the Lambs, when a young girl is kidnapped and kept in a small, confined well by her captor. She sees fingernails from when previous prisoners and is unable to get out- this scene is really effective as it allows the audience to have legitimate fear of being in her position.

Running Water also helps create suspense through iconography. This can have connotations to a character slowly losing grasp of their lives or of something coming to an end or alternatively act as the calm before the storm, making the audience uncomfortable and nervous.

Hitchcock used running water frequently to foreshadow how his character's would die; in The Lodger, the film begins with the death of character drowning, and in Rebecca, where a character contemplates killing themselves by jumping into the sea as well as the murder of a young woman in the shower in psycho

Low lighting is used in psychological thrillers to create a sense of danger and uncertainty. Low lighting on a character's face may say something about the character themselves, as being evil or unreliable, having a split personality or a dangerous element to them, as if to forewarn them of what is to come.

Low lighting is used here in The Black Swan, to emphasise the danger of this character.

Shadows- Creates tension, as a shadow on the wall does not reveal the identity of figure that it belongs to. A character may also be about to encounter a situation putting them in grave danger they are unaware of, even if the audience is.