Textual Analysis assignment

- Title: Black Swan
- Director: Darren Arononfsky
- Year made: 2011
- Genre: Pyscological thriller
- Actors: Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis
- Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Key Concepts

Media Language

What is this text about? What does the text ‘say’?
The text is about a girl named Nina a ballerina who is already physcologicoloy unstable (from what I understood she has schizophrenia a disoder where you see things that aren't really happening.) Then she gets the role of a lifetime in the Swan Lake performance as the swan lake and must play the pure sweet white swan but also the seductive evil black swan the audience watches her sanity slip further and further away trying to do this until in indangers her life.

What are it’s languages (print, moving images, sounds) and style? How do they create meaning?
The movies languages are moving images video and sounds. These create meaning by contrasting light and dark as Nina's good and bad side eg. white and black swan. This is shown in the scene when Nina is walking home in the alley way and she is in light pink and white colours with her hair pulled neatly back into a bun ans she sees herself walking the other way in dark black clothing with her hair out more seductive looking.


What is the text called and what associations do we have with this title/name?
The text is called Black Swan. I associate Black Swan with a dark and dangerous beauty by the title black and swan as a beautiful bird. Black swan is also the evil seductive twin to the white swan in the ballet Swan Lake.

Forms and Conventions

What can we learn from the text in its opening minutes or front cover?
In the opening minutes of this film we learn that this film is about a girl who dreams about being the swan quenn in swan lake the ballet. As in the first scene we see her dancing the swan lake then she wakes up. In the front cover of this film we see a picture of the Nina (the main character (Natalie Portman) with a crack down her face to show her sainty and self cracking as she loses her grip on reality.

What category, or genre, of text is it? How can you identify this?
Pyscological thriller. I know this movie is a thriller because this movie has a certain danger and fear about it the first time I saw this film it was scary because you do not really understand whats happening untill the end when she is fighting with who she thinks is Lily (Mila Kunis) but in reality is herself and she ends up stabbing herself. This is when I understood that she must have schizophrenia and nearly every scene with Lilly did not really happen as nina's mind was using her to fight the bad side of nina. This film is pyscological because as you watch it you don't even understand fully what is going on and are watching almost the inside of what it is like to become crazy and not know it.

TECHNOLOGY STANDARD

Camera - Dad bought me this camera for media because our family cameras LCD was broken so it was difficult to use and film with. So I did trial shots with the new camera before I did my actual film to get used to the filming. When it was time to film the actual scenes I was happy and felt competent with my ability to film. It was a little difficult to hold the camera and the umbrella but I got used to it. Overall I am happy with my filming ability and proud of my end product.

Camera Shots - I found this easy to deal with I got on a stool for all my high angle shots when Rochelle opened the door and when the stabbing occurred and I got on the floor for the low angle shot of Sam entering the room. I think my angles were a great success.

Editing - I did struggle with converting my videos I had to get Miss Kazimi to help me convert them so the codec would work, on her laptop. The rest of my editing I did by myself if I had more time I think I would have accomplished more but considering the time restraints I think I did a good job. I used a variety of shots, fades, wipes. I matched the music to the right parts of my film. I had appropriate pacing for my film, I had opening titles and end credits. 

EVALUATION

During the planning, filming, and editing of my film I have had positive and negative experiences. Some of the negative include the first day of filming it was supposed to be a clear night but it rained. The rain got on my camera lens so I had to get an umbrella which was difficult to hold the camera and a umbrella and the umbrella kept on getting in the way of my shot. So we had to keep retaking the same shot for a couple of hours. Then the next filming day we filmed inside but my brother had a friend over and you could hear them laughing in my shot which destroys the horror mood I was going for. The next filming day was for the shadow murder. This was tricky has I had to get the light in the right place and have Rochelle sit high enough to be seen and I had to make sure I was not in the shadow. This did turn into a positive though has i figured it out and am happy with the end result of this scene. Also my film had to be converted to have the right codec, Miss Kazimi had a converter though so we solved that problem. I had to learn how to use the program to edit my film with but i figured it out and have completed my film. Some positives were the end result of my shadow scene. I was able to get the music I wanted I think it is perfect for my film and I am very pleased with it. Overall I think my film was a positive experience I overcame problems and learned what kind of problems making a film can have and how to overcome them. I think if I had more time I could have done more and better with the editing, but considering the time constraints and problems I am very pleased with my whole film.   

ART DEPARTMENT

Props

Knife - I will use a real knife from my kitchen so i will be the supplier.
Alcohol bottles - Rochelle has empty alcohol bottles that I will borrow from her.
Shovel - From the garage I will use the shovel to stab in the ground in the opening scene to symbolize her future stabbing I will supplie this from our garage.
Condoms for symbolism - Sam is going to but these so the supermarket and Sam will be the suppliers.
Clothes on the floor - I will get these from my Rochelle and My brother's wardrobe.

Costume 

Rochelle will be wearing a red top to symbolize her future blood shed. She will wear a tight black skirt and small high heel boots to give the audience the idea that she is feminine and seductive. This Items are already in her wardrobe so she will be the supplier.   


Sam will wear a black hoodie which covers his face and long black trousers to hide his identity and make him look dark and threatening. These items are already in Sam's wardrobe so sam will be the supplier.

I have their numbers but will not place them on my blog for security reasons.  

RESEARCH

Running my concept past my target audience
Mel -
Good comment - "It flows well, and it has a good plot"
Bad Comment - "A lot happens in the beginning so what happens in the rest of the movie"
Question - "Why have I not named my characters?"

Ashleigh -
Good Comment - "Good structure, storyline"
Bad Comment - "Confused about the murder of the main girl"
Question - "What happens to her body?"

Scout Locations
My movie will be made at my house I have already asked my parents for permission they have said I can film at our house.

Possible Actors/Actress's
I think I will get my 21yr old sister to play the part because she is older I think she will be more convincing and look about the right age.

Source required props
I am trying to find a fake knife that will look menacing for the stabbing scene done in shadows.
I also am looking for some kind of lantern to create lighting for the shadow scene.

Sound/Music
I have been trying to find some suspenseful music and some Intense dramatic music for the stabbing but haven't quite found exactly what I want just yet.

All my footage will be mine I do not plan to use any archival footage.

CREW AND TALENT

Master list of Actors for my film are:

Rochelle 21 years old - The female victim who is stalked and murdered 
Sam 21 years old - The male killer

I have there numbers but will not put them on my blog.

TREATMENT

My opening film will start... With a young girl wearing a red top to symbolize the blood shed to come. She will walk up her driveway looking around herself suspiciously as if she felt like she was being watched with a Tracking Shot (TS) following her. There will be a shovel stabbed in the ground on the lawn subtlety in the background this will be there to symbolize the fore stabbing of the young girl in the future. When the young girl is half way up the driveway she will see a hear a twig snap in one of the bushes and turn around still with a tracking shot (TS) she will hurry up the rest of the driveway to her door. The scene will change to a High Angle (HA) to show the young girls vulnerability as she fumbles with her keys unlocks the door frightened and runs inside. there will be a Close Up (CU) of her face by the door, then she will move to the table moving into a Mid Shot (MS) in the hallway check the time and place her phone on the table calming down from her fright. The camera will show the phone in view as she receives a text. Still in Mid Shot 9MS) she will check her phone and show shock and fear on her face. The scene will then cut to a Close Up (CU) of the phone with a text from "Blocked" saying "I'm watching you..." the background image of her phone will be a photo of her with a boy to show the audience she has a boyfriend. Then the scene will cut to the girl again frightened she drops the phone in disgust and runs into the kitchen closes the window runs into the dining room closes the window and curtains runs into lounge and closes window and curtain all the while being a tracking shot (TS). Then she will enter her bedroom close windows and curtains there will be alcohol bottles in the room and boy and girl clothes on the floor and condoms on the table all symbolic of the fact that the girl is sexual. Still (TS) the girl will go to the hall and hear her phone go off again she will run to phone and there will be a close up (CU) of the phone from "Blocked" saying "You forgot the bathroom window..." The young girl will enter the bathroom and scream when she sees the window open she runs in and closes the window heavy breathing to show fear. Then will enter her bedroom again to go to the phone to call the police (TS). Then the scene will cut to a Low Angle shot (LA) of a dark shadowy figure of a man entering the room with a knife in his hand to show he is scary and in power. There will then be a High Angle (HA) shot of the man pushing the girl on the bed to show her vulnerability again. There will then be a mid shot of the shadow on the wall of the man stabbing the girl while she is screaming to implie violence. There will then be a close up of her hand dropping on to the condoms pushing them off the side table in her death again being symbolic of her sexuality. That is the end of my opening film. The music playing the whole way through my film will be The Sacrifice by Angelo Badalamenti to set the mood of a suspenseful horror.