Black Swan: Lighting And Costume Analysis

The first frame you see in the clip of the black swan begins completely black. Then a single sourced spotlight slowly brightens from the top left corner of the frame to reveal a female wearing what appears to be a white wedding dress. This is significant as the fading in of the light could suggest the progression of the narrative foreshadowing to the audience that they are about to witness something important. The fact that the spotlight it coming from the top left hand corner of the frame but is aimed at the centre of the frame could also connote, through the use of binary opposition light and dark, that she has a decision to make. The use of a spotlight to make the character seem as shining on appear to be in light yet still subtle light in contrast to the origin of the light source could suggest she is the level headed person in the situation the audience are about to witness. The implications of the use of the white dress suggests innocence and youthfulness continuing this idea. However, the fact it seems to be a wedding dress could suggest she is dependant on another person and is in a premature situation as she should still be living through her youthfulness.

The next scene switches to a close up of her feet using high key top lighting should create a shadow on the floor which could be quite eerie if the audience haven't yet seen her face. However, the use of the reflective surface the lighting is shining on it shows the reflection of her feet using symmetry within the frame to continue the idea of order and peace around this character. The reflection can also suggest what we see is a genuine reflection of her character and she has nothing to hide.

The scene then continues to show a long shot of the woman using a back light to emphasise the dress and we also get to see her appearance fully for the first time. However, the use of the back light (that is possibly still the top spotlight that she has purposely been positioned just in front of) could again foreshadow the narrative suggesting she has to watch her back as there is a presence behind her. Or that there is someone watching or following her.

The introduction of the male character in the next frame uses the theme of binary opposition of good vs evil again through the use of his black costume and her white dress. Also, the fact that no light or very subtle low key lighting is used on him when he enters the room continues to create an eerie feel towards him as if he has something to hide or is dangerous. Furthermore, in this scene when he reaches the woman the spotlight shines directly onto the top right corner of the frame using the hard light to create a glare. However, the contrast of the white bright light to the low key lighting of the rest of the room has been used along with the fact she is staring at it. The sudden intensity of this light could continue the idea from the beginning of the clip where she has a choice to make. The intensity suggesting the decision is now urgent as he has been introduced.Also, the change of lighting from the left of the frame the right of the frame can again suggest something is evolving and changing.

How this can help me:
This can help me as it shows the importance of lighting when portraying a mood/tone/character. Lighting is a good way to subtly foreshadow a characters intentions or personality. It can also be very effective depending on its position within a frame. It can show emotions and be a physical representation of feeelings. Eg. torn (spotlights on opposite sides of a frame), peacefull (symetrical or natural lighting with no source) etc. I have realised that in my final piece i will have to make sure the lighting used within a frame represents how a character is feeling or how the mood is developing.